Then the chief fathers of the Levites drew near to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel;
After every tribe had received its land, one tribe was still waiting. At Shiloh the Levite family heads ask Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the tribal leaders for what God had promised: why did Levi get no territory, and what did they get instead?
The Levites came to the place where Israel took every matter before the Lord. One writer draws a line from that centre to the church.
The land was divided at Shiloh, and all cases for judgment were brought there before the Lord. It was there the fathers of the Levites came to Joshua and to the heads of the tribes, and there they spoke to them (Joshua 21:1-3). ... The new Shiloh was set up in the wilderness of this world — the church, the dwelling place of God the Holy Spirit. If our hearts realized this, would it not be enough to settle any and every question brought before Him?
The Lord had just provided the cities of refuge. Now the Levites press their own claim.
The Levites had no lands or share in Canaan as the other tribes had. Once the Lord had provided the cities of refuge, they came to Eleazar the high priest and to Joshua at Shiloh. They laid claim to the cities and their pasture lands. Moses had commanded that the tribes give these to them out of their own inheritance.
The Levites asked for nothing new. They pointed the leaders back to God's own command through Moses.
After the tribes had received their allotments the heads of the fathers of the Levites came to Joshua and Eleazar with a petition. They based their petition upon the Word of God spoken to Moses: "Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in, and you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities" (Numbers 35:2). The people were obedient and gave them cities out of their several inheritances. But the cities were also assigned by lot, so that the Lord assigned them their habitations. How it must have pleased Him to see His Word remembered, obeyed and acted upon!
God left one tribe out of the land division. Levi stood on different ground from everyone else.
The Levites received no inheritance in the land. The offerings made by fire to Jehovah, the God of Israel — yes, Jehovah Himself — were their inheritance, as He said to them. The Lord's workmen stood on different ground from the rest of His people. He called them to a special confidence in His provision for them and in His word about them. If they failed in this, could they wonder that their words had little power?
God had spoken a word of scattering over Levi. The name Levi means joined.
The inheritance has now been described. The Levites, who as a tribe have no territory, receive their portion in the forty-two cities scattered throughout Israel. This shows two things at once. It shows the unbending judgment of God: "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." It also shows His grace, which rejoices over judgment and turns it into a means of blessing. For the Levites, scattered through the land and linked with God's centre at the tabernacle, would answer to the meaning of their name. Joined to all the tribes, they would unite them into one whole.
Spreading the Levites among all the tribes was the last great step in taking the land.
Now the whole land has been divided among them, and the crowning act is the spreading of the Levites throughout the nation. God entrusted them with upholding His word in Israel. So the first and the last great acts connected with possessing the land both have to do with the law, since the Levites were entrusted with teaching Israel the word of Jehovah. Israel's prosperity from first to last depended upon their obedience to that word.
- No portion. Alone among the tribes, Levi received no share of the land; God Himself had ruled it so.
- Better portion. They lost land but gained God. The Lord was their inheritance, so they had to trust His provision in a way the other tribes did not.
- Claimed portion. They asked for nothing new. They pointed to what God had said through Moses, and the leaders gave them cities. The lot decided each one, so the Lord Himself placed them.
- Scattered portion. God's judgment scattered Levi, yet His grace turned that judgment into blessing and joined the tribes into one.
- Teaching portion. Living in every region, the Levites kept God's word within reach of every tribe. Israel's prosperity depended on obeying that word.
and they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, Jehovah commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in, and their suburbs for our cattle.
The land has just been divided among the tribes, and now the one tribe with no territory of its own steps forward. The heads of the Levites come to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua. Their case rests not on need or fairness, but on something God had commanded long before.
The Levites ask for nothing new. They claim what God had already commanded. Their position was simple:
The Levites had no lands or portion in Canaan as the other tribes had. When the Lord had provided the cities of refuge, they came to Eleazar the high priest and to Joshua at Shiloh. There they claimed the cities and the pasturelands that Moses had commanded the tribes to give them out of their inheritance.
Both sides act on that old command. The Levites remember it, and the tribes obey it:
They based their petition upon the Word of God spoken to Moses. "Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in. And you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities" (Numbers 35:2). The people were obedient and gave them cities out of their own inheritances. But the cities were also assigned by lot, so that the Lord assigned them their dwelling places. How it must have pleased Him to see His Word remembered, obeyed and acted upon!
What they ask for is practical: places to live, and ground around them for animals. The numbers were already fixed:
The Levites had no inheritance in the land. So that they might be free to serve the Lord, they were given tithes. Numbers 18:1-32. They received forty-eight cities to live in, with the pasturelands around them for their cattle. Six of these cities were to be CITIES OF REFUGE. Numbers 35:1-8.
The belt of land around each city had an exact measure, and it had to feed them:
They were to have land around each of these cities reaching 2,000 cubits deep. That means at least 1,000 yards, and probably a little more. This land was for their cattle and for their goods; that is, we suppose, for their support by means of cultivation. The land attached to each city may look cramped and too little to us. But remember that these cities were very small, judged by our standards.
The cities came out of the other tribes' own land. Every tribe gave something up, and the giving counted as an honour, not a tax:
Each of the tribes of Israel was privileged — we do not say bound — to furnish the Levites with a certain number of cities with their pasturelands, according to their ability. "All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be forty-eight, with their pasturelands."
