Remember the Levites. (Deuteronomy 21: 1–42)

Welcome:

Welcome to today's episode in which we look into the story of the Levites—the often-overlooked, yet essential, ministers of God's people. Just as many of us remember the sting of being left out on the playground, the Levites remind us how important it is not to forget those whose work underpins our spiritual lives. Join us as we explore how God’s provision for the Levites teaches us about dedication, ministry, and the privilege of serving Him.

Episode Notes

• The Forgotten Ones:
  • The Levites, unlike the other tribes, received no territorial inheritance. Instead, their “inheritance” was to serve in God’s house by caring for the Tabernacle and teaching His Word.
  • Their role was crucial—they maintained worship, preserved the law, and facilitated the spiritual life of the nation.
• Lessons on Ministry & Inclusion:
  • Just as being left out on the playground stings, neglecting those who minister among us can weaken our community.
  • God’s design calls us to honor and support His workers. Proverbs 3:9 reminds us to “Honor the Lord with your possessions,” a principle that extends to supporting the ministry.
• Practical Takeaways:
  • Reflect on how you can contribute to and support the work of God’s kingdom—whether by serving, encouraging, or giving.
  • Recognize that every role, no matter how seemingly small, is part of God’s grand design for His people.
• Broader Spiritual Message:
  • The Levites teach us that our true inheritance is not measured in land or wealth but in our commitment to serve and uphold God’s Word.
  • Let their example inspire you to be an active participant in God’s work, ensuring that no one who serves Him is ever forgotten.

Enjoy the episode as we unpack these insights and challenge ourselves to remember and uplift those who labor in the Lord’s vineyard!

Transcript

Remember the Levites. (Deuteronomy 21:1–42)

Transcript: 

When I was a kid, we would gather on the playground to play ball games usually football, what Americans call soccer.

We’d choose leaders, and then those leaders would pick team members. I’m sure many of you remember the feeling of being overlooked on the playground. Maybe you once felt bereft at when you were not invited to a friend’s birthday party—even if you thought you were one of their friends.  (Expand).

Those experiences of exclusion remind us of a particular group of people in the book of Joshua who seem to have been left out up to this point: They are called the Levites.

God had given the entire land of Israel to His people, and once they conquered it, they set about dividing it among themselves. 

We’ve been hearing about the division of the land about how the 2½ tribes settled on the east side of the Jordan, choosing the land that suited their needs while other tribes crossed the Jordan and moved on. We then saw Caleb boldly declare, “Give me the mountains.” Then the tribes moved on and the tribe of Joseph had its share via his first two sons, though they complained they hadn’t received enough. 

In contrast, there were tribes that did nothing, they were content with what they already had and Joshua had to motivate them to go and fully possess the land that the Lord had given them.

Today, however, our focus is on the Levites in Joshua chapter 21, who I have I’ve called “The Forgotten Ones.”  

So let’s take a look at them today and ask ourselves at the same time how can we overlooking the important things in life....

1 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:

(Joshua 21: 1-3)

In this chapter, we see the heads of the Levites come to Joshua at Shiloh to remind him of God’s command given through Moses, that is to provide cities of refuge and pasturelands for the Levites.

In essence, while the other tribes received their territorial inheritance, the Levites, the key workers in relation of the worship of the Lord in Israel, appear to be overlooked up to this point.

The first three verses tell us this, and then verses 4 through 42 will detail the designation of these cities as their apportionment.

To understand the spiritual principle here, we need to remind ourselves of who the Levites were. 

The Levites were the dedicated workers for the Lord within the nation of Israel.  Levi was the third son of Jacob, one of 12 sons as described in the Book of Genesis, and the forerunner of the Tribe of Levi, which includes the Levites and the Kohanim as Levi who had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 

Kohath then had several sons two sons of which were Moses and Aaron, and it was Aaron whose descendants became the priests, the Levites 

Not every single son of Aaron’s line was a priest as others supported the work of the Tabernacle in other ways, but only sons of Aaron (As Levites) could become priests.

Each Levitical family had its own function in the work and worship of the Lord. Some descendants of Aaron handled the sacred objects—the Ark, the table of showbread, the candlestick, and the altars for burnt offerings. 

A subsequent Levitical family, the Gershonites, were responsible for the curtains, the tent, the hangings for the doors, and the courts, as well as dismantling and reassembling the Tabernacle each time it moved. 

The Merarite’s clan/family took care of the planks, the metal and wooden bars, and pillars. 

In short, the Levites as a whole ensured that every aspect of worship was properly maintained.

