These lists of cities emphasize that God sovereignly provides a particular place for each of his people.

The tribe of Judah is going to live in this part of Canaan. Here is their southern border, here the east, the west, and the north. Precise and specific—this will be the place where they must serve God. This is the land which they must inhabit and look after.

As new covenant believers we do not have a list from God telling us where we are to live in this world. In the new creation things might be different, but today we decide where to live based on work, family, and a true church. And most of us do not have that much control over those decisions. You do not decide which family you are born into. You follow your partner when it comes to work. You live in the same house as your parents. You look for employment in areas where you know there are true churches.

You might be disappointed with your lot and there is nothing wrong with working hard to improve your circumstances, but as we do so let us remember that this is where God has sovereignly placed us. We are living in the twenty-first century, not the sixteenth. And this is a time of great fear and uncertainty. Our family, our school friends, our neighbourhood, our nine-to-five job—all these circumstances have been ordained by God. He is in complete control of all the details. Our lives have been ordered; they are no accident.

This is a truth which we can quickly forget when things do not quite work out the way we want them to—for example, when we have transportation problems or when the economic conditions and political realities frustrate us. But let us not live in the past or pretend as if we can ignore reality. God has ordained that we live today in whatever town we might find ourselves. He has placed each one of us in different relationships and circumstances. He provides his people with a place for service.