Of course most of the names in this list of towns are lost on us. But as we survey this list, we should remember that these towns were all given to Israel as a gift. These were places which they did not build, land for which they did not labour. God’s people received vineyards and olive groves that had already been planted, houses ready to live in, wells to drink from, streets to walk on, and farmland to harvest. Everything—all the resources which they needed to serve God had graciously been provided.
Coming back to the new covenant and the times in which we live today, we can acknowledge and affirm the same truth. God has promised to provide for our needs—that is what Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer. Whenever we ask for our daily bread, we ask God to give us what we need so that we can serve him in this world. And so the resources which we have this morning—whether they are plenty or few—those resources are sufficient for us to serve God in the places where he has placed us.
We do not have to drive a car in order to love and care for our families. We do not have to live in the biggest house in order to communicate with and disciple our children. We do not need our own room or a special birthday present before we decide to honour and submit to our parents. We can serve God with what he has already given us today. All things come from his hand.
1 The allotment for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans reached southward to the boundary of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin at the farthest south.