Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then the Lord said to Joshua: "Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.
"When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state his case before the elders of that city. Then they are to admit him into their city and give him a place to live with them. If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the one accused, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled."
So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. On the east side of the Jordan of Jericho they designated Bezer in the desert on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. Any of the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.
Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israel at Shiloh in Canaan and said to them, "The Lord commanded through Moses that you give us towns to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock." So, as the Lord had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:
The first lot came out for the Kohathites, clan by clan. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. The rest of Kohath's descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.
The descendants of Gershon were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
The descendants of Merari, clan by clan, received twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.
So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they allotted the following towns by name (these towns were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them):
They gave them Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pastureland, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) But the fields and villages around the city they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.
So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh, together with their pasturelands—nine towns from these two tribes.
And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth and Almon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.
All the towns for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were thirteen, together with their pasturelands.
The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim:
In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shechem (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Gezer, Kibzaim and Beth Horon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.
Also from the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Aijalon and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.
From half the tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—two towns.
All these ten towns and their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.
The Levite clans of the Gershonites were given:
from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Be Eshtarah, together with their pasturelands—two towns;
from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth and En Gannim, together with their pasturelands—four towns;
from the tribe of Asher, Mishal, Abdon, Helkath and Rehob, together with their pasturelands—four towns;
from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Hammoth Dor and Kartan, together with their pasturelands—three towns.
All the towns of the Gershonite clans were thirteen, together with their pasturelands.
The Merarite clans (the rest of the Levites) were given:
from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah and Nahalal, together with their pasturelands—four towns;
from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer, Jahaz, Kedemoth and Mephaath, together with their pasturelands—four towns;
from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Mahanaim, Heshbon and Jazer, together with their pasturelands—four towns in all.
All the towns allotted to the Merarite clans, who were the rest of the Levites, were twelve.
The towns of the Levites in the territory held by the Israelites were forty-eight in all, together with their pasturelands. Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it; this was true for all these towns.
So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
Joshua 20 and 21
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Numbers, Chapter 35, God gave the following guidance to Israel to follow once they had entered into His promised land:
"Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee. In addition, give them forty-two other towns. In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns, together with their pasturelands. The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few." Numbers 35:6-8
In Joshua, Chapter 18, we see the Lord reminding Joshua of His prior guidance saying, “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood”. And so Israel “set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. On the east side of the Jordan of Jericho they designated Bezer in the desert on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh”…six cities in all. These cities were designated as cities of refuge and “any of the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly” after which “he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled."
As we see in the Numbers passage, the six cities were to be designated out of the cities given to the Levites. We see those cities designated in Joshua, Chapter 19, after “the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israel at Shiloh in Canaan”. They said to them, "The Lord commanded through Moses that you give us towns to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock" and “the Israelites gave the Levites…towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance” just as God had commanded”.
It was always God’s intention that the people of Israel selected to serve His temple would be taken care of properly although they weren’t to receive a portion of the inheritance. After the allotment of towns with accompanying pastureland was given, the Levites had what God had promised.
Israel had been given “all the land (God) had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there” with the Lord giving them “rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers”. This rest included peace because scripture tells us that “not one of their enemies withstood them” because “the Lord handed all their enemies over to them”.
Our passage offers us one other important point…and maybe the most important one of all. For we’re told that “not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed…every one was fulfilled”. Not just a few of His promises were fulfilled but rather ALL of His promises. None of them failed.
And the same holds true today friends.
For we serve a God of promises…a God who wants nothing but the best for His people…but also a God who will discipline any one of His children who blatantly disregard, disobey and disrespect Him. We know because He promised it.
Consider some of these other promises from His word:
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8
Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Psalm 32:8
…Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:3
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
These are just some of the many promises God has given. There are so many more in the scriptures…so many that one could write volumes of them. And since ALL His promises are true, aren’t we all so truly blessed to serve such a God?
The answer is obviously “yes” so let us ever give thanks for Him and trust Him more today than ever, knowing that He never fails…just like His promises. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment