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 2 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.” 3 So, as the Lord had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

4 The first lot came out for the Kohathites, according to their clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. 5 The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.

6 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.

7 The descendants of Merari, according to their clans, received twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.

8 So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

9 From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they allotted the following towns by name 10 (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):

11 They gave them Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pastureland, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) 12 But the fields and villages around the city they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.

13 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Libnah, 14 Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15 Holon, Debir, 16 Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh, together with their pasturelands—nine towns from these two tribes.

17 And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba, 18 Anathoth and Almon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.

19 The total number of towns for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands. (NIV)

As we see in today’s reading (and will do so again when we come back to the remainder of chapter 21, in a few days time), the Levites did not have any tribal land as such, but were allotted ”towns to live in with pasture-lands” for their animals (see, e.g. vv.2/8). This was according to the Lord’s own Word, which they ‘claimed’. In Gen.49:7 God had said that He would scatter the Levites throughout Israel. and He gave them forty-eight towns, including the cities of refuge.

‘The distribution of the Levites through the tribes is of obvious significance…consider what a wide and wholesome effect must have been produced throughout the country, especially when Levi fulfilled the lofty possibilities of this high-calling. Moreover, the teaching of the Law was a special prerogative of the Levites, who appear to have travelled through their apportioned districts…The distribution of the Levites was the Lord’s provision for the preservation of Israel’s faith in the land.’ J.Sidlow Baxter

”He teaches your precepts to Jacob
    and your law to Israel.
He offers incense before you
    and whole burnt offerings on your altar.” (Deut,33:10)

Yesterday, my wife, Jilly, had a physio appointment in our nearby city of Ripon. We decided that, while we were there we would attend evening prayer in the Cathedral. We made a couple of observations about our experience:

  1. The Cathedral conveys such a sense of how big God is and how small we are, and that is a good thing for people to be made to see and feel (if they do). In a way, it preaches a sermon, and the presence of Cathedrals and other church buildings in cities and towns and villages across the land remains so important. They remind the general population about God, and prayer, and that there still are believing people. But we also noted that…
  2. There is something wonderful and precious about the daily rhythm of prayer, praise and worship offered in so many of these churches scattered across our home nations. There were only three attendees (including ourselves) at evening prayer yesterday, plus four clergy. But it would go ahead regardless. Who can tell the life-giving, health-giving effects of these services? Their restraining power? Their preservative influence? Their ‘salt’ and ‘light’ impact? God only knows. But there is something of simple beauty and power in the ancient (and modern) prayers, and the reading of Scripture. Thank God for the presence of His faithful ‘Levites’ in the land.