TOWNS FOR THE LEVITES

Joshua 20:1-21:45

Key Verse 21:41, 42

(Read Numbers 35:1-34 for a background)

The towns of the Levites in the territory held by the Israelites were forty-eight in all, together with their pasturelands. Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it; this was true for all these towns.

Today we would like to meet the Lord God who makes a beautiful environment in which God's blessings can overflow to many. The other day I went to a market and bought a bowl of spring colors. This bowl comes with at least a dozen different flowers. I put the bowl in a sunny spot in the backyard. Then as I went out to see the spring colors, I saw not only flowers but also beautiful butterflies fluttering around the flowers. And I was wondering from where these butterflies had come. They were not visible. But the bowl worked as an environment for the butterflies to come in and enjoy the spring colors. In the passage for today this is exactly what the Lord God did in the newly pioneered land of Canaan. 

Specifically what did the Lord do? This passage describes the governmental system designed to establish the Israelites as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The key features include 1) the system to ensure that people appreciate and respect the value of man's life; and 2) the system to reveal God to men, so they would be taught God's way, live as a Bible teaching nation, and thereby be blessed in every way conceivable. 

Part I. Cities of Refuge (1-9)

Vs. 1-9 show us 1) the purpose of the cities of refuge (1-3); 2) the procedures designed to serve that purpose (4-6); and 3) the way the cities of refuge were to be distributed among the Israelites. 

Look at vs. 1-3. "Then the LORD said to Joshua: "Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood." This passage protects a narrow category of people: anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally. The Lord wanted to protect them from the hot pursuit of their avengers of the blood shed accidentally and unintentionally. 

Look at vs. 4-6. "When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state his case before the elders of that city. Then they are to admit him into their city and give him a place to live with them. If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the one accused, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled." In this passage the Lord God came up with a court system to ensure that human conflicts (as in the case of the accidental and unintentional murder) between fellow citizens may be resolved through trials which are based on the principles of fairness and justice. The features include meting out justice based on a fair trial taking place in an unbiased jurisdiction removed from the local area in which the conflict might have occurred. And the trial is to take place in a public forum administered by judges trained according to the word of God, namely Levites.

Look at vs. 7-9. "So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. On the east side of the Jordan of Jericho they designated Bezer in the desert on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. Any of the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly." When we read this passage along with Numbers 35, we can see that the Lord commanded the Israelites to distribute the six towns evenly among the Israelites living in different areas of the Promised Land: three in the east of the Jordan and three in the west, well spaced out in the northern, middle, and southern parts of Israel. The reason for this even distribution is obvious: for all to have a quick access to the cities of refuge. 

In reading this passage three words draw our special attention: 1) refuge (2); 2) blood (3,5); and 3) the high priest (6). Hebrew 10:1 says that the law (of Moses such as the ones recorded in this passage) is only a shadow of the good things that are coming. In Luke 24:44, Jesus also said that he came to fulfill what was written about him in the Old Testament Scriptures. From these references we can surmise that the Lord's instructions concerning the towns of refuge, the Lord's desire to protect the innocent from the avenger of blood, and the condition to absolve the one of the guilt involved in a refuge camp on the death of the high priest, all point to the ultimate grace of having the sins of all believers forgiven in Jesus. 

When Jesus came, he offered himself as our ultimate refugee camp. He himself came to protect us from the hot pursuit of the avenger of blood. Speaking of the same truths, 1 Peter 3:18 says, "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit." In Colossians 1:19-22, the Apostle Paul says, "[G]od was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--" [Read also the entire book of Hebrews, especially  Chapters 10-13 for a detailed discussion on the efficacy of the blood sacrifice of Jesus, our true high priest, for the forgiveness of our sins.]

This reminds us of Jesus who died on the cross for our sins, so that for all who put trust in Him, there would no longer be condemnation for their sins, but rather would be deep conviction of God's love that forgives man of his sins. This is the only viable way to resolve all human conflicts in a fundamental way. We thank and praise God for sending Jesus and providing for all sinners an ultimate refugee camp. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," says Romans 8:1. Praise the Lord God for sending Jesus as our ultimate city of refuge. We cannot emphasize this too much, for no matter where you go, you will always see people suffering from the sense of condemnation. Jews and Gentiles, Muslims and Christians, believers and unbelievers: they altogether suffer from the sense of condemnation. Even if no one condemns him or her, still one feels condemned. This is a very serious problem, because the sense of condemnation robs us of peace and rest in our life. Plus, it makes our relationship with others shaky and unstable. For example some people try to perform in order to avoid being condemned; as they perform they fear that unless they perform someone might condemn them for not performing. Those who fail to perform end up comparing themselves to others; and finding someone who seems to perform better than he, he ends up condemning himself. At the same time, in order not to feel classified or feel inferior to the one who performs, he tries to find fault with the one who performs. You condemn others and by doing so you condemn yourself more. After condemning others and yourself, you feel more miserable, and then you condemn either you or others more. Feeling condemned, then, they pull themselves off, and withdraw to their own world. These are but a few examples of the harms that the sense of condemnation does to one's relationships with others. But we thank God for Jesus who came to make our relationship with the Lord and with fellow human beings – and even with all other creatures, even animals and nature – good and enduring. Do you feel condemned in any way today? Have you condemned anyone? Have you condemned even yourself at one point in time or another? May the Lord bless us to find a refuge in the Lord for good!

