Not a Word Failed of Any Good Thing Which the Lord Had Spoken, Joshua 21

 

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105.

Step by step.

Like a 3,400-year-old puzzle which pictures a treasure map to the Promise Land. In the book of Joshua, God lays, in exacting detail, each piece in place; tribe by tribe, border by border, family, city.

Step by step.

Wednesday, we talked about how Jesus, our Divine Example, followed this Divine pattern. He said and did nothing, except that which was instructed by His Father.

His Passion and Mission, is Driven by Divine Eternal Purpose. Step by step, He stayed within the boundaries set for Him. Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:6-8.

Multiple times Jesus said, He only did, He only said, what He saw and heard from His Father. He willingly, obediently, restricted Himself to the borders of man, and there, inside His Divine Eternal Purpose, nothing was impossible for Him.

We also have a Divine Eternal Purpose. The verse we just quoted about Jesus, “coming in the likeness of men” begins by saying: Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5.

So therefore…

Our Passion and Mission should be as His, driven by Divine Eternal Internal Purpose.

Step by step.

There, in that place, within those borders, nothing is impossible. 

Today in Joshua 21, we lay one of the last pieces of the treasure map in place.

Lord willing, we will walk through all of chapter 21. It’s only…45 verses.

Here the rest of the 48 cities are given by lot to the tribe of Levi; the Levites, God’s ministers.

A little background.

Like a good leader, Joshua was last to receive his inheritance at the end of chapter nineteen.

As, Israel transitioned from dropping giants, to toppling trees for houses, fences, plowing fields and planting seeds. Rather than swinging swords, they were swinging axes…

ax-idents happen. 

So, to prevent innocent bloodshed, God opened chapter twenty by telling Joshua to set up six cities of refuge; (sanctuary cities for folks who accidentally slay someone). There we learn about slayers and avengers of blood. Those cities were Levitical cities. They belonged to the Levites.

God got the ball rolling by reminding Joshua to set up the cities of refuge, but that wasn’t nearly enough for all the lonely Levites who were still sitting there with no place to call their own. According to Numbers 26:62 there were 23,000 Levites.

Which brings us to chapter twenty-one.

Joshua 21:1 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites came near to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel.

The Levites, are those God chose to carry out the responsibilities of the tabernacle. They were not given a land allotment like the others. Their inheritance wasn’t land, but the Lord of the land. They can be considered a type and shadow of those called to full-time ministry.

NOTE:

This applies to us too. 1 Peter 2:9 calls us “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”

They were last, so too are we, in these last days.    

All scripture is by inspiration of God, and everything written in times past, is for our instruction, endurance and edification. Romans 15:4, 2 Timothy 3:16

The Levites had a meeting with the leaders of the other tribes of Israel, and Eleazor the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun (noon).

Notice that even though they’re God’s ministers, they followed protocol and respected the chain of command.

God’s ministers are called to serve, not be served.

We are all ministers.

Thus, it’s appropriate, they were last. Last, but certainly not least. Jesus said, the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. Matthew 20:16.

The Levites were last, however, they lived off the first fruits of the others.  

 

² And they 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 common-lands for our livestock.”

Shiloh, is the new headquarters, of the tabernacle, where the presence of God dwells. The tabernacle will stay in Shiloh for over three hundred years.

The common-lands, are a five-hundred-yard perimeter around the city for livestock and growing food for themselves—not for profit. They didn’t have grocery stores or Instacart or Amazon or pizza delivery.  

Notice what they did. Assembled. Remembered. Requested, using the Word of the Lord.

They assembled at Shiloh. Forsake not the assembling together... Hebrews 10:25.

The Levites remembered the Word of God as it related to them. Bless the Lord, O’ my soul, and forget not His benefits…Psalm 103.

They let their request be made known.  …let your requests be made known unto God… Philippians 4:6-7.

It wasn’t just handed to them on a silver platter, while they did nothing.

 

³ So the children of Israel gave to the Levites from their inheritance, at the commandment of the Lord, these cities and their common-lands:

In God’s economy, there’s always more than enough.

America and Israel, have most closely adapted God’s system of governance, and have of most nations experienced His abundance. Yet, we’ve both fallen far short, and have turned from the wisdom of His ways. We’re suffering the severe consequence of such foolishness.

 

⁴ Now the lot came out for the families of…

Forty-eight cities, Divinely selected by lot, strategically spread, to saturate the entire nation with God’s ministers. These include the six cities of refuge.

God has done the same with His Church today. Not necessarily as in stained glass and steeple, but His Church—His people (ekklésia).

Please know, that where you live, and work, and play, is by Divine orchestration, so He can influence His world, through your Divine Eternal Purpose.

Here’s a map of their locations. We won't read all the details from verses 5-42.

You’re welcome.

But know they are important enough to God to include in the Bible. Just as the details of your life are so important to God, He even knows the number of hairs on your head. YOU are important, very important, to God.

Drop to verse 43.

 

⁴³ So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. ⁴⁴ The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.

 

The Lord is a Giver.

God is a Giver. Religion takes. satan takes, steals, kills, destroys.

God gives.

For God so loved the world that He gave…

 

We see here, He gave, possessions, rest and victory.

Possessions.

The Lord gave… land  

The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof. Psalm 24:1.

Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be added unto you. Matthew 6:33.

My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. Philippians 4:19.

 

Rest

⁴⁴ The Lord gave them rest all around…

Come unto Me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28.

 

Victory

The Lord delivered all their enemies…

In all these things we are more than conquerors. Romans 8:37.

 

Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass. Joshua 21:45.

 

The Lord is a Promise Keeper.

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one jot or tittle of God’s word. Matthew 5:18.

He has given exceeding great and precious promises. 2 Peter 1:3-4.

Man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word… Matthew 4:4

The Word will not return void but will prosper… Isaiah 55:11

 

No enemy could stand. Not a Word failed, of all they took and dwelt within. God is faithful. Hallelujah. Amen.

If only we could take a snapshot of that verse and end with, “and they all lived happily ever after.”

Only problem with that is, the Bible is not a fairy tale. And we’re called to examine the whole counsel of the Word of God. We know from what we’ve been told previously in Joshua, that alas, there’s more to the picture. We know, that although God was, and is, faithful to every jot and tittle of His Word, we aren’t. Israel wasn’t.  

God gave victory for the battles they fought, not the ones they didn’t. Thus, the battles they didn’t fight, were by default, lost.

They left giants in the land. They compromised. They didn’t utterly destroy and drive out all the inhabitants of the land, as they were commanded by God to do. They failed to completely cleanse the land. Like leaving some of the cancer, some of the infection. It may be in remission, the land at the moment is at rest; but alas, it will come back with a vengeance and kill, steal and destroy. A little leaven, leavens, the whole. 1 Corinthians 5:6, Galatians 5:9.

The commission from God is no compromise.

To receive their inheritance, they had to take possession, and dwell, in the land.

So too, must we.

For you, God has a life, a future, an eternity, of abundant blessing above and beyond all we could ever ask or think. A Promise Land. A Paradise. However, in Revelation, Jesus only offers heaven to overcomers.

Salvation is a free Gift, given by grace. However, receiving it is more than a one-time, “I do” at an altar, but an ongoing commitment, to dwell, for all of this life and the next. Forever.  It’s a sacred vow stronger and longer than that of a wedding, which only lasts until death do us part.

He requires what He gave. Life. We must die to ourselves, daily, so He can live in and through us continually. Romans 12:1-2.

An insurance policy against going to hell, is of no avail come judgement day. Matthew 7:21.

A belief that goes no further than head knowledge is useless—the devils believe more than that and tremble. James 2:19.

God has a Divinely allotted Promise Land a specific arena for you to reach certain people and meet select needs. He will provide the means, the power and grace to fulfill His will. In these areas, nothing will be impossible. Because it is there, in that place, it is Him, working through you.

However, outside the borders of His Divine Eternal Purpose, we’re tossed like a rudderless ship in the wind. James 1:5-8.

Let’s pray.

Lord, here and now, we make a vow, to commit to You, without compromise, forever. Please help us see the borders You’ve allotted for us, and help us to hear Your Voice and follow. We want our passion and mission to be in hot pursuit of Your Divine Eternal Purpose. Help us to leave it all on the field, to be able to say, we fought a Good fight, we finished our course, and most of all, that we know for sure and certain, that at the end of the day, we’ll hear You say, “Well done.”

We love You, forever.

Amen.