THE LORD GAVE. Joshua 21 After all other tribes received their allotted portions of the promised land, the Levites stepped forward to receive the cities where they would settle. The tribe of Levi represented the Lord and His interests, so they were given specific cities and land throughout the nation. Six of these cities served as cities of refuge, offering a safe haven for a manslayer. Levi’s inheritance was the Lord, and their role was to be “scattered in Israel,” as Jacob had prophesied centuries earlier.
The responsibility of the sanctuary, the custody of the law, and the preservation of culture in the hearts of the Israelites rested with them. The spiritual influence of the Levites extended throughout the land because they were called by God to serve Him. Their closeness to the Lord would help the people of other tribes stay focused on their identity and on who God was to them and they to God. The people needed to see beyond the material blessings of a land flowing with “milk and honey” to understand the greatness of God’s grace. By acting in faith, they could claim what they could never achieve on their own strength.
We are blessed by God when we put our faith in Christ. He saved us from His righteous wrath, gave us eternal life, forgave our sins, and raised us from death to live on resurrection ground. He has made us capable of living as a new creation for God and His glory. Those who serve God as His representatives among His people need these Christ-like qualities: humility, lowliness, and meekness, which match the role God gives to those who serve Him by serving His people. Once we personally understand the value of God's grace, we have the responsibility to show that to those around us.
The cities the Levites received included the cities of refuge, and the others were strategically placed so that almost everyone in Israel was within a day's journey of those representing God's interests. God was faithful to all His promises to Israel, even though they were not completely faithful to Him. The more we experience God's promises, the more confidence we gain about the future. We don't know what the future holds, "but we know Who holds the future." God will fulfill all His promises in His own time and way. There is never a reason for us to doubt Him or His Word.
Levites had clear responsibilities. They were to do what others could not do. The service of the sanctuary was their duty. The Levitical priesthood’s role was explained. They held the law's custody, so every situation had to be judged according to the law the Levites were responsible for knowing. Their job was to guard and set an example for the nation’s culture. Their instructions came from God, and they were to pass them on as a source of strength to protect the people from negative influences. We are "blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ," and it is our duty to show others the significance of what that means.
We first need to recognize our own need for Christ before understanding what He means to us. There is the "prize of the high calling of God" that motivates us to be a clear testimony among the nations, even if we do not look different outwardly. That distinction comes from knowing who we are before the Lord and the service to which we are called. We shouldn't compare ourselves or our specific callings to others. Our inheritance is clear: we are called to serve the Lord, and that is a great privilege! Some of the Levites lived in the cities of refuge, which allowed them to dedicate themselves fully to the Lord's service in close fellowship with Him. It is our responsibility to seek God's guidance so we can speak for Him to His people and to all around us "who know not God."
Some of us may have grown up in a “city of the Levites,” a place of blessings where faithful Christians raised us, but there is an order we follow to become aware of ourselves and our sins. We must personally seek the Lord, and then we will learn that divine righteousness comes from the Spirit of God, not our heritage or upbringing. The Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us as our Savior through the Bible. We are accepted by God when we personally accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. He becomes our life and our acceptance. Our motivation to live as God would have us— in the world but not of the world.
We were like fugitives who lived in the cities of refuge: saved, delivered, and thankful that God allows us to live and serve Him where we are. We who were raised as “Levites” rejoice in our salvation right along with those who ran to safety from the dark paths of sin. We share with them the “common salvation” and the “common faith.” It is in such places of blessing that we learn what it means to take His yoke on us and learn from Him. With sanctified people who love, serve, and worship the Lord together, we learn the character, nature, and heart of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We learn how to express our appreciation to God appropriately. We learn about His moral excellence and how we should grow to be like our Lord. We learn when and where to use the gifts God has given us. We learn our limitations, how to make the most of what we have, and how to adapt to different places and people around us.
Even among the Levites, there were different roles to fulfill and various tasks to perform. Each was important, though distinct, and each was necessary to complete God's work. Similarly, each of us has our own responsibilities and purpose for serving the Lord. There is no reason for any believer to covet what the Lord has called others to do. "Coveting the best gifts" does not mean wishing for what another person has, but rather dedicating ourselves to love for God and others, embracing what we have been chosen for. We learn Christ through His Word. We learn about ourselves through His Word. We grow in understanding, appreciation, and use of our gifts through His Word.
The Levites understood God's mind through the types and shadows given by the law. It is our great privilege to learn from God, the Holy Spirit who dwells in us and teaches us all things at all times. The Levites knew they were set apart for the Lord Himself and for the service He appointed them. We are set apart from the Lord and find our occupation in Him alone. All other interests are subordinate to His interests and are considered a loss if they conflict with His. The Lord knows what we desire more than anything else. When we understand who we are and where we belong, and are content to live there, God, in His grace and love, fills our hearts with Himself and our hands for His service. It is there that we find rest for our souls amid all the turmoil and uncertainty of life around us.
The true value of the Levites’ inheritance was their relationship with God, not the size of their cities or possessions. The worth of our lives lies in our relationship with the Lord, not the size of our congregations. Hebron was a city where priests lived, and the land around it was the inheritance of Caleb and his family. The promises of the Lord and all that we can claim as our possessions are what hold real value in this life. Though there were enemies, the people of God experienced a God-given rest in their God-given land. God fulfilled all His good promises.
Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are separated from the world morally, spiritually, and religiously, and are dedicated to Him. Our acceptance by the holy God comes through Christ, and any service we offer Him, like that of the Levites, is for His glory. When we see the radiance and blessings of holiness, we marvel at the privilege of being connected to the “Lord of life and glory, the King eternal.”
God gave His word, and it was fulfilled. No enemy opposed His promise. The Levites from each tribe had a designated place where cities and land belonged to them. When God calls His people through preaching the Gospel, and He saves and sets them apart by His grace alone, He intends for each of them to prosper and to make His gathering the center of their spiritual life. Among all the cities and religious meeting places around, our Lord establishes a lampstand with the purpose that it will shine as a light of truth for Him. That group of His saints gathered “outside the camp” should be a testimony for God in the place where they are.
Homes for the Levites were located in “set apart” cities where they could all live safely and peacefully. In the cities of refuge, people from other tribes could escape danger and be heard by an impartial council. A fair judgment was expected from those in that place. Today, our "cities of refuge" aren’t much different. Those who dwell there are in the “house of our God,” and the surrounding "suburbs" provide full and sufficient spiritual nourishment to meet the needs of those the Lord calls.
Others need to know they can come to us for safety provided by the Spirit of God and the word of God. The enemy of souls is persistent in their pursuit. People should understand they can dwell with us securely and receive a fair judgment of what they have done or what they lack. Among all the religious “cities” of our land, we may seem small, but size does not measure whether God is with us. Each person living here in this “city” is someone God has called and placed with others in this sacred place. When we truly understand what that means, we will gladly “count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord.” “That I might know Him” and be conformed to Him in life and service is the privilege and blessing of present-day “Levites” who serve the Lord.
What a blessing it is to have the wonderful God-given portion we enjoy as our spiritual inheritance. It no doubt seems small to those who measure things by the world's standard, but to us who believe, it is "exceeding abundant," far more than we deserve. Not only that, we have a God-given rest that those in the world know nothing about, and many of God's people have never claimed for themselves. How great and wonderful is our portion in our Lord Jesus Christ!