Ain, Juttah and Bethshemesh - Joshua 21:16

In the book of Joshua, we learned how the people of Israel, “gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs. And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs, and Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs”, and in chapter twenty-one and verse sixteen of Joshua we learn about, “Ain, Juttah and Bethshemesh” where we read, 

And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; 

nine cities out of those two tribes.

The verse reads, “And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs;” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and Ain” whose name means “spring” and was “one of the southernmost cities of Judah in the Nekeb and allotted to the tribe of Simeon and given to the priests” “with her suburbs” or “alongside and accompanied by her, Ain’s, open and common land”, “and Juttah” whose name means “stretched out” and was “a town in the mountains of Judah, in the neighborhood of Maon and Carmel; modern 'Yutta'” “with her suburbs” or “alongside and accompanied by her, Juttah’s, open and common land”, “and Bethshemesh” whose name means “house of the sun or sun-temple” and was “a town in in southwest Judah” “with her suburbs” or “alongside and accompanied by her, Bethshemesh’s, open and common land”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Ain, Juttah and Bethshemesh” along with their open and common lands became dwelling places for the “Levites”.

 

The verse  goes on to say, “… nine cities out of those two tribes.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “nine cities” which means “nine dwelling places or places of wakening” “out of those two tribes” or “from those two clans or people groups, Judah and Simeon”. Joshua or the writer said nine dwelling places were given by the clans of “Judah and Simeon”. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we discover three more locations and their common land that were provided to the “Levites”. “Ain, Juttah and Bethshemesh” accompanied by their common lands were to be used as “cities of refuge” on behalf of the people of “Israel”. God’s desire was to provide in advance for these locations for justice, and He has provided for us in advance for the penalty to be paid for our sins through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and give us the ability to live as a witness to His grace and provision for our salvation well in advance of needing it. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 3:20)

Next time we learn about, “Benjamin, Gibeon and Geba”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".