Today we begin Joshua Chapter 21.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click HERE.
For the King James Version, click HERE.
Up until now we’ve been talking about the 6 Sanctuary cities which were the Levitical cities of refuge set aside for someone who had accidentally killed another person.
Moving forward, here in Joshua 21, we’re being told about the handing out of the remaining 42 cities that were to be given to the Levites.
Recall that a total of 48 cities were promised to the Levites.
A lot of scholars will take a look at this situation and say this was all about the Levites getting impatient and coming forward demanding they get what was rightfully promised to them.
That notion is a bunch of hogwash.
First, remember the Levites were NOT actually receiving territory.
They were receiving a bunch of cities INSIDE the territories assigned to the 12 Tribes.
And we’re talking about territories that for the most part still had yet to be conquered.
I think a lot of folks forget that.
People assume that Israel just waltzed into Canaan and after a few initial skirmishes settled down and were drinking lemonade while singing kumbaya around their camp fires at night.
Never forget the Israelites had to fight for their land and that it was an ongoing battle.
Joshua and his men may have laid waste to a good majority of the Canaanite soldiers but there were still dangerous pockets of rebellion all over the place.
The tribes had to completely subdue the territory they were given before the Levites could move into their assigned cities.
And here’s another thing a lot of folks overlook or probably aren’t even aware of:
The Levites were NOT to fight in the Battle for the Promised Land.
Remember, the Levites were the Lord’s servants set apart for other holy duties and those duties did NOT include military service.
Got it?
The Levites were put on a waiting list and forced to be patient until the tribal territories their cities were located in were conquered to a sufficient enough degree that would allow them to move in.
So, the timing of the Levites getting their cities after the tribes of Israel got theirs just makes perfect sense and has nothing to do with the Levites throwing a hissy fit because they were losing patience.
Actually later on, we’re gonna find that some of the cities assigned to the Levites weren’t even under Hebrew control when they were assigned to them.
Plus, on top of that, it would turn out that the Levites never even moved into some of the 48 cities.
But that’s a different conversation.
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