As we consider the cities of the Levites, we should remember that the Lord was their true inheritance (Joshua 13:33). That is to say, the privilege of intimate relationship with God was their true inheritance. More important than any city, town, or field in Canaan was the privilege of knowing God and dwelling with him. That is where the true inheritance of Israel was to be found.
This message was taught to Israel through the fact that the Levites did not receive any land or cities to call their own. Their very existence marked them out as pilgrims and strangers in Israel—pilgrims because they did not have any land.
In this they were meant to be a living example to the people of Israel: their true home is in God’s presence. Human beings were made for relationship with God; the Israelites were redeemed for relationship with God and they must not forget this. The land of Canaan is not ultimate, it was a temporary place for fellowship with God, a picture of the glorious future that awaits those who trust in Christ. Eternal life in God’s presence awaits believers (Revelation 21:1 – 22:21)—eternal life in a new creation that is not ruined by sin, a new creation where there will be real land and full joy.
This was the true hope of old covenant believers. As the book of Hebrews tells us (Hebrews 11:8–19), Abraham looked forward to the city not built by human hands. He knew that life in Canaan was not ultimate; he knew it pointed beyond to something else.
The very presence of the Levites was meant to be a constant daily reminder that there is a rest which remains for God’s people (Hebrews 4:9). A reminder that life in this world will not and cannot provide us with everything we want or need—there will be pain, there will be frustration—we are wanderers. Forty, fifty, or sixty years in this world and then, just like a breath, we are gone.
It makes no sense therefore to set your roots in this world, chasing after riches and comfort. It makes no sense to forsake God’s laws for temporary gain. You who would live in the land must know this, so that you will not set your eyes on what is seen but what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Today the same message holds true for us. God is our inheritance and our hope is not the best life now but the best life to come with Christ in glory. That is the hope that must flow through our blood and warm our bones. That is the hope that ought to inspire costly obedience in the here and now.
1 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel.