And to the families of the children of Merari, that remained of the Levites, [they gave] out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam and its suburbs, Kartah and its suburbs,
This verse begins the last part of the Levite allotment. Merari, the family left until the end, now receives its cities, and the first of them come from Zebulun. Why did a whole tribe own no land? Why these tribes, and why these names?
The verse calls Merari "the rest of the Levites." Levi as a tribe held no land at all. One writer sees judgment in that, and grace as well.
The Levites as a tribe have no territory. Their portion is allotted to them in the cities scattered throughout Israel. This shows at once the unbending judgment of God — "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel" — and His grace, which rejoices over judgment and turns it into a means of blessing. The Levites were scattered through the land and linked with God's centre at the tabernacle. So they would answer to the meaning of their name. And as "joined" to all the tribes, they would unite them into one whole.
Each tribe gave up towns from its own share. Yet the lot decided which towns.
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!
Merari received twelve cities. One writer ties that number to the work Merari did.
The Merarite cities are twelve in number, given by three tribes — Zebulun, Reuben, and Gad. Merari's ministry has to do with the upkeep of the Church itself. That is why, perhaps, its cities are twelve, the number of divine government shown openly. Sadly, we have lost much of that display. Many human rules and much machinery have come in, and self-will continually breaks all bounds. Few Merarites, in truth, seem to remain to the Church. But here in Joshua we have the divine thought, not the human failure.
Merari's work at the tabernacle was to carry its frame.
The service of Merari involved caring for the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, pillars and sockets, pegs and cords with all their furnishings. The boards speak of believers joined together by bars and sockets. The pillars speak of believers holding up hangings. All of this shows not only how believers walk through the world as individuals, but also their united testimony, joined together by the power of the Spirit of God.
Zebulun heads the list of tribes that give. One writer explains the order:
The first tribe that gives cities to the Merarite is Zebulun. Dwelling with God, which implies practical consecration to Him, is here the first thing needed for upholding His claim upon men.
Another writer takes the name into daily life:
Zebulun means "dwelling." In Israel this implied a permanent home in the presence of God. That is a good reminder for us today, for "whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 John 4:16). God's presence is a place of greatest joy for the believer. But it is also a place of serious concern that He should be honoured in every detail of our conduct.
The verse names two cities in Zebulun. One writer takes the first name as the people's first need:
Jokneam means "possession of the people." The first need on the part of His people is to be given possession of what is theirs from God.
The second name adds a balance the first does not:
Kartah means "city." It implies fellowship and living activity, and yet boundary-lines kept in place. Care must be taken that these lines in the church of God are of divine making, marked out by the word of God alone.
One writer names the aim of the scattering:
The divine purpose in scattering them over the land was, no doubt, that they might have a good influence in divine things: to urge the tribes to worship the Lord, to remind them of His goodness, and to hold them back from idolatry.
Their own duties kept the nation's eyes on one place.
The Levites were set apart from the rest of Israel for the service of the sanctuary and the study of God's word. In their turn they went up to attend the worship of God, and then returned to their cities from that sacred duty. In this way all Israel would be kept mindful of the Lord, whose cloud overshadowed the tabernacle at Shiloh.
- Scattered. Levi's lack of land began as judgment. God turned the scattering into the means of joining the tribes into one.
- Given. Every Levite city came out of someone else's inheritance. The lot placed them, so the Lord assigned their homes.
- Framed. Merari carried the boards, bars, pillars and sockets — the service that holds the structure together.
- Dwelling. Zebulun means "dwelling," and Zebulun gives first. Living in God's presence comes before all else.
- Bounded. Jokneam gives the people what is theirs; Kartah keeps fellowship inside boundaries drawn by God's word alone.
Dimnah and its suburbs, Nahalal and its suburbs four cities;
Joshua 21 ends the division of the land. Levi receives no region of its own, only towns scattered through the other tribes. Verse 35 closes Zebulun's share with two of them and their pasture, completing a set of four. Both towns went to Merari, a family with one particular job in Israel's worship.
These four towns from Zebulun are part of a larger total. Merari's share came from three tribes, and the final number carries meaning.
The Merarite cities are twelve in number, and furnished by three tribes — Zebulun, Reuben, and Gad. We have already seen that Merari's ministry has to do with the upkeep of the Church itself. That may be why its cities are twelve, the number of divine government made visible. Sadly, we have lost much of that sign. Human rules and machinery have crowded in, and self-will breaks all bounds again and again. Few Merarites, in truth, seem to be left to the Church. But here in Joshua we have God's thought, not human failure, and the twelve cities agree with it.
Merari's load in the wilderness was the tabernacle's framework:
Merari's service was to care for the boards of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars and sockets, pegs and cords and all their fittings (Num. 4:29-32). The boards speak of believers joined together by bars and sockets. The pillars speak of believers holding up hangings, and so on. All of this shows not only how each believer walks through the world, but their united testimony, joined together by the power of the Spirit of God.
Zebulun heads the list of the three tribes that supplied Merari. The order matters.
Zebulun comes first among the tribes that supply cities to the Merarite. Dwelling with God implies being set apart for Him in practice, and that is first in importance here for upholding His claim on people.
The first name in this verse raises a question. A matching list in 1 Chronicles reads differently.
Dimnah is a city of Zebulun given to the Levites, Joshua 21:35. But it is not listed among the cities of this tribe in Joshua 19:10-16. In the list of Zebulun's Levite cities in 1 Chronicles 6:77 the name Rimmon appears instead. That makes it likely that the two names refer to the same place.
Dimnah means "dung hill" (J. B. Jackson). One writer weighs both names and keeps the harsher one:
Rimmon stands for the "word of God," since the pomegranate pictures it. The name would then point to the holy fruitfulness the word produces. Dimnah, it seems, could only point to the need to recognise what defiles. That is part of true Levite ministry in the church of God, and most needed by the Merarite. It would also suit the numerical place, which speaks of sanctification. On the whole, Dimnah seems to give the clearer spiritual thought, and since it stands in the text, we must prefer it.
The second name turns in the opposite direction.
Nahalal is a "place where they lead" cattle to pasture. It suggests very different thoughts. Nahal means "to lead with gentleness and care." Such tender helpfulness must indeed mark the Merarite ministry. True love must govern it all. Love acts in ways that can look opposed to one another, yet are not: it is the "bond of perfectness."
Levi received places to live and grazing land, but no tribal inheritance of its own.
God has dedicated Levi to His own service, apart from ordinary Israelites. They receive no inheritance as the other tribes do. They are the Lord's dependants. He provides for them out of Israel's abundance. Each tribe gave a portion to the Levites, few cities from those that had less, many from those that had more.
Why spread Levi through every tribe?
So, in this final ordering of the possessions in the promised land, the Lord made sure the knowledge of His word stayed alive among His people. Without that, their prosperity had to end. If they did not obey the word of God, they would lose their privileges.
- Placed — Levi received no tribal land. God gave them towns and pasture out of Israel's abundance, tribe by tribe.
- Purpose — spread through every tribe, they kept the knowledge of God's word alive. Israel's prosperity hung on obeying it.
- Portion — Merari's twelve towns came from three tribes, matching a service that holds God's people together.
- Purity — Dimnah means "dung hill." Commentators differ over whether the Rimmon of Chronicles is the same town. As it stands, the name calls for recognising what defiles.
- Pasture — Nahalal is where cattle are led to graze, from a word for leading gently. Spotting what defiles and leading with care belong to one service.
and out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer and its suburbs, and Jahzah and its suburbs,
Joshua 21:36 sits inside the long list of towns that Israel's tribes handed over to Levi. The two names here, Bezer and Jahaz, come from Reuben's land east of the Jordan — and one of them is also a city of refuge.
Levi alone had no territory of its own, and this chapter keeps repeating why:
Notice how often, even in this chapter, the text points to the tribe of Levi as having no such portion, by the will of God. The Levites received no inheritance in the land. Their inheritance was the offerings made by fire to Jehovah, the God of Israel — yes, Jehovah Himself, 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?
These towns are part of a larger share. They went to Merari's family, whose work was at the tabernacle, Israel's tent of worship:
The children of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun, with surrounding lands. Merari's service was to care for the tabernacle's boards, its bars, pillars and sockets, and its pegs and cords with all their fittings. The boards speak of believers joined together by bars and sockets, and the pillars, of believers holding up hangings, and so on. All of this shows how believers walk through the world as individuals. It also shows their united testimony, joined together by the power of the Spirit of God.
