The Children of Merari - Joshua 21:7

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities”, and in chapter twenty-one and verse seven of Joshua we learn about, “the children of Merari by their families” where we read, 

The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

The verse reads, “The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “the children of Merari” which means “the offspring and progeny belonging to Merari whose name means ‘bitter’ and was the third son of Levi and head of a Levitical family” “by their families” or “through their, the children of Merari’s, kindred, kinsmen and relatives” “had out of the tribe of Reuben” which means “possessed and owned from the clan or people group belonging to Reuben whose name means ‘behold a son’ and was the eldest son of Jacob by Leah and the name of the tribe that descended from Reuben”, “and out of the tribe of Gad” or “and from the clan or people group belonging to Gad whose name means ‘troop’ who was seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid,  full brother of Asher and the name of the tribe that descended from Gad”. Joshua or the writer said the offspring belonging to “Merari” and their relatives possessed dwelling places from the “tribes of Reuben and Gad”. 

 

The verse continues, “… and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “and out of the tribe of Zebulun” which means “and from the clan and people group belonging to Zebulun whose name means ‘exalted’ and was the tenth of the sons of Jacob, sixth and last of Leah who was the progenitor of the tribe of Zebulun”, “twelve cities” or “twelve dwelling places or places of wakening”. Joshua or the writer shared how twelve dwelling places were given to the offspring belonging to “Merari” and their relatives which were provided through the “tribe of Zebulun”.

When we think through the words in this verse, we discover how the third son of “Levi”, “Merari” was also provided “twelve” dwelling places within the territory given to “Reuben, Gad and Zebulun”. One by one the prophetic word of “Moses” concerning the provision of dwelling places to the “tribe of Levi” was being fulfilled within the territories of the people of Israel. God wants us to be in a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the dead after three days. When we yield to 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 so we live as His witnesses in the world wherever He places us. (See John 3:16: 16:13; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 1:18)

Next time we learn how, “the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities”, 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".