The Distributed Glory: God's Strategic Placement of the Levites Text: Joshua 21:1-8
Introduction: The Land and the Lord
We come now to the final stages of the initial allotment of the land. The bloody work of conquest is largely done, the tribal banners have been planted, and the boundaries have been drawn by lot. Israel is beginning to settle into the rest that God had promised them. But there is one piece of business remaining, and it is a crucial one. It is a detail that reveals the very heart of God's design for Israel, and by extension, for us. The Levites, the priestly tribe, have not yet received their portion.
Now, we must remember that the Levites were in a peculiar position. Back in Numbers, God had declared that they were to have no territorial inheritance like the other tribes. "I am your portion and your inheritance" (Num. 18:20). What a staggering statement. While Judah gets the rolling hills and Asher the coastal plain, the Levites get God Himself. This was not a consolation prize. It was the grand prize. They were set apart for the service of the sanctuary, to minister before the Lord, and to teach the law to the people. Theirs was a spiritual inheritance, not a dirt inheritance.
But spiritual men still need a place to live. They have wives and children and cattle. And so, God made a provision that was both practical and profoundly theological. They were to be given cities within the territories of the other tribes. They were not to be consolidated in one priestly province, a kind of ancient Vatican City. No, they were to be scattered, distributed, and peppered throughout the entire nation. This was not an accident; it was a divine strategy. God was ensuring that no Israelite would ever be too far from a city where the law was taught and the Lord was worshiped. He was strategically placing embassies of His kingdom in every corner of the promised land.
This chapter is more than just a dry list of ancient place names. It is a masterclass in covenant faithfulness. God makes promises, and He keeps them. The people of God are to live according to those promises, even when it involves giving up some of their own inheritance for the sake of the ministry. And the structure of the nation itself was designed to promote holiness and the knowledge of God. This is not just about real estate; it is about the architecture of a godly society.
The Text
Then the heads of households of the Levites came near to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of households of the tribes of the sons of Israel. And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “Yahweh commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasture lands for our cattle.” So the sons of Israel gave the Levites from their inheritance these cities with their pasture lands, according to the command of Yahweh. Then the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And the sons of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, received thirteen cities by lot from the tribe of Judah and from the tribe of the Simeonites and from the tribe of Benjamin. Now the rest of the sons of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim and from the tribe of Dan and from the half-tribe of Manasseh. And the sons of Gershon received thirteen cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Issachar and from the tribe of Asher and from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. The sons of Merari according to their families received twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben and from the tribe of Gad and from the tribe of Zebulun. So the sons of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasture lands, as Yahweh had commanded by the hand of Moses.
(Joshua 21:1-8 LSB)
A Righteous and Orderly Claim (v. 1-2)
The process begins with the Levites themselves initiating the claim, and they do so in a perfectly orderly and submissive fashion.
"Then the heads of households of the Levites came near to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of households of the tribes of the sons of Israel. And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, 'Yahweh commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasture lands for our cattle.'" (Joshua 21:1-2)
Notice the protocol here. They don't start a protest. They don't grumble in their tents. They come to the constituted authorities: Eleazar the high priest, Joshua the civil magistrate, and the heads of the other tribes. This is a picture of a society functioning as it ought. They present their case at Shiloh, which was the location of the tabernacle, the center of Israel's worship. They are bringing their claim before God and man.
And what is the basis of their claim? Not their own need, not their personal merit, not some appeal to fairness. Their claim is grounded entirely on the prior command of God. "Yahweh commanded by the hand of Moses." They are not innovating; they are reminding. They are calling the leadership of Israel to be faithful to the Word of God. This is the foundation of all righteous claims. Our appeal must always be to what God has said. The authority is not in the sincerity of our request, but in the authority of the one who made the promise.
They are appealing to the command given back in Numbers 35, where God laid out the plan for these forty-eight cities. The Levites had carried this promise with them through the wilderness wanderings and the years of conquest. They knew God had not forgotten, but it was their responsibility to bring the matter forward at the proper time. Faith does not sit back and do nothing; faith acts on the basis of God's revealed will.
Covenant Obedience (v. 3)
The response of the other tribes is immediate and commendable. There is no debate, no haggling, no reluctance.
"So the sons of Israel gave the Levites from their inheritance these cities with their pasture lands, according to the command of Yahweh." (Joshua 21:3)
This is covenant faithfulness in action. The other tribes had just received their own inheritances, parcels of land they had fought and bled for. And now, the first act of settled ownership is to give a portion of it away. They gave "from their inheritance." This was a real cost. These were not leftover scraps of land. They were giving up established cities and valuable pasture lands. Why? Because they recognized that their ownership was conditional upon their obedience to the Great King who had given them the land in the first place.