The number of these cities carries meaning too:
The Merarite cities are twelve in number, and three tribes supply them — Zebulun, Reuben, and Gad. Merari's ministry speaks of what keeps the Church itself in repair. Perhaps that is why its cities are twelve, the number of visible divine government. Sadly, we have lost much of this display. Human rules and systems have crowded in, and self-will breaks every limit. Few Merarites, in truth, seem to be left to the Church. But here in Joshua we have the divine thought, not the human failure, and the twelve cities agree with it.
Bezer had a second role in Israel:
A city in Reuben, described as "in the wilderness, in the plain country." It was one of the three Cities of Refuge on the east of the Jordan.
Its name points to an enclosure, and that enclosure holds more than safety:
"Bezer" means "fortification," a place enclosed, sometimes a "store" or treasure so enclosed. The application to our Lord scarcely needs enlarging on. God's enclosure can never be only a defence. God must plant it, like the first garden, with "every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food." In Him we are not only shut out from evil and the enemy; we are shut in with blessing.
The ground Bezer stood on matters as much as its name:
Bezer also stands "in the level country" — in Hebrew, the mishor. Isaiah 11:4 and Malachi 2:6 use that same word for "equity." This is indeed how Christ has become a refuge for us — not a mere escape, but righteousness.
The same city shows what keeps a servant standing:
Bezer at once shows how ample is the "store" of the one who makes Christ his resource and treasure-house. To stand in the prophet's place before people, one thing is essential: dependence on the living Lord, turning to Him about everything. This is what every Merarite does, in his measure.
Jahaz was a battlefield before it was a Levite town:
Jahazah is the same place as Jahaz, where Israel met and defeated the king Sihon. Its name means "a place trodden down." It reminds us of the firm tread of the soldier of Christ, and of the hard-fought fields where he is found.
- No land. God chose to give Levi no territory. Instead the other tribes handed over cities, and the servant tribe lived on confidence in God's provision.
- Work instead. Twelve of those cities went to Merari's family, who carried the boards, bars and pillars. Their charge was the framework that holds God's dwelling together.
- Refuge instead. Bezer means a fortified, enclosed place. Christ shuts evil out, and He shuts the sheltered one in with blessing.
- Righteousness instead. Bezer stood on level ground, and that word also carries the sense of equity. Christ's refuge is righteousness, not just escape.
- Battlefield instead. Jahaz means "a place trodden down." The servant's portion is contested ground, walked with a firm tread.
Kedemoth and its suburbs, and Mephaath and its suburbs four cities;
This line ends Reuben's part in the settling of the Levites: two more towns with their pasture, four in all, east of the Jordan, for the family of Merari. Why did one tribe in Israel live on towns given by the others? And why does Scripture count them?
Levi received no block of land when Canaan was divided. Instead, its families came asking for towns, and they asked on the strength of a command already on record.
Chapters 13:14, 33 and 14:3, 4 tell us that Moses gave no inheritance to the Levites. The Lord was their inheritance. After the tribes had received their portions, the family heads of the Levites came to Joshua and Eleazar with a request. They based it on the Word of God spoken to Moses… The people obeyed and gave them cities out of their own inheritances. But the cities were also handed out by lot, so the Lord chose where they would live. How it must have pleased Him to see His Word remembered, obeyed and acted upon!
The number differs from tribe to tribe. Each tribe gave in proportion to what it had received itself.
Levi is dedicated to the service of God and set apart from the other Israelites. They get no inheritance like the other tribes. They live on Jehovah's support. He provides for them out of Israel's abundance. Each tribe gave a share to the Levites — few cities from those that had less, many from those that had more.
Every city in the list comes with the same phrase about the land around it. That open ground was how these families made their living.
The Levites were to receive forty-eight cities, spread through the portions given to the other tribes. They were also to hold land round each of these cities, reaching out 2,000 cubits — that is at least 1,000 yards, and likely a little more. This land was for their cattle and their goods; that is, we suppose, to live on by farming it.
These four towns from Reuben belong to a set of twelve. The family that received them had one job at the tabernacle, the tent of worship Israel carried through the desert.
The children of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulon, with surrounding lands (vs.7-8). Merari's service was to care for the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, pillars and sockets, pegs and cords with all their fittings (Num.4:29-32). The boards speak of believers joined together by bars and sockets, and the pillars speak of believers holding up the hangings. All of this shows not only how each believer walks through the world, but their united testimony, joined together by the power of the Spirit of God.