Part II. Towns of Levites (21:1-45)

When Jesus came, the Apostle John, who observed Jesus carefully and stayed very close to Jesus, finally said in John 1:14, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." Actually when we study the Old Testament Scriptures, we find that in literally every place of the Old Testament Scriptures can we find the presence of Jesus exhibiting two divine character traits: "grace" and "truth." The same is true with Joshua 20 and 21. In Chapter 20 we saw the grace and truth of the Lord – the grace of offering a refugee camp, the truth of instituting a trial system so people would resolve their conflicts based on reason rather than emotions or natural instincts. In Chapter 21 we see the Lord God commanding the Israelites to distribute among the territories of the 12 tribes of Israel the towns of Levites, so they would teach God's grace and truth. 

Look at vs. 1-3. "Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israel at Shiloh in Canaan and said to them, "The LORD commanded through Moses that you give us towns to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock. So, as the LORD had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance." 

Here we see the heads of the Levites coming out and asking for the places for them to live in. Who then were the Levites? The Levites are the sons of Levi, the son of Jacob and Leah (Gn 29:34). Levi gave birth to three sons: Gershon, Kohath and Merari (Gn 46:11). The Levites can be classified into two categories: priestly families, and non-priestly families. The priestly families are the descendants of Aaron, who was the grand son of Kohath.  Kohath produced four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel (1Ch 6:2). Amram produced two sons: Aaron and Moses. Aaron gave birth to four sons - Nadab, Abihu, Eleazer, and Ithamar. 1Ch 6:3. The first two sons Nadam and Abihu died childless for God punished them for offering before the Lord with unauthorized fire. Num 26:61. Out of Eleazer and Ithamar came out the 24 divisions of priests of Israel: 16 from Eleazer and 8 from Ithamar. 

Priests are the ones who get anointed with special oil and serve at the Lord's temple, wearing priestly garments as designated by Moses. The rest of the Levites who are from non-priestly lines assist the high priest as the high priest serves at the Lord's temple. Their assists include doing things like preparing sacrifices to be made on the altar at the Lord's temple, working as music servants, preserving the ark of covenant, taking care of utensils to be used for worship purposes at the Lord's temple, etc. and so forth, all in accordance with the laws of Moses. 

In terms of the overall functions, we can say that the Lord God chose the Levites for two purposes (2Ch 3:1; Jos 15:63; 18:11; 19:9; Eze 5:5): as ministers of worship, and as ministers of God's word. As ministers of worship, they were to help the Israelites to come to the Lord in worship of Him. As ministers of the Lord's word, they were to teach the Bible to the people, so people would know the Lord, walk in His way, and live under the Lord's blessings. 

In order to fulfill this purpose, the Lord God allocated a total of 48 towns (including the six towns of refuge) of Israel to the Levites. And Numbers 35:8 says, "The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few." In vs. 4-40, Joshua distributed the towns to the Levites according to the Lord's instructions in Numbers 35:8. On close examination of the way the Lord spread the towns of the Levites, two things stand out for our attention.

First, the descendants of Aaron received towns which are located relatively close to Jerusalem, because down the road in history the Lord God saw the time when King David would come and make all preparations necessary for the Lord's temple to be built in Jerusalem. Indeed David later made necessary preparations for the construction of the Lord's temple. Then Solomon built the Lord's temple in Jerusalem. Then the descendants of Aaron came to serve the Lord, staying in close proximity to Jerusalem. The other Levites living in the other towns in Israel were chosen to serve the Israelites in their respective areas.

Second, when we put together the things the Lord had done so far, we can see the Lord God working to build the Israelites into a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. About 40 years before, right after bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, the Lord God expressed this purpose to Israel at Mt. Sinai. We read this purpose in Exodus 19:1-6. Let us open the Bible and read this part: "In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt – on the very day – they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."

Now after forty some years, the Lord God finally brought Israel to the Promised Land. Through Joshua's faith and obedience, the land was conquered. And as soon as the distribution of the land was over, the first thing the Lord did was to ensure that all the Levites were positioned evenly among the towns and villages of the Israelites, with the worship in Jerusalem working as a focal point. 

At God's right time God sent Jesus to the land of Israel. Then Jesus established the twelve disciples. Jesus then commanded them to preach the gospel to all nations, so that through his disciples all peoples on earth could know God and be blessed by the fellowship with Him. And we see this purpose more vividly expressed in the New Testament Scriptures like Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8. 

The Lord's desire to fulfill this purpose continues in our own generation as well. Many wonder about God's purpose in establishing the U.S. So they ask, "Why did God establish the U.S. as a superpower nation?" Well, the answer is obvious. The Lord God wants to use the U.S. as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. If we say, "May the Lord God establish America as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation," some say, "Why do you always keep talking about a kingdom of priests and a holy nation all the time?" They ask like this particularly because in UBF, no matter which country you go, UBF members say, "May the Lord bless this nation to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." And by "this" nation they mean their own countries such as Canada, Venezuela, Russia, France, Germany, Sudan, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and North Korea! 

But we must remember this: God never changes his purpose. Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD'S purpose that prevails." Every thing can change. People can change. Nations can change. Political leaders will change. But God never changes. And he remains the same yesterday, today and forever. And regardless of the changes in time, people, or events, God always works to save people. In order to save people, he raises up many Bible teachers and prayer servants. 

Today as we studied the book of Joshua Chapters 20 and 21, we saw God's design to fulfill this purpose, that is, the salvation of all. And God's wisdom is to raise up shepherds and prayer servants who can teach the Bible, pray for the flock of God, and lead them to worshiping the Lord God. From the Lord's example let us then pray to pioneer all 561 American college campuses and 250 Canadian college campuses. Just as the Lord God spread the Levites among all the towns and villages of the Israel, may the Lord bless us to continue to pray to raise up shepherds from all colleges of the U.S. and Canada. Then, as the knowledge of the Lord increases among the growing generation, God's blessings such as joy, peace, and rest will only increase. One word: Spread the Bible teachers to all nations