From the Tribe of Naphtali - Joshua 21:32

In the book of Joshua, we learned, “unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities, and out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs, Jarmuth with her suburbs, Engannim with her suburbs; four cities, and out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs, Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities”, and in chapter twenty-one and verse thirty-two of Joshua we learn about the cities given, “out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs” where we read, 

And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.

The verse reads, “And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer;” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and out of the tribe of Naphtali” which means “from the clan or people group belonging to Naphtali whose name means ‘wrestling’ and was the sixth son of Jacob and the second by Bilhah the handmaid of Rachel”, “Kedesh” whose name means “holy place” and was “a city in the extreme south of Judah” “in Galilee” or “within Galilee whose name means ‘circuit or district’ and was a territory in Naphtali largely occupied by heathen; a circuit of towns around Kedesh-Naphtali, in which were situated the twenty towns given by Solomon to Hiram king of Tyre as payment for his work in conveying timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem” “with her suburbs” which means “alongside and accompanied by her, Kedesh’s, open and common land”, “to be a city of refuge” or “to exist as a dwelling place pertaining to asylum” “for the slayer” which means “on behalf of the person who kills another person by accident or inadvertently”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Kedesh” was provided to the “Levites” by the “tribe of Naphtali: to be a “city of asylum” on behalf of the person who kills another person accidentally.

The verse goes on to say, “and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.”. Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “and Hammothdor” whose name means “hot springs of Dor” and was “a Levitical city in Naphtali” “with her suburbs” or “alongside and accompanied by her, Hammothdor’s, open and common land”;  “and Kartan” whose name means “two cities” and was “a town in Naphtali allotted to the Gershonite Levites also known as Kirjathaim” “with her suburbs” or “alongside and accompanied by her, Kartan’s, open and common land”, “three cities” which means “three” dwelling places or places of wakening. Joshua or the writer said “Hammothdor and Kartan” along with their common lands were among the three dwelling places provided by the people of “Naphtali” to the “Gershonite Levites”. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we discover how the “tribe of Naphtali” provided cities to the “Levites”, “Kadesh” was not only to be a home for the “Levites”, but was also intended to be a “city of refuge” among the people of Israel. “Hammothdor, and Kartan” were also provided to the “Levites” to be a spiritual influence in the presence of the people of Israel. God loves people, and because He desires to have a close personal and intimate spiritual relationship with all of us, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be raised from the grave 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 empower us to live according to that truth as we serve Him in the world. (See Mark 10:44; John 3:16:16:13; Acts 1:8)

Next time we learn about, “all the cities of the Gershonites”, 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".