There is one more point about the Levites that is particularly important in the context of the Old Testament economy.

In Deuteronomy we see that their role was not only central to worship but also vital to the nation’s well-being.

In Deuteronomy Moses tells us more about the role of the Levites among the tribes of Israel. The says the Levites are to teach the nation about the judgments and the law, as well as to offer incense and present whole burnt sacrifices before the Lord.

So they are to do what they do, but they are also to teach why they do, what they do.

This reveals an essential truth about the Old Testament: the Levites were appointed to teach God’s Word. They had various functions, but all were united by this responsibility. The functions of the entire tribe of Levi were to preserve Jehovah’s law in all its integrity and purity, ensure that its requirements were met with precision, and transmit it faithfully to the people. 

In many ways, the Levites were like the spiritual ministers of their day.

The job of a pastor/minister, in the New Testament as described in Ephesians 4, is to teach the Word of God and equip the saints. 

But here in the early parts of the Old Testament long before kings and prophets dominated the Old Testament narrative, God used the Levites—His dedicated ministers—to lead His people in worship and instruction. 

Initially, their leader was Moses, who delivered Israel from Egypt and guided them through the wilderness. Later, Joshua took the helm, and when his leadership ended, God will raise judges to carry on His work. 

Through all these phases—from Moses to Joshua, and especially during the time of the judges—God’s Word was still faithfully taught by the Levites.

We sometimes focus on the dramatic stories in the bible as important touch point in our faith, but what often gets overlooked is the day-to-day ministry that sustained the nation. 

In our churches today, the Levites should remind us that being involved in the ministry of the Lord is our privilege and inheritance, no matter how small a part we play. And everyone has an important role to play.

Notice the unique aspect of the Levites inheritance. It was recorded in Joshua 13:14 and reiterated in Joshua 13:33—and again in Joshua 18—that the tribe of Levi would receive no territorial inheritance. Instead, their inheritance was the Lord Himself: the sacrifices brought to the Tabernacle, the tithes, and the honor of serving in the priesthood.

In other words, their privilege was to be directly involved in God’s worship, which was, in itself, their inheritance.

There is a parable that the Lord once told about a vineyard owner. In the parable, the owner hires a worker early in the day, then again he hire others in the morning, at noon, and even in the late-afternoon—each time promising to pay the same wage: one penny.

Now, the worker hired in the morning worked all day yet received the same amount as the worker who started later and what this parable teaches is that what matters is not money, but the privilege of working in the Master’s vineyard. 

In other words, being involved in the Lord’s work is itself an inheritance, a reward far beyond any material gain.

That is precisely what God declared regarding the Levites. Their inheritance wasn’t measured in land or wealth; it was simply, their inheritance to be at the center of the worship life of the people. 

For those of you serving in the Lord’s work, you should always try and remember that your sacrifice is part of your divine inheritance. It is not primarily about receiving, but about the joy and honor of ministering for God. 

I’ve often marveled that I now get some financially supporteto help me do what I love, and would do anyway, I just now able to spend more time doing it and able to invest time in trying to do it better.

How should one be compensated for engaging in work that fulfills the heart, and what you believe is God’s calling on your life anyway?

However, although God specified that the Levites were not to receive large tracts of land as an inheritance, they were to be given individual towns and cities. 

Turn with me to Numbers 35:1, where the Lord instructs Moses to how to apportion this.

On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns. 3 Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for the cattle they own and all their other animals.

(Numbers 35: 1-3)

The passage then goes on to detail the dimensions of the common land and designates six cities of refuge among a total of forty-eight cities.

The point is simple: God declared to the Levites, “Your inheritance is Me, and your inheritance is My work.”  But notice then He instructs the children of Israel to provide for the Levites from their own possessions in order to facilitate them in doing their work of service.

This brings us back to Joshua 21, where the heads of the Levites remind Joshua and the leaders that God should not forgot them. In response, the people provided the Levites with the cities and common lands as God had commanded.

Friends, the lesson is clear: God’s will is for His people to support His work, which for us today means those called to do his work as ministers of the faith and the Word instead of working is the usual ways should be freed up to minister to us full time.

As the Levites were given their inheritance by serving God, so too is our a call upon people life to be involved in the Lord’s work full time even though as I said that is a great privilege.

And if you called to full time or part time Christian work then try a remember to focus on cherishing the opportunity to labor in His vineyard, knowing that our reward is not merely what we receive in practical terms but should primarily come from the joy of serving the eternal King.

God calls us all to give consciously, as an act of our will and an act of worship, a response born out of an inner conviction that His work is worth supporting. 

