Bird's-eye view
As Israel stands on the precipice of the Promised Land, these closing instructions in Numbers address a crucial piece of societal infrastructure that is deeply theological. The tribe of Levi, set apart for the service of the tabernacle, is to have no territorial inheritance like the other tribes. Their inheritance is Yahweh Himself. But because they are men and not angels, they still need a place to live, eat, and raise their families. This passage provides the solution: a network of forty-eight cities, complete with pasture lands, donated from the allotments of the other tribes. This is not a form of ecclesiastical welfare; it is a divine ordinance that structures the nation in a God-centered way. By scattering the Levites throughout Israel, God was ensuring that every corner of the nation would have resident teachers of the law, spiritual counselors, and administrators of justice. This arrangement was a constant, physical reminder to all of Israel that their life was to be oriented around the worship of God, and that the ministry of the Word was to be woven into the very fabric of their civil and domestic lives. It was a decentralized, grassroots system for maintaining covenant faithfulness.
The details of the measurements, which can seem tedious to the modern reader, are anything but. They reveal God's meticulous care for His servants and the orderly nature of His kingdom. This is not a haphazard arrangement. It is a calculated, divinely-architected plan for a holy nation. The Levites are strategically placed as a spiritual immune system throughout the body politic of Israel, ensuring that the knowledge of God and His law is never far from any Israelite. This is a picture of how the ministry of the gospel is to function, not isolated in a clerical ghetto, but distributed throughout the world, living in and among the people it serves.
Outline
- 1. A Peculiar Inheritance (Num 35:1-5)
- a. The Command Given on the Plains of Moab (Num 35:1)
- b. The Principle: Cities from the People's Inheritance (Num 35:2)
- c. The Purpose: Dwelling and Sustenance (Num 35:3)
- d. The Provision: Precise Measurements for Pasture Lands (Num 35:4-5)
Context In Numbers
This command comes at the very end of the book of Numbers, which has chronicled Israel's forty-year journey from Sinai to the borders of Canaan. The old generation has died off in the wilderness, and a new generation is being prepared to enter and possess the land. The preceding chapters have dealt with the final preparations for this conquest and settlement: laws of inheritance for daughters (Num 27), regulations for vows and offerings (Num 29-30), and vengeance against the Midianites (Num 31). Chapters 32-34 detailed the settlement of the Transjordanian tribes and the delineation of the boundaries of the Promised Land. Chapter 35, therefore, is the final piece of legislation needed before they cross the Jordan. It answers the practical question of the Levites' place in the coming land-based society. Having established the inheritance for the twelve tribes, God now makes provision for the thirteenth, the tribe set apart for His service. This chapter, along with the subsequent one on daughters' inheritance, tidies up the loose ends of the covenant community's civil code, ensuring that the nation will be structured according to God's holy design from the moment they possess their inheritance.
Key Issues
- The Nature of the Levites' Inheritance
- The Decentralization of Religious Instruction
- The Relationship between Ministry and Property
- The Typological Significance of the Levitical Cities
- God's Concern for Order and Measurement
The Distributed Ministry
One of the most striking features of this arrangement is its decentralized nature. God did not create a holy district, a Vatican City on the Jordan, where all the priests and Levites would live in isolation. Instead, He sprinkled them throughout the entire nation. This was a profoundly wise and practical strategy. It ensured that no Israelite, no matter how remote his village, was far from a representative of God's law. The Levites were to be the teachers, the judges, and the spiritual resource for the people in their daily lives. They were embedded in the communities they served.
This is a direct fulfillment of Jacob's prophecy in Genesis 49:7 concerning Simeon and Levi: "I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." What was originally a curse because of their hot-headed violence at Shechem, God in His grace transforms into a blessing for the whole nation. The scattering of Levi becomes the means by which the knowledge of God is sown throughout the land. This is a beautiful illustration of how God takes the broken and sinful things of our history and redeems them for His glorious purposes. For the church, the principle holds. The ministry of the Word is not to be cloistered, but to be lived out in the midst of the world, in every town and neighborhood, as a constant source of light and salt.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1 Now Yahweh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying,
The location is significant. They are at the very threshold of the Promised Land. The journey is over; the conquest and settlement are about to begin. This is the final staging ground. What God says here is not abstract theology for a future generation; it is practical, concrete instruction for the men standing before Moses. They can look across the river and see the land they are about to inherit. The command is given by Yahweh Himself, the covenant Lord who is directing every detail of the formation of His nation.
