Deuteronomy 21
Joshua 21 covers the towns that were given to the Levites as their inheritance after the Israelites settled in the promised land. Overall, the Levites did not receive land like the other twelve tribes of Israel; instead, they were given 48 towns from each tribe and pasturelands for those towns. These towns were assigned to the three families of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, respectively. This chapter shows how these processes were carried out systematically and how God’s promises were fulfilled.
1verseIf someone is found slain in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it isn’t known who has struck him,
2versethen your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure to the cities which are around him who is slain.
3verseIt shall be that the elders of the city which is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer of the herd, which hasn’t been worked with and which has not drawn in the yoke.
4verseThe elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley.
5verseThe priests the sons of Levi shall come near, for them the LORD your God has chosen to minister to him, and to bless in the LORD’s name; and according to their word shall every controversy and every assault be decided.
6verseAll the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.
7verseThey shall answer and say, “Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
8verseForgive, LORD, your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and don’t allow innocent blood among your people Israel.” The blood shall be forgiven them.
9verseSo you shall put away the innocent blood from among you, when you shall do that which is right in the LORD’s eyes.
10verseWhen you go out to battle against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you carry them away captive,
11verseand see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you are attracted to her, and desire to take her as your wife,
12versethen you shall bring her home to your house. She shall shave her head and trim her nails.
13verseShe shall take off the clothing of her captivity, and shall remain in your house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month. After that you shall go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.
14verseIt shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go where she desires; but you shall not sell her at all for money. You shall not deal with her as a slave, because you have humbled her.
15verseIf a man has two wives, the one beloved and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and if the firstborn son is hers who was hated,
16versethen it shall be, in the day that he causes his sons to inherit that which he has, that he may not give the son of the beloved the rights of the firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn;
17versebut he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he has; for he is the beginning of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.
18verseIf a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and though they chasten him, will not listen to them,
19versethen his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city and to the gate of his place.
20verseThey shall tell the elders of his city, “This our son is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey our voice. He is a glutton and a drunkard.”
21verseAll the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall remove the evil from among you. All Israel shall hear, and fear.
22verseIf a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
23versehis body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day; for he who is hanged is accursed of God. Don’t defile your land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance.
The Portion of the Levites and the Meaning of Community
Because the tribe of Levi was responsible for sanctuary-related service, while Aaron’s line carried out priestly duties, they did not receive extensive land like the other tribes. Instead, by being scattered within the land of each tribe and receiving towns, they helped ensure that every tribe could worship God. This means that the presence of the Levites played a spiritual center role for the entire community. By each tribe giving towns from its own portion for the Levites, we can see a message that God wanted the entire Israelite community to live together and cooperate with one another.
The Fulfillment of God’s Promise
In the final part of Joshua 21 (verses 43–45), it emphasizes that every promise God made to the ancestors was fulfilled. God gave them all the land he had promised Israel, allowed them to live in peace, and also defeated all their enemies who rose against them. By repeatedly confirming that not a single promise failed, the passage highlights God’s faithfulness and guidance.
Meditation Points
- You can reflect on the idea that when the things God commands and the order he establishes are faithfully upheld, harmony and blessing for the community are realized.
- Remember God’s character of keeping his promises to the end, and learn that our own life’s promises can also be trusted.
- Even though each person receives different roles and portions, you can think again that all of Israel are equally precious in God’s sight.
Try Applying It to Yourself
- You can examine whether you are practicing sharing and serving with the people around you and within your community.
- Whether the role God has entrusted to you is great or small, check whether you are receiving it with joy and gratitude.
- You can also decide to live with hope and perseverance, trusting in God’s faithfulness and committing to live out the promises that will be fulfilled in your life.
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