In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel. And they spoke unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle”, and in chapter twenty-one and verse three of Joshua we learn how, “the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance” where we read,
And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance,
at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.
The verse reads, “And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and the children of Israel” which means “and the offering and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails” and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “gave the Levites” or “granted, bestowed, allotted and assigned to the Levites whose name means ‘joined to’ and were the descendants of Levi who was the third son of Jacob by Leah and the tribe specially set aside by God for His service” “out of their inheritance” which means “from their, the offspring of Israel’s, property, possession, share, portion and heritage”. Joshua or the writer said the offspring belonging to “Israel” provided dwelling places from their own portions and shares of land for the “tribe of Levi”.
The verse continues, “… at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “at the commandment” which means “at the charge and order” “of the LORD” or “belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God”, “these cities” which means “the following dwelling places” “and their suburbs” or “alongside and accompanied by their, the cities’, common and open land or pasture”. Joshua or the writer shared how the following dwelling places and their accompanying pasture lands were given to the “tribe of Levi” in obedience to Jehovah God.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover how “Eleazar, Joshua and the heads of the tribes of Israel” obeyed Jehovah God’s order through “Moses” to make provision for the “tribe of Levi”. Although the Levites were not to receive any “inheritance” within the promise land for themselves, they were to dwell among the people of Israel and lead them in spiritual practices and worship of Jehovah God. God loves people, and when He gave His Only Begotten Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be raised from the dead after three days, He made the way for everyone who believes and trusts in Him as their “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of their sins, granted everlasting life and to receive His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and help us to worship and obey Him all the days of our lives. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Psalm 23:6)
Next time we learn how, “the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites”, 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".
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