Some writers find lessons in what the names mean. One reads Kedemoth as the things that stand in a servant's way, and counts them among his possessions.
Kedemoth speaks of "things that confront" him. Yet these too are among his possessions. They are the things by which faith is exercised and brought to maturity. They are "for" him, as all things are for the one who loves God — working together for good.
The second name points past all such conflict.
Mephaath means "shining forth." It speaks of the end that faith has in view, "the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." That day is also tied to the weighing of the responsibility of disciples, and to the rewards of grace. These four cities are a fitting gift, then, from Reuben to Merari.
Being spread across other tribes' land could look like a loss. One writer names a purpose in it.
God's purpose in scattering them over the land was, no doubt, that they might be 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.
Another writer traces the scattering back to an old word of judgment that God turned around. He counts forty-two cities here, where others count forty-eight.
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 at once the unbending judgment of God — "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel" — and His grace, which rejoices over judgment and turns it into a means of blessing. For the Levites, scattered through the land and linked to God's centre at the tabernacle, would live up to the meaning of their name. And as those "joined" to all the tribes, they would unite them into one whole.
- No portion — Levi got no stretch of Canaan, because the Lord Himself was their inheritance.
- Given portion — Their towns came from the other tribes' land, chosen by lot, so God did the placing. They were spread out to keep Israel worshipping Him.
- Enough portion — Each city came with pasture around it, food for their cattle and living for their households.
- Placed portion — Twelve cities fell to Merari. Their work was the frame of the tabernacle: a picture of believers held together in one testimony.
- Shining portion — Kedemoth counts what confronts a servant as part of what faith owns. Mephaath points to the glory that appears at the end.
and out of the tribe of Gad, the city of refuge for the slayer, Ramoth in Gilead and its suburbs; and Mahanaim and its suburbs,
Gad's turn comes near the end of a long list. This tribe east of the Jordan hands over two towns, with their pasture, to the Levites. One of them has a double role: a Levite town, and a refuge for anyone who had killed by accident.
Levi received no territory of its own. Its families lived in towns carved out of everyone else's inheritance. One writer sees two things at once in that scattering:
The Levites, who as a tribe have no territory, are given forty-two cities scattered throughout Israel. This shows at once the unbending judgment of God: "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." It shows just as much His grace, which rejoices over judgment and turns it into a means of blessing. The Levites were scattered through the land and linked with God's centre at the tabernacle. So they would answer to the meaning of their name; and, as "joined" to all the tribes, they would unite them into one whole.
Gad's cities did not go to Levites in general. They went to one family line, with its own task at the tabernacle:
The children of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun, with surrounding lands. Merari's service was to care for the boards of the tabernacle. They also cared for its bars, pillars and sockets, its pegs and cords with all their fittings. The boards speak of believers joined together by bars and sockets, and the pillars, of believers holding up hangings. All of this points to the walk of each believer through the world. It points as well to their united testimony, joined together by the power of the Spirit of God.
Ramoth in Gilead was a Levite town with a second role: it sheltered the man who had killed by accident. One writer reads Israel's own story in that provision:
In Numbers 35 we have a striking picture of the holiness and grace of God in His dealings with the slayer. He instructed His people to set aside certain Levitical cities on either side of the Jordan. Anyone who killed a person without intent could flee there. God's holiness shows in this: He would not shield the guilty. When competent judges and witnesses had examined the case, the guilty man was to be handed over. The grace of God shines in protecting the unintentional slayer inside the refuge. There the avenger of blood could not lay hands on him. Here, in a typical way, are the gracious dealings of the Lord with Israel. Israel is the beloved yet blinded nation, which is responsible before Him for the shedding of the blood of Christ. He graciously regards Israel as a "slayer" rather than a "murderer," to be restored in due time to the good land.
One writer marks the limits of the picture:
To apply them only to the cross of Christ is to grasp their meaning very poorly and only in part. The immediate application of the type, as most of us know, is historical and prophetical.
"Ramoth" is a word for high ground. One writer reads the name as a statement about where every believer now stands:
Ramoth means height. It speaks of the place of exaltation into which redemption in Christ Jesus brings every believer, raised up and seated in heavenly places. What a contrast to the place of lowest shame and humiliation that was ours because we were guilty of the death of Christ!
