In the book of Joshua, we learned, “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 in chapter twenty-one and verse two of Joshua we learn how the Levites, “spoke unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan” where we read,
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.
The verse reads, “And they spoke unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and they spoke unto them” which means “and they, the Levites, uttered, declared and proclaimed to them, Eleazar, Joshua and the heads of the tribes” “at Shiloh” or “at the location named Shiloh which means ‘place of rest’ and was a city in Ephraim and temporary home of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle, the place where Samuel grew up” “in the land of Canaan” which means “within the region, territory, district and country belonging to Canaan whose name means ‘lowland’ and was the fourth son of Ham and the progenitor of the Phoenicians and of the various nations who peopled the seacoast of Palestine”, “saying” or “uttering, declaring and proclaiming” the following words. Joshua or the writer shared how the “Levites” made the following declaration to “Eleazar, Joshua and the heads of the tribes” “at Shiloh” which was located within the territory of “Canaan”.
The verse goes on to say, “… the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “the LORD” which means “Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God” “commanded by the hand of Moses” or “charged and ordered through the power, might, strength and authority belonging to Moses whose name means drawn out and was the prophet, lawgiver and leader of the exodus” “to give us cities” which means “to grant, bestow and assign to us, the Levites, dwelling places” “to dwell in” or “to live and abide within”, “with the suburbs thereof” which means “accompanied by the common and open land or pasture of those dwelling places” “for our cattle” or “on behalf of our, the Levites’s, beasts and livestock”. Joshua or the writer shared how the “Levites” said Jehovah God ordered through the power and authority of “Moses” to bestow upon them dwelling places in which to live accompanied by their pasture lands on behalf of their livestock.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how the “Levites” requested that their “tribe” be given locations in which to live and raise their livestock within the promise land of “Canaan”. Moses ordered this to be so, (See Numbers 35:2-8) and now was the proper timing for this distribution. The “Levites” were specially set aside by Jehovah God to carry out God’s spiritual services for the people of “Israel”, and they were to remind the people to make Jehovah God first in their lives and worship. (See Matthew 6:33) In a similar manner, God wants us to be in a spiritual, personal and intimate relationship with Him through His Son Jesus who was crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind and resurrected 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 empower us to live according to that truth so we may testify of His presence and power wherever we are established within the world. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Revelation 4:11)
Next time we learn how, “the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance”, 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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