Paul tells us in Second Corinthians that God loves a “cheerful giver.” It’s not about being pressured or manipulated by a tear-jerking appeal; it’s about a genuine commitment from the heart. So if your connected to a church or worshipping community in any way, the God calls you to support that work with both time and financial resources.

Now, let’s shift our focus to our text. Beginning at verse 4 and going through verse 42, we learn that there about the cites allocated.

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. 

20 The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim: 21 In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shechem (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Gezer, 22 Kibzaim and Beth Horon, together with their pasturelands—four towns. 

23 Also from the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24 Aijalon and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—four towns. 25 From half the tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—two towns. 26 All these ten towns and their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.

27 The Levite clans of the Gershonites were given: from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Be Eshterah, together with their pasturelands—two towns; 28 from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion, Daberath, 29 Jarmuth and En Gannim, together with their pasturelands—four towns; 30 from the tribe of Asher, Mishal, Abdon, 31 Helkath and Rehob, together with their pasturelands—four towns; 32 from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Hammoth Dor and Kartan, together with their pasturelands—three towns.33 The total number of towns of the Gershonite clans came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.

34 The Merarite clans (the rest of the Levites) were given:from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam, Kartah, 35 Dimnah and Nahalal, together with their pasturelands—four towns; 36 from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer, Jahaz, 37 Kedemoth and Mephaath, together with their pasturelands—four towns; 38 from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Mahanaim, 39 Heshbon and Jazer, together with their pasturelands—four towns in all. 40 The total number of towns allotted to the Merarite clans, who were the rest of the Levites, came to twelve.

41 The towns of the Levites in the territory held by the Israelites were forty-eight in all, together with their pasturelands.

So, 48 cities are mentioned here, scattered throughout the land of Israel—an area about the size of New Jersey or all of Yorkshire in the UK with six designated specifically as cities of refuge. 

These cities were set apart specifically for the Lord’s workers, those entrusted with teaching His Word throughout the land. 

One author put it this way: the cities were strategically located throughout the region so that, through the ministry of the Levites—those who served in the sanctuary and walked daily among the people—God’s covenant and laws could be exalted, encouraging everyone to follow Him wholeheartedly. 

The future success of Israel depended on the pervasive, salt-like influence these servants of God would have amoung the people.

One ancient writer expressed it this way:

“They willing obey the divine command here. They provided cities from among their own inheritances without fear of impoverishment or sacrificing their own interests. The generous provision for the ministers of the sanctuary ensured that God's work could flourish.”

(Origen's On First Principles, 1: 3-5. Butterworth translation.)

What fascinates me is that by obeying the Lord’s command to support His work, the Levites became instruments through which the word of God spread throughout the land. 

That is exactly what God desires still today. If we merely give to meet a budget or support current needs, His work remains static. 

But if we give as God intended, joyfully, regularly, and in proportion to what we have then His treasury will overflow, enabling the gospel to be spread further than we could ever imagine.

This passage also reminds us that God's people can sometimes just forget to support His work and they need to be reminded. In Joshua 21, the Levites had to plead their own cause because the people had forgotten about them at this point. 

John Calvin noted, “They were neglected until they pleaded their own cause.” Today I’m reminding you to remember this principle in case those who minster among you are too humble or focused on the work themselves to remind you regularly. We can too often focus on our own affairs and give to the Lord only as an afterthought.

 Proverbs 3:9 instructs us to , “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase.” 

This is my favorite verse on giving. It reminds us that our giving should be an act of worship—first and foremost. 

Let us not be like the Israelites of old in this passage, who only remembered themselves and providing for their own needs and had to be reminded to honor God. 

Instead, let us commit to supporting His work from the very first of our resources, giving joyfully and wholeheartedly, as an expression of gratitude for all that He has given us.

I read a story. of a lady in Africa who had a small bakery business, and she made reasonable money from that and she gave to the Lord cheerfully and proportionally through her local church.

The thing is she became ill and she couldn't work and for a period of time there was no way she could give for she had no income. Finally, she recuperated and she said to a local minister in my first week back at church and back at work She said if I make my usual £3.00 a week I.m was going to give a third of it to make for the time I couldn’t give to the Lord. 

Two days later she showed up and handed £1.00 to the minister. The missionary said wow, business must be booming you mean you made three pounds in two days. It would normally take you a week to make £3.00  

She looked at him and said, No, I didn’t wait until I got £3.00, before I gave the first £1.00 to you. I've only made £1.00 so far but the Lord wants me to give the first part of the money I earn this week.

That's how God wants us to remember him, to give him the first fruits.