Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Joshua, although they are a bit better formatted than former efforts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, summer 2009, things are looking increasingly bleak with the economy and unemployment, there is a renewal and increase of racism, and godly principles of living being disregarded. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Stay strong and very courageous. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked…Stacey
Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 21 of the Old Testament book of Joshua. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations…
21:1-3 – The Levites receive towns and pasturelands. Numbers 35:1-8.
21:4-5 – The Kohathites receive land in Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, Ephraim, Dan and Manasseh. The Kohathites were descendants of a man named Kohath. Who was he?
21:6 – The Gershonites receive towns in Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Manasseh. The Gershonites were descended from a man named Gershon. Who was he?
21:7 – The Merarites receive towns in Reuben, Gad and Zebulun. The Merarites were descended from a man named Merari. Who was he?
21:8 – Why did the Levites receive pasturelands? Did they raise livestock to be used as sacrificial animals? Or to feed themselves? Their meat came from the portion of the sacrifice brought to them by the people. Maybe the pasture fed milking animals?
21:9-26 – These are the cities received by the Kohathites.
21:9-12 – The Kohathites received Kiriath-Arba (Hebron) from Judah, but the fields and villages belonged to Caleb as his special inheritance.
Remember that Hebron is one of the cities of refuge.
21:21 – The Kohathites received Shechem, the city of refuge in Ephraim.
21:27-33 – These are the cities received by the Gershonites.
21:27 – The Gershonites received Golan, the city of refuge in Manasseh.
21:32 – The Gershonites received Kadesh, the city of refuge in Naphtali.
21:34-45 – The towns received by Merari.
21:36 – The Merarites received Bezer, the city of refuge in Reuben.
21:38 – The Merarites received Ramoth, the city of refuge in Gad.
Why do you think the Levites received the cities of refuge? To insure that justice was done? But that would be the job of a judge. To offer counsel? Perhaps. To accept sacrifices of the repentant – especially in the case of accidental manslaughter? Probably. If you have access to maps, try marking these locations.
• The book of Joshua teaches us many things including the fact that we must pursue a relationship with the Lord for ourselves rather than leaning on others’ relationships with Him. Joshua followed Moses as leader of Israel, after all. What have you learned and applied to your life from today’s reading that will help you persevere in your relationship with Christ?
• How do you observe God proving to Israel that He is with Joshua as He was with Moses in today’s text? How does it apply to your own life and relationship with Him?
• What attributes of God do you see in this book?
• What verse of scripture seemed to be God speaking directly to you? What is He teaching you in these verses? How does He want you to respond?
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