Companion: Deep Study
A condensed companion to the full study. For each section of the expanded outline: key insights, applications, and the application questions for discussion.
Section 1 — The Levites Plead the LORD’s Command (Joshua 21:1–3)
Key Insights
- The Levites came to Eleazar, Joshua and the tribal heads at Shiloh to receive the cities God had commanded for them (Numbers 35:2).
- Their whole plea rested on God’s word: “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities to dwell in” (v. 2).
- Calvin thought the Levites had been neglected until they spoke, while Keil held that their cities simply had to be assigned last.
- Israel gave cities out of their inheritance, so grace received became grace given (v. 3).
- The Levites’ request points to Christ, who asks the Father on the ground of His finished work and makes our prayers welcome (Psalm 2:8).
Applications
- Pray on the basis of God’s promises, not your own record (1 John 5:14).
- Support those who teach God’s Word as an act of obedience, not optional charity (Galatians 6:6).
- Plead only what God has actually promised, for this passage is no license for ministers’ comfort or for claiming whatever we want (1 Corinthians 9:12).
Application Questions
- When you pray, do you come to God on the basis of your own record or on the basis of what He has promised?
- Is your support of those who teach you God’s Word an act of obedience, or do you treat it as an optional kindness?
Section 2 — The Lot Scatters Levi through All the Tribes (Joshua 21:4–8)
Key Insights
- Four lots distributed forty-eight cities to the Kohathite priests, other Kohathites, Gershonites and Merarites (vv. 4–7).
- The Hebrew goral (lot) looked like chance, but “its every decision is from the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33).
- The priests’ lot fell near Jerusalem, which Calvin called God’s admirable counsel placing them where He would choose His temple.
- Jacob’s curse to scatter Levi (Genesis 49:7) became the means of placing teachers of the law in every tribe.
- This reversal foreshadows Christ, who became a curse for us so that the cursed might be blessed (Galatians 3:13).
Applications
- Receive your place of life and service as God’s appointment, not an accident (Acts 17:26).
- Trust that grace can turn the consequences of past sin into instruments of blessing (Genesis 50:20).
- Do not treat the lot as a method for personal guidance today, because God now guides through His completed Word (2 Timothy 3:16).
Application Questions
- Do you receive your present location, church and calling as God’s appointment, or do you treat them as accidents to be escaped as soon as possible?
- Is there something in your past that you believe disqualifies you from serving God, and how does Levi’s story answer that fear?
Section 3 — The Priests’ Portion: Hebron and the Cities of Aaron (Joshua 21:9–19)
Key Insights
- The priests received the first lot and thirteen cities in Judah, Simeon and Benjamin (v. 10).
- Caleb yielded the city of Hebron to the priests and kept only its fields and villages (v. 12).
- Hebron was also a city of refuge, where the manslayer stayed until the high priest’s death (Numbers 35:25).
- Priestly cities such as Anathoth, Beth-shemesh and Gibeon later became places of prophecy, the ark and the tabernacle (Jeremiah 1:1).
- The manslayer’s release at the high priest’s death points to Christ, whose death frees all who flee to Him (Hebrews 2:15).
Applications
- Be willing, like Caleb, to release what is rightfully yours for the sake of God’s worship.
- Plan for the next generation of believers, as Israel provided for priests not yet born (Psalm 78:4).
- Give freely and gladly, because Caleb’s example must never be used to pressure anyone into giving (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Application Questions
- Is there something that is rightfully yours that God may be asking you to release for the sake of His worship and the ministry of His Word?
- Are you investing in the spiritual nourishment of a generation you may never see?
Section 4 — Refuge from Shechem to Galilee: Kohathites and Gershonites (Joshua 21:20–33)
Key Insights
- Shechem, where Levi once shed blood, became a Levitical city of refuge for the manslayer (v. 21).
- Beeshterah, named for the goddess Astarte, became a home for teachers of the LORD’s law (v. 27).
- Refuge cities stood in the south, center, north and east, open even to the stranger and sojourner (Numbers 35:15).
- Matthew Henry pictured the Levitical cities as a candle in every room of God’s house.
- Kedesh in Galilee points to Christ, whose light dawned in “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Matthew 4:15).
Applications
- Believe that Christ is near to every sinner who calls on Him (Romans 10:8).
- Let Christ reclaim ground once held by idols for His service (1 Thessalonians 1:9).
- Remember that refuge is for those who flee from sin, not for those who wish to keep sinning (Romans 6:1).
Application Questions
- Do you think of Christ as a refuge close at hand, or as someone distant whom you must reach by effort?
- What area of your life still bears the name of an idol, and what would it look like for Christ to reclaim it for His service?
Section 5 — Merari’s Cities and Forty-Eight in the Midst of Israel (Joshua 21:34–42)
Key Insights
- The Merarites received twelve cities in Zebulun, Reuben and Gad, binding both sides of the Jordan to one worship (v. 40).
- The total of forty-eight cities matched exactly what Moses had commanded (Numbers 35:7).
- The Levites lived in the midst of Israel as a sign that the LORD dwelt among His people (Numbers 35:34).
- Several Reubenite and Gadite Levitical towns were later lost to Moab, showing that privilege does not guarantee faithfulness.
- The Levites among the tribes point to Christ, the Word who “dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
Applications
- See yourself as part of a royal priesthood, stationed among neighbors to make God known (1 Peter 2:9).
- Guard against taking spiritual privileges for granted (Revelation 2:4).
- Do not turn the Levitical cities into a model for a privileged clergy or for Christian withdrawal from the world (Ephesians 4:11).
Application Questions
- Where has God placed you in the midst of others as a priest, and are the people around you better able to know God because you are there?
- Are you taking your spiritual privileges for granted, as if having them guaranteed faithfulness?
Section 6 — Not One Word Failed (Joshua 21:43–45)
Key Insights
- The LORD gave Israel the land, rest and victory, exactly as He had sworn to the fathers (v. 44).
- “Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass” (v. 45).
- The land still unconquered reflected Israel’s slackness, not God’s failure, since God had promised a gradual conquest (Exodus 23:30).
- Joshua’s rest was real but not final (Hebrews 4:8).
- Every promise finds its Yes in Christ, the greater Joshua who gives true rest (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Applications
- Trust God’s word more than your circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
- Remember and tell the ways God has kept His promises to you (Psalm 103:2).
- Fight the sins Christ has already defeated, without mistaking this promise for a guarantee of earthly ease (Colossians 3:5).
Application Questions
- Can you trace specific ways God has kept His word to you, and do you speak of them to others?
- Are there sins in your life that Christ has already defeated but that you have left standing through spiritual sloth?
The God who placed His priests in every tribe and let not one good word fall to the ground has given His Son as our High Priest, our Refuge and our Rest, and in Him every promise is Yes.
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