Their obedience is "according to the command of Yahweh." They heard the Word of God, reminded to them by the Levites, and they complied. This is the essence of a healthy covenant community. The Word is proclaimed, and the people obey. This act of giving was an act of worship. It was a tangible acknowledgment that God is Lord, that His Word is supreme, and that the ministry of the Levites was essential for the spiritual health of the entire nation. By supporting the Levites, they were investing in their own sanctification and that of their children.
The Divine Sovereignty of the Lot (v. 4-7)
The text then details how these cities were distributed among the three major Levitical clans: the Kohathites, the Gershonites, and the Merarites. And the mechanism for this distribution is crucial.
"Then the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites... the rest of the sons of Kohath received ten cities by lot... And the sons of Gershon received thirteen cities by lot... The sons of Merari according to their families received twelve cities..." (Joshua 21:4-7)
The decision was made by lot. In our modern, rationalistic age, this sounds like rolling the dice. It sounds like chance. But for the Israelites, it was the very opposite of chance. The lot was a means of submitting a decision directly to the sovereign will of God. As Proverbs tells us, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Yahweh" (Proverbs 16:33). By using the lot, they were removing human bias, political maneuvering, and personal preference from the equation. They were confessing that God knew best where to place His ministers.
And look at the result. The Kohathites, specifically the sons of Aaron the priest, received their cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. Where were these tribes located? Right around Jerusalem. This was no accident. God strategically placed the priests close to the future site of the temple, the central sanctuary where they would perform their primary duties. The rest of the Levites were then scattered throughout the remaining tribes, from the far north to the south, and on both sides of the Jordan. God's plan was a masterpiece of strategic placement, ensuring that the light of His law would shine into every dark corner of the land.
A Summary of Faithfulness (v. 8)
The passage concludes with a summary statement that drives the main point home.
"So the sons of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasture lands, as Yahweh had commanded by the hand of Moses." (Joshua 21:8)
This verse ties it all together. The people gave. They did so by means of the lot, submitting to God's sovereignty. And the entire action was a fulfillment of what God had commanded through His prophet. This is the three-fold cord of a godly society: human responsibility (the people gave), divine sovereignty (by lot), and biblical authority (as Yahweh commanded). When these three things are held together in proper balance, a nation can flourish.
The Israelites understood that the land was not ultimately theirs. They were stewards, tenants on God's land. And the tithe of their land, represented by these Levitical cities, belonged to the Lord for the maintenance of His ministry. This principle has not been abolished. The Church today is God's new Israel, and we too are called to give from our inheritance to support the ministry of the Word. Those who labor in preaching and teaching are worthy of their hire, and it is the congregation's duty and privilege to provide for them.
The New Covenant Levites
So what does this ancient real estate transaction have to do with us? Everything. The pattern established here is a shadow of a greater spiritual reality in the new covenant.
First, like the Levites, the Church has no permanent earthly inheritance. We are strangers and pilgrims on the earth (1 Peter 2:11). Our citizenship is in heaven. Our inheritance is not a plot of land, but Christ Himself. He is our portion. We are a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, set apart for His service.
Second, we too have been strategically scattered. Jesus did not call us to huddle together in a holy compound, separated from the world. He commanded us to go into all the world. He has scattered us, His new Levites, throughout every tribe and tongue and nation. We are placed in our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and our communities as embassies of the kingdom of God. We are to be centers of teaching and witness, just as the Levitical cities were. Your home, your family, your business, is to be a Levitical city, a place where the law of God is taught and the grace of God is demonstrated.
Third, our provision comes from God through the obedience of His people. The ministry of the gospel is supported by the faithful giving of the saints. Just as the tribes gave up cities, we are called to give up a portion of our income, our time, and our resources for the advancement of the kingdom. This is not a burden; it is our part in the great work of God.
Finally, all of this points to the absolute faithfulness of God. Joshua will later declare that "not one word of all the good promises that Yahweh had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass" (Joshua 21:45). The distribution of these cities was a concrete, tangible proof of God's promise-keeping character. And we stand on this side of the cross, looking back not just at the promise of land, but at the promise of a Savior. God promised to send His Son, and He did. He promised to defeat sin and death, and He has. He has promised to build His church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. And He has promised to return and make all things new. Every promise God has ever made finds its "Yes" and "Amen" in Jesus Christ. Therefore, let us live as a people who believe it.