Joshua 21
by Pastor David Groendyk

This is the last chapter of divvying up and dishing out land for the Israelites, and it is the long-anticipated Levites who have been waiting the longest. Several times leading up to this point in Israel’s history, God has stated that Levi would not receive their own portion of land, but they would live amongst the people and be provided for by them (e.g., Num. 18:21–24; Deut. 10:8–9; 18:1–5). Much could be said about this living arrangement. First, as Ralph Davis puts it, the Levites were to be something of a “living parable” for the rest of the people of God. Their lives were lives of “rootlessness” and sojourning. They weren’t truly settled anywhere. Moreover, their inheritance was to be the Lord himself rather than physical land. Even while the people of Israel were finally coming to their much-awaited home and were able to build houses and plant vineyards and trees, they were to remember that this wasn’t truly their final home. Second, having the Levites scattered around the country would have helped them fulfill their jobs as Levites. Deuteronomy 33:10 outlines a couple of the Levites’ jobs—tending to the sacrifices on the altar, and teaching the people God’s law. Tending to the sacrifices could only happen in one location (the tabernacle, and later the temple), but teaching the law could happen anywhere. To paraphrase John Calvin, the Levites were “guardians in every district of the pure worship of God.” And thank God that he did scatter his teachers so that more and more of the people would be able to hear and, thus, obey the Word of the Lord.

Joshua 21 closes with a summary of everything that has happened so far in the book. Again, to quote Ralph Davis, he calls verses 43–45 the “jugular vein” of the whole book. The Lord had given Canaan to his people for a possession, which he had promised a long time ago. The Lord has swiftly defeated their enemies and given them into Israel’s hands. Although that statement seems like it may be untrue after all the rebukes we’ve heard about different tribes categorically not finishing off the Canaanites, as a broad statement, it is most certainly true. Israel was no longer being threatened, and they were living in total security. All of these fulfillments showed Israel and show us that the Lord is utterly faithful to keep all of his promises. “Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” That is a verse worth memorizing. Without the Lord faithfully keeping his word, Christians have no hope and would be lost to a sea of doubt and uncertainty. Praise the Lord that he is faithful and that we can have confidence in his Word being true.