21. The Guidance Found In Influence.

(Joshua Chapter 21)

Promises fulfilled. Rest. Victory.
"The Levties were given forty eight towns with their pasturelands. This distribution provided a spiritual influence over all the people, since no one lived more than ten miles from a city in which Levites lived."

That is the note (in quotes) that is on the bottom of my NIV Ryrie Study Bible.

​The entire 21st chapter details the allotment of land to the Levites by the Israelites.

​I think verse 3 has an really interesting note that we can miss if we aren't paying attention.

(v.3) "So, as the Lord had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:" (bold/italics mine)

The Lord knew the Levites would invest what they could (support, guidance, and standing through the battle with the Israelite people) and had a plan for how at the end of it all, they would be provided for.

When we give out of what we've inherited, we aren't being generous, we are being obedient. I'll say that again, because it bears repeating.

(*50) Giving out of our inheritance isn't generous, it's being obedient.

Go back to what we learned a few chapter ago when we talked about the covering. It's the same concept. Taking care of other people has never been a suggestion from the Lord, yet we treat it as a hashtag and content for viral videos to feel better about ourselves when we do.

It was as if, built in all along, you can sense the Lord knew the Israelite people then,  every generation since, and us now would need a reminder of where they came from, and who has protected/provided for them all along.

The older I get the more I realize that our life is less and less about arriving, and more and more about providing. We are provided example after example from the Lord about how to live our life. How to conduct ourselves and care for others. How to seek his face, and bring joy to the faces of others. How to pursue his heart, and have a heart for others. Rinse and repeat. Day in and day out.

(*51) We see victory as resting when we have 'enough'.

(*52) God sees victory as resting in his promises so we can give to others.

The Israelites were ready to settle in and catch their breath. And then the Levites came to ask for their needs to be met so they could rest. And not a moment of pushback. Actually, quite the opposite. The opportunity to be obedient. And the Israelites were.

Then the end of Joshua 21...

(v.43) "So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of its 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." (bold/italics mine)

And there it is again...

Promises fulfilled. Rest. Victory.

And last but not least, in the midst of this blessing, was set up the continued guidance for the future found in the spiritual influence from the Levites.

By having the Levites live every ten miles or so amongst the Israelites, the Lord gave us a REAL good look at what he intended for his church to look like one day. That we wouldn't be but a short journey away from those who remind us that our Heavenly Father wants to do life with us, each day.

PERSPECTIVE POINTS

(*50) Giving out of our inheritance isn't generous, it's being obedient.
(*51) We see victory as resting when we have 'enough'.
(*52) God sees victory as resting in his promises so we can give to others.