The other city's name points back into Jacob's story:
Mahanaim is where Jacob long ago met the host of God. Gad speaks of spiritual increase, and of activity that is not apart from conflict. Mahanaim, "two hosts," speaks from its history of heavenly help, with warfare implied. The battle-cry for it is that "the Lord of hosts is with us!" So we are not only sent out, but accompanied and sustained.
The town appointed as a shelter for life became, centuries on, a place men died fighting over:
Fortified city east of the Jordan and south of the Jabbok, in the tribe of Gad. It was one of Solomon's strongholds, but afterwards fell into the hands of the Syrians. Ahab lost his life trying to recover it. Joram took it, but the Syrians wounded him. We do not read of it later.
- Given, not owned — Levi held no territory. Towns like these came out of Gad's inheritance, and the scattering turned judgment into blessing for the whole nation.
- Given to Merari — Gad's cities went to the family that carried the boards, bars and pillars. That service pictures believers held together in one testimony.
- Given for refuge — Ramoth in Gilead sheltered the man who killed by accident. God would not shield the guilty, but He protected the one who never meant it.
- Given a height — Ramoth means high ground, and it speaks of exaltation, the opposite of the shame that was ours.
- Given company — Mahanaim means two hosts, and its history points to heavenly help for those who are sent out, so they are not left alone.
Heshbon and its suburbs, Jaazer and its suburbs four cities in all.
Joshua 21:39 closes the list of Levite cities with two towns from Gad — Heshbon and Jazer — completing the four that tribe gave. It is a bare tally, yet commentators find in it a piece of history worth untangling and a fitting last word for the whole allotment.
Merari was one of Levi's three families. Commentators treat the number of their cities as deliberate:
Three tribes supply Merari's twelve cities — Zebulun, Reuben, and Gad. We have already seen that Merari's ministry speaks of the upkeep of the Church itself. Perhaps this is why its cities are twelve, the number of God's government made plain. Sadly, we have lost much of this display. Human rules and machinery have crowded in, and self-will keeps breaking all bounds. Few Merarites, in truth, seem to remain to the Church. But here in Joshua we have the divine thought, not the human failure, and the twelve cities agree with it.
Heshbon lay in the land of Sihon. Reuben rebuilt the city, yet this verse counts it among Gad's. One writer takes up the puzzle:
Gad shares with Reuben the land of Sihon. At first sight their possessions look strangely mixed together. Gad builds Dibon, though it falls to Reuben. Reuben builds Heshbon and receives it in his lot, yet we afterwards find it given to the Levites as a city of Gad (Joshua 21:39). It was on the boundary line, and might easily belong to either.
The name itself points to thought and argument. The commentator quotes an older English translation:
"Heshbon" means "the reason, cause, or ground of a thing, as something thought about or studied." Older English translations render it "device" and "reason." The prophet plays on the name: "In Heshbon they have devised evil against her."
That meaning is then tied to the city's place in this list:
Heshbon, then, reminds us how, as restored by faith (for the children of Reuben rebuilt the city, Numbers 32:37), "reason" has its place and use for spiritual increase (Gad), and for Merarite ministry.
Jazer followed the same course as Heshbon: captured, then allotted, then handed on:
A city and district in Gilead. Israel took it from the Amorites, allotted it to Gad, and gave it to the Levites.
Jazer is the last name in the whole list, and its suggested meaning makes that ending pointed:
Jazer — which may be a shortened form of Jah-ezer, "Jah is help" — closes the whole series. It is a tender reminder of our weakness, and of the divine strength that weakness appeals to. Owning our weakness honestly always brings that strength in for us.
Levi received no block of land like the other tribes. Its families lived in scattered cities like these two. Commentators tie that to an older word spoken over Levi:
First, in these Levite cities, scattered through the land, we have the fulfilment of the prophetic word about Levi: "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." Yet it is fulfilled here in a way we would never have expected! Grace shows itself in complete sovereignty over all the sin. What seemed to be only a penalty has become blessing. In keeping with God's way in grace, the one who had been under it becomes a blessing to others… God upholds His government, and for Levi's own sake he must be scattered. Seed must not lie in a heap, or it does not do its work. Levi must be God's witness in Israel.
