In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities”, and in chapter twenty-one and verse five of Joshua we learn how, “the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot … ten cities” where we read,
And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim,
and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.
The verse reads, “And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and the rest of the children of Kohath” which means “and the remainder and left over offspring and progeny belonging to Kohath whose name means ‘assembly’ and was the second of the three sons of Levi and progenitor of a family in the tribe of Levi” “had by lot” or “owned and possessed through the portion, recompense and pebbles used for systematically making decisions” “out of the families” which means “from the kindred, kinsmen and relatives” “of the tribe of Ephraim” or “pertaining to the clan and people group belonging to Ephraim whose name means ‘double ash-heap or I shall be doubly fruitful”. Joshua or the writer shared about the portion of land from the kindred of “Ephraim” that was provided to the offspring of “Kohath”.
The verse continues, “… and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “and out of the tribe of Dan” which means “and from the clan and people group belonging to Dan whose name means ‘a judge’ and was the fifth son of Jacob, the first of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid”, “and out of the half tribe of Manasseh” or “and from the one-half clan and people group belonging to Manasseh whose name means ‘causing to forget’ and was the eldest son of Joseph and progenitor of the tribe of Manasseh”, “ten cities” which means “ten dwelling places or places of wakening”. Joshua or the writer shared how “ten” dwelling places were also from the people groups of “Dan” and one-half of the clan of “Manasseh”.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how there were “ten” dwelling places given to the “tribe of Levi” throughout the land provided to the people of “Ephraim, Dan and one-half of the tribe of Manasseh”. These “tribes” were located on the eastern side of the Jordan River, and even as they were to represent Jehovah God in the promise land of Canaan, the “Levites” were to serve Jehovah God in the presence of the people of Israel. God loves the people of Israel, and He loves us. He gave His Son Jesus to be crucified for the sins of the world, and He raised Him from the dead after three days so when we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, we may be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and equipped with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and empower us to live in that truth in the dwelling place He has allotted for us in the world. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Colossians 1:12; Revelation 4:11)
Next time we learn how, “the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar”, 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".
No comments:
Post a Comment