2 “Command the sons of Israel that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their possession cities to live in; and you shall give to the Levites pasture lands around the cities.
The command is straightforward. The Levites are to be provided for, not out of some central fund, but directly from the inheritance of the other tribes. Each tribe is to carve out a portion of its own God-given inheritance and give it to the Levites. This is a crucial principle. The ministry is to be supported by the people of God from the fruit of their own labors. It is not a tax imposed by a distant government, but a gift, an offering, given from what they themselves have received from God. Notice the two parts of the provision: cities for dwelling and pasture lands for sustenance. God is concerned with both shelter and the means of livelihood. The Levites were not to be mendicant monks; they were to have homes and the ability to provide for their families.
3 And the cities shall be theirs to live in; and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their herds and for all their beasts.
This verse reinforces the previous one, emphasizing the purpose of the provision. The cities are for habitation. The pasture lands are for their livestock. This is a practical, agrarian society, and wealth and sustenance are tied up in land and animals. Though the Levites do not have a large, contiguous tribal territory, they are not to be destitute. They are to have property, own cattle, and participate in the economic life of the nation. Their unique calling did not remove them from the ordinary patterns of life. They were to be men among men, living in the same kinds of towns and owning the same kinds of animals as their neighbors, yet set apart by their special function.
4 “And the pasture lands of the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city outward one thousand cubits around.
Now we get to the specific measurements. God is a God of order, not chaos. He does not say, "give them some land around the city." He specifies the dimensions. A cubit is roughly the distance from a man's elbow to his fingertips, about 18 inches. So, one thousand cubits is about 1,500 feet. This was to be a radius extending from the city wall in every direction, creating a circle of common land for the Levites' use. This precision demonstrates God's care and prevents disputes. There is no ambiguity. Every tribe knows exactly what is required of them. This is a lesson in the importance of clarity and good order in the life of the church, particularly in matters of provision for the ministry.
5 You shall also measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, with the city in the center. This shall become theirs as pasture lands for the cities.
At first glance, this verse seems to contradict the previous one. Is it 1,000 cubits or 2,000? The best way to understand this is that the first measurement (1,000 cubits) refers to the open space immediately surrounding the city, perhaps for gardens and immediate access. The second measurement describes a larger square, 2,000 cubits (or 3,000 feet) on each side, with the city at its center, which would be the outer boundary for their pasture lands. The first measurement is a radius, the second is the side of a square. The point is not to get lost in the geometry, but to see the principle: God provides generously and specifically. He lays out a clear and orderly plan. This defined space around the Levitical cities created a zone of holiness, a visible representation of the Levites' distinct role within the nation. It was their inheritance in miniature, a tangible sign that God provides for those who are set apart for His service.
Application
The principles laid out in this ancient land grant have a direct and abiding application for the New Covenant church. First, we see that the Lord provides for His ministers. Those who are called to dedicate their lives to the preaching and teaching of the Word are to be supported by the people they serve (1 Cor 9:14). This is not a matter of charity, but of divine ordinance. The people of God, out of the inheritance and blessing God has given them, are to cheerfully and generously provide for the material needs of their pastors and teachers.
Second, we see the wisdom of a decentralized ministry. The Levites were not clustered in one place but scattered throughout Israel. In the same way, the church's mission is to be everywhere. We are not to retreat into holy huddles, but to be a Christian presence in every town, every industry, and every neighborhood. Every local church is a kind of Levitical city, a center for the teaching of God's law and the administration of His grace, embedded in the world. Every Christian family is to function as a spiritual outpost, bringing the light of the gospel to their particular corner of the inheritance.
Finally, we are reminded that our ultimate inheritance is not land or property, but the Lord Himself. The Levites were a type, a shadow, of what is true for every believer. While we live in and make use of the material world, our true treasure, our ultimate portion, is God. We are a "royal priesthood, a holy nation" (1 Pet 2:9), and like the Levites of old, we have been set apart for His service. Our security does not rest in the size of our pasture lands, but in the faithfulness of the God who has called us His own. He who provided so meticulously for the tribe of Levi will not fail to provide for His church, which He purchased with the blood of His own Son.