Lists like this are easy to skip. One writer closes the whole catalogue with a word on what it repays:
So the listing of Israel's cities ends. What a wealth of blessing these cities can give us, if in faith and patience we seek to make it ours. This account of them is sadly brief and incomplete. Even so, it witnesses how much God has stored up here for the earnest-hearted… Meditation and study are always needed, and here they will be repaid many times over. "The soul of the diligent is richly supplied."
- Twelve — Merari's share was twelve cities, from Zebulun, Reuben and Gad. Commentators read that number as God's government made plain.
- Boundary — Heshbon sat on the line between Reuben and Gad. That is why a city Reuben rebuilt is listed here as Gad's.
- Reason — the name Heshbon carries the sense of reasoning or device. Restored by faith, the city now serves the Levites' work.
- Help — Jazer, taken from the Amorites and given to the Levites, may mean "Jah is help." The list ends by pointing from our weakness to God's strength.
- Scattered — Levi held no territory, only cities everywhere. A word of scattering turned into blessing for the whole nation: seed spread, not heaped.
[These were] all the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, which remained of the families of the Levites, and their lot was twelve cities.
Joshua 21 ends the division of the land, and verse 40 gives the final count: the family of Merari, the last branch of Levi, receives twelve cities. Why count towns so carefully for a tribe God left without land of its own — and what do the number twelve and the name Merari teach?
The Levites owned no land of their own. Their cities came from the other tribes, yet the choosing was not left to men:
The people obeyed and gave them cities out of their own inheritances. But the cities were also assigned by lot, so the Lord Himself gave them their homes. How it must have pleased Him to see His people remember His Word, obey it and act on it! They lived scattered across the whole territory of Israel... God scattered them over the land, no doubt, so that they would have a good influence in divine things. They were to urge the tribes to worship Jehovah, to remind them of His goodness and to keep them from idolatry.
Merari's twelve cities came from Reuben, Gad and Zebulun. One writer sees the match between this family and these three tribes as deliberate:
Last of all, Merari has his twelve cities out of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun. They are there to check the excess of individuality in all three tribes. They lead them to understand the relationships in which this individuality finds its proper place and completion.
In the desert each Levite family carried part of the tabernacle, the tent where Israel worshipped. Merari's load explains its ministry once the nation settled in the land:
The service of Merari was to care for the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, pillars and sockets, pegs and cords, with all their fittings. The boards speak of believers joined together by bars and sockets. The pillars speak of believers holding up the hangings. All of this shows not only how believers walk through the world one by one. It also shows their united testimony, joined together by the power of the Spirit of God.
Merari means "bitter" — an odd name for a servant of God, until you see the work he was given:
Merari's service has to do with the house of God, the church of the living God. It has to do with holding up Christ as the way of access to God. And it has to do with supporting, strengthening and steadying His witness in the world... His name — Merari, "bitterness" — speaks of how painful such service is. Self-love will break down under it, or run off into some strange path that is easier on flesh and blood... Who cares for these boards and bars, and pillars and pins and cords? Who thinks of God's plan and pattern, and all the details of divine appointment? Who desires work of this menial kind, costing so much and bringing in so little?
The number is not filler. One writer ties it to the work Merari was given:
Merari's ministry has to do with the upkeep of the Church itself. Perhaps that is why its cities are twelve, the number of visible divine government. Sadly, we have lost much of that sign. Many human rules and much machinery have crowded in, and self-will keeps breaking all bounds. Few Merarites, in truth, seem to remain to the Church. But here in Joshua we have God's thought, not man's failure, and the twelve cities agree with it.
Twelve cities are not a share of the land. That difference shaped the whole life of God's workers:
Notice also how often, even in this chapter, the text points to the tribe of Levi as having no such portion, by the will of God. God gave the Levites 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 trust in His provision for them and His word about them. If they failed in this, could they wonder that their words had little power?
- No inheritance. Merari's family got cities to live in, never land to own. God Himself was their portion, and trusting Him gave their words power.
- Placed by lot. The tribes gave the towns, but the lot placed them. God spread His servants through the whole land on purpose, to keep Israel mindful of Him and away from idols.
- Twelve. The count is the number of visible divine government. It fits a family whose work was the upkeep of God's dwelling.
- Bitter by name. Merari means "bitter." The name fits work that costs much and returns little: boards, bars, pins and cords that nobody notices.
- Holding all together. Those same boards and bars picture believers joined and held up. The lowliest work is the one that keeps the united testimony standing.