Throughout the Book of Jsohua, we are reminded over and over again that the Levites did not receive any portion of land as Canaan was being divided among the tribes, for the Lord God was their inheritance. Nevertheless, they still needed to sustain themselves, and the Lord graciously provided for them. Given Israel's track record in the past, this situation could have turned out very differently; but the Lord put it in the hearts of the rest of the people to give the Levites cities throughout the land where they could live. Hence they were scattered across the whole land so that they could be held accountable in their work for the Lord, and also so that they could teach the people from the Book of the Law. They lived as permanent sojourners in the land so that they could be a living picture to the people of Who God is and what He had done for them.
The heartbeat of this passage – and of the whole Book of Joshua – is that God made a promise, and He also faithfully fulfilled it! And since He was faithful to His people, they were now called to live in faith to Him. He keeps His Covenant and is true to His Word. Jesus has promised He is coming back and He will certainly do so. The land of Canaan was to be a picture pointing us to Christ, Who has done everything faithfully to give us rest; and now we are called to walk by faith toward Him. Even when we fail, He is still so good and faithful to His promises! |
