“So out of their inheritance the people of Israel gave the L’vi’im the following cities with the surrounding open land: The lot came out for the families of the K’hati. The descendants of Aharon the cohen, who were of the L’vi’im, received by lot thirteen cities from the tribes of Y’hudah, Shim‘on and Binyamin.”-Joshua 21:3-4
Verse 3 from Joshua Chapter 21 informs us of one central point concerning the economic livelihood of the Levites.
They were to be supported by shares provided by the other 12 tribes of Israel.
Now the backdrop of the current situation is that the High Priest is still Eleazar and the Tabernacle is now situated within the hills of Ephraim territory at a place called Shiloh.
Each one of the 12 tribes had basically gifted a bunch of towns and cities to the Levites.
This was symbolically a way of giving back out of what God had given to them.
Therefore, handing out the cities to the Levites was not to be done in a begrudging manner.
Next, notice the latter of half of verse 3 (highlighted in red above) where it says the Levites were given cities with “the surrounding open land”.
Understand this land was NOT for the purpose of growing crops.
Rather, the land was to provide pasture for their animals.
Remember, the Levites needed animals for their daily sacrifices as well as for their own food.
The Levites were NOT supposed to grow crops because those needs were supposed to be met by the 12 tribes…in theory that is.
The reason I say in theory is because everything I’ve just described were how things were supposed to be in an ideal situation.
Unfortunately, looking back in history, how things really turned out is a perfect case study of the ugliness and selfishness of human nature.
Once we get into the Book of Judges, we’re gonna find that the 12 tribes were never very faithful in providing for the Levites’ needs.
I’m not saying the 12 tribes didn’t help out the Levites at all, it just wasn’t very consistent help.
They donated crops to the Levites in spurts and this forced the Levites to turn to growing crops on their own lest they go hungry.
The biggest takeaway for me here today is the consistent gap I’m seeing between God’s commands and man’s lack of motivation or ability to fulfill the Lord’s instructions.
The need for a savior becomes more and more apparent the deeper I get into the Scriptures.
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