Joshua 21:1-16: a reflection

1Then the heads of fathers’ houses of the Levites came near to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel. 2They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “The LORD commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their pasture lands for our livestock.” 3The children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of the LORD, these cities with their pasture lands. 4The lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. The children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had thirteen cities by lot out of the tribe of Judah, out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin. 5The rest of the children of Kohath had ten cities by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh. 6The children of Gershon had thirteen cities by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, out of the tribe of Asher, out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 7The children of Merari according to their families had twelve cities out of the tribe of Reuben, out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun. 8The children of Israel gave these cities with their pasture lands by lot to the Levites, as the LORD commanded by Moses. 9They gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are mentioned by name: 10and they were for the children of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for theirs was the first lot. 11They gave them Kiriath Arba, named after the father of Anak (also called Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, with its pasture lands around it. 12But they gave the fields of the city and its villages to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession. 13To the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the man slayer, Libnah with its pasture lands, 14Jattir with its pasture lands, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, 15Holon with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands, 16Ain with its pasture lands, Juttah with its pasture lands, and Beth Shemesh with its pasture lands: nine cities out of those two tribes.

When the land is divided among the tribes of Israel, one tribe receives no territory of its own: the Levites, set apart for the service of God. Instead of a region to call their own, they are given cities scattered throughout all the tribes. They had no single inheritance of land, because, as Scripture explains elsewhere, the LORD himself was their inheritance and their portion. Their reward for serving God was not property, but God himself.

Notice what the Levites received, and did not. They did not receive a territory, a portion of land to possess as the other tribes did. What they received instead was God himself as their inheritance, the privilege of belonging to him and serving him, with God himself as their portion and reward. It might have looked like they got less; in truth they received the deepest treasure of all, God as their inheritance.

That points to a deep truth for all who serve God. The deepest reward of following God is not the things he might give, the land, the blessings, the provision, but God himself. He is our portion, our inheritance, our reward; to have him is to have everything, even if we hold little else. Like the Levites, we may find that what God gives us above all is himself. Do not measure the reward of following God only by the gifts he gives. The truest inheritance is God himself, and if you have him, you are rich, whatever else you may lack. Let the Lord be your portion and inheritance, and find in him a reward that outweighs all lands and possessions. He himself is the treasure; seek him as your inheritance.

Lord, when the land was divided, the Levites received no territory of their own, because you yourself were their inheritance and their portion; their reward was not property but you. Teach me to see you as my inheritance. Keep me from measuring the reward of following you only by the gifts you give, the blessings and provision. Help me understand that the deepest reward is you yourself, that to have you is to have everything, even if I hold little else. Be my portion, my inheritance, my reward. Let me find in you a treasure that outweighs all lands and possessions, and rest content in having you, whatever else I may lack. You yourself are the inheritance I seek; be my portion forever.