“Levites Everywhere!” – FBC Morning Light (3/1/2024)

Well, a good Friday morning to you, coming to the end of another work week, looking forward to the weekend and beginning a new month today. So welcome to the month of March, the month where spring finally springs.

And though I've got to admit, we have been rather blessed with a relatively mild winter. I personally thank the Lord for that. Although I'm sure the farmers in our area are probably screaming, wishing we'd had more snow thus far.

Well, it ain't over yet, if you know what I mean. If you've lived in this part of the world, you know you can have some of that stuff on into April. Well, anyway, getting back to what's more important today, we're reading the Book of Numbers 34 through 36, wrapping up the Book of Numbers with these last three chapters today.

Cities for the Levites Throughout Israel

And I want to focus on chapter 35, which has to do with the giving of cities in the land of Canaan. When Israel goes in to possess the land, they are to dedicate some cities and give them to the Levites.

They're supposed to give 48 cities and divide up those cities among the Levites. Now, you just remember the background here. The different tribes of Israel, the 12 tribes of Israel, the sons of Jacob representing those 12 tribes, with Joseph, the son of Jacob, being divided between Ephraim and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, each became elevated to tribal level, if you will.

So you had these 12 tribes plus the tribe of Levi. The 12 tribes received a portion of land. Each tribe got a section of land that was theirs to possess. The Levites did not get a whole tribal land area for the tribe to live in.

Instead, their inheritance, the Lord said, was to serve him in the temple and the tabernacle and temple worship. That was their inheritance. However, they needed to have a place to live. So the Lord arranged in verses 1 through 5 of chapter 35 for the Levites to have cities spread throughout the land of Israel.

Each tribe, tribal area, was to dedicate some cities just for the Levites. And it says in verses 7, it says, all the cities you will give to the Levites shall be 48. These shall you give with their common land.

So they would have the city and then land around that city, so they could farm and raise livestock and so forth. And in verse 8, it says, the cities which you will give shall be from the possession of the children of Israel.

From the larger tribe, you shall give many. From the smaller, you shall give few. Each shall give some of its cities to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance that each receives. So the Levites would then end up spread throughout the nation of Israel.

And I think there is an intention for that to communicate something, and that is, there needs to be spiritual influence throughout the entire land. All God's people need to have the beneficial spiritual influence of those whose life and function is dedicated to the service and the worship of the Lord.

Now, we don't have all the priestly class and the Levites and so forth in the New Testament church era. We don't have that. But what we do have is the need for a spiritual influence constantly within the church.

And just as Old Testament Israel needed to have those who were— you could go to them for spiritual counsel, the Levites were responsible to know God's word and to teach it to others. And everybody throughout the land needed to have that kind of influence.

Well, it doesn't change just in the New Testament era. God's people in the New Testament era need to have the steady influence of spiritual instruction and guidance that comes from, for example, the gathering with God's people in church, where there are gifted teachers and preachers who can take the word and teach the word and proclaim the word.

And then God's people can grow an understanding of what God is like and what God likes, so that they may live accordingly. This is what God wanted from the Old Testament Levites and the rest of the nation.

Cities of Refuge and the Pursuit of Justice

I think it's also interesting that of the cities that were dedicated to the Levites, there were also these cities of refuge, and they're described in the rest of chapter 35. And these were cities that were set aside where, if somebody accidentally killed someone, they could flee to the city of refuge, and they didn't have to worry about a family member exacting revenge for the death of a loved one.

He could go to the city of refuge and get justice, and the case would be heard by the Levitical priests there and decided on the guilt or innocence of that party. So again, there's a message here, and that is that God wants justice in the land.

He wants his people to act with justice and not out of spiteful revenge or emotional hostility. He wants justice. He wants things to be done justly. So there's much to be learned even in this dividing up of the land and giving cities to the Levites.

We can gain benefit from it. Our Father and our God, we thank you for the instruction we can get even from these examples telling us how we need spiritual input in our lives. May we be ready and willing to receive it.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, listen, have a great weekend, and I hope you can get to God's house this Lord's Day and fellowship with God's people and learn from his Word. Get the benefit of that instruction.

Have a good day. God bless.