Behind the arrangement lies the reason the Levites had to ask at all. They owned nothing because they had Someone:
The Lord's servants were wholly cast upon Him for their portion. They had no inheritance or possession except Himself. Blessed inheritance! Precious portion! None like it, in the judgement of faith. God took care of His dependent servants. He also let the whole congregation of Israel taste a holy privilege, and such it certainly was: to be His co-workers in providing for those who had willingly given themselves to His work and left everything else behind.
Their cities sat inside every tribe's land, so the Levites lived spread across the whole nation. That placement carried a task:
To the Levites fell the solemn responsibility and high privilege of teaching Israel the law of the Lord. "They shall teach Jacob your rules and Israel your law." (Deuteronomy 33:10.)
Their spread across the land had a further aim:
They were scattered throughout the whole land of Israel. The purpose of God in scattering them over the land was, no doubt, that they might have a good influence in the things of God: to urge the tribes to worship the Lord, to remind them of His goodness, and to hold them back from idolatry.
The dividing of the land ends here, and the ending is deliberate:
Now that the whole land is divided among them, the crowning act is spreading the Levites throughout the nation. Their trust was to uphold the word of God in Israel. Israel's prosperity from first to last depended upon their obedience to that word. The Levites held a position of great responsibility. So do the ministers of God, whom He has appointed to teach His people.
- Word — the Levites asked for nothing new. They claimed a command God gave through Moses, and it pleased Him to see it remembered and obeyed.
- Portion — they had no land because they had the Lord Himself. Faith knows no inheritance like it.
- Provision — forty-eight cities to live in, each with measured pastureland for their cattle and food.
- Partnership — every tribe gave out of its own inheritance, and counted the giving a privilege, not a burden.
- Purpose — spread through every tribe, they were to teach Israel God's law and hold the people back from idols. The nation's prosperity depended on obedience to that word.
And the children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the word of Jehovah, these cities and their suburbs.
When Israel divided the land, the tribe of Levi received no territory of its own. This verse records what the other tribes gave them instead, and why they gave it.
Levi's claim rested on an old instruction given through Moses.
The Levites had no lands nor lot in Canaan as the other tribes had. When the Lord provided the cities of refuge, they came to the high priest, Eleazar, and to Joshua at Shiloh. They laid claim to the cities and the pasture lands. Moses had commanded that the tribes should give these to them out of their inheritance.
The gift was not Israel's idea, and the choice of cities was not Israel's either.
They based their petition on the word of God spoken to Moses: "Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites... cities for them to dwell in, and... pasturelands around the cities" (Numbers 35:2). The people were obedient and gave them cities out of their several inheritances. But the cities were also assigned by lot, so that the Lord assigned them their homes. How it must have pleased Him to see His word remembered, obeyed and acted upon!
The gift was a home and enough ground to live on.
They were to receive forty-eight cities, scattered throughout the portions given to the other tribes. They were also to have land round each city, reaching out 2,000 cubits — which means at least 1,000 yards, and probably a little more. This land was for their cattle and for their goods; that is, we suppose, for their support by means of cultivation.
The law guarded those fields more tightly than ordinary property.
Their cities or houses could be sold, subject to the right of redemption at any time... but the fields around their cities could never be sold. They were a permanent possession. So those set apart to serve God could never lose the possessions Jehovah had secured for them.
Every city came out of some tribe's own share. Losing it proved to be a gain.
The Lord's servants were completely cast on Him for their portion. They had no inheritance or possession except Himself. Blessed inheritance! Precious portion!... God took care of His dependent servants. He also let the whole congregation of Israel taste a holy privilege — and that is exactly what it was. They became co-workers with Him in providing for those who had willingly devoted themselves to His work and abandoned everything else.
Levi's scattering traces back to an old word of judgment on the family.
The Levites as a tribe have no territory. Their portion lies in the cities scattered throughout Israel. This shows the unbending judgment of God: "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." It also shows His grace, which rejoices over judgment and turns it into a means of blessing. Scattered through the land, yet linked with God's centre at the tabernacle, the Levites would answer to the meaning of their name. And as those "joined" to all the tribes, they would unite them into one whole.
Their presence was meant to shape how Israel worshipped.
The divine purpose in scattering them over the land was, no doubt, that they might have a good influence in the things of God: to urge the tribes to worship Jehovah, to remind them of His goodness and to hold them back from idolatry.
Israel's future depended on the tribe now spread among them.
The whole land was now divided among them. The crowning act is the spreading of the Levites throughout the nation. God entrusted them with upholding His word in Israel... Israel's prosperity from first to last depended on their obedience to that word. The Levites held a position of great responsibility. So do the ministers of God, whom He has appointed to teach His people.
The pattern did not end with Levi.
In the past, the priests and the Levites lived on offerings presented by the people. In the same way, those whom God has really called... to preach the gospel, and who give themselves constantly and diligently to that glorious work, are morally entitled to material support... The workman must look to his Master, and to Him alone, for support... True, He expected the people to minister to Him in the persons of His servants.
- Commanded — the tribes gave because God had said so through Moses. The lot then chose which cities, so the Lord Himself assigned their homes.
- Costly — every city came out of someone's inheritance. God turned that cost into a privilege: Israel worked with Him to keep His servants.
- Covered — towns to live in, and fields around them that could never be sold. Those who served God could never be left with nothing.
- Connecting — an old word of judgment on Levi turned into blessing. Spread through every tribe, they called Israel to worship and joined them all together.
- Continuing — the servant looks to his Master for support. God looks to His people to supply it.