A Provision for the Priesthood

Well, why don't we stand one more time? If you would, open your Bibles up to the book of Joshua, chapter 21.

And then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eliezer the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel. They spoke unto them at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, saying, "The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, 'Give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof, for our cattle.'" And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites, out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the Lord, these cities and their suburbs.

Let's pray. Father, as we look into this provision here for the priesthood, for the Levites, I ask, Lord, that You would reveal Yourself to us in the pages of Your Word. This here before us tonight is Your Word speaking to us. Father, You want us to hear something important tonight, I'm sure. I pray that You would speak to us and help our ears to be open, Lord, and our hearts attentive, that we would hear what the Spirit has to say to this church here in Escondido on July 19th, 2003. Lord, we just ask that You would meet us here again. In Jesus' name, amen.

You can go ahead and be seated.

We saw last week how the children of Israel made cities of refuge for the manslayer. For anyone who would kill someone unaware, if that were to happen, this person who had killed someone unaware was to run to this place of refuge and hide out there so that the kinsman would not be able to come and take that person's life until they went before the congregation. There, the congregation would try this person to see if they had killed that person in premeditation or if it truly was an accident. If it were an accident, then that person was to stay, the manslayer was to stay in the city of refuge for all of his life or until the high priest had died.

God had made a provision in His law and in His Word that there were to be cities of refuge in the land of rest. God had made this land of rest for His children, for His people. It was promised to them way back in the book of Genesis, chapter 12, when God spoke to Abraham and said, "I'm going to give you this country and this area to your descendants." Over a period of time, God made a provision in His law, and after 400 plus years, the children of Israel finally came into that promised land. God did give to them the rest that they desired and the rest that He wanted for them.

He desired for them. But on top of that rest, God provided for them cities of refuge, as we saw last week. Now we see the children of Levi, of the tribe of Levi, one of the twelve tribes, come to Joshua and Eliezer. These Levites were the priests. They were the ones that God had ordained and called to serve in the temple and throughout the nation of Israel.

One of their jobs, which we talked about briefly last week, was to keep the cities of refuge. They were responsible for ensuring that everything was well-kept, that the roads, the signs, and everything pointed to the cities of refuge. Those six cities we discussed last week were given to the children of Levi, the tribe of Levi. In addition to those six cities, other cities throughout the nation of Israel were also designated for them.

You may remember that the children of Levi were not given an inheritance. We looked at that a couple of weeks ago when we were in chapter 13 of Joshua. Back in the book of Numbers, chapter 35, it states that the Lord spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab, near the Jordan by Jericho, saying, "Command the children of Israel that they give unto the Levites out of their inheritance a possession—cities to dwell in. You shall also give unto the Levites suburbs for their cities round about them."

God made a provision for these men, the Levites, who were not going to receive an inheritance. He ensured that they would be given cities out of the inheritance of the other twelve tribes. God's command to Moses in Numbers chapter 35 was clear: when the people enter the land and receive their rest, they are to give to the tribe of Levi an inheritance among the inheritance of the children of Israel. This provision was to support these men who had dedicated their lives to the nation and to the service of the Lord.

It was by the commandment of the Lord that Joshua now hears from these Levites. They come to Joshua and Eliezer, the high priest, and they say that Moses commanded this provision be made for them, that they would be given these cities to dwell in throughout the nation of Israel. They express their desire to have these cities because, as mentioned, they were not given an inheritance. God told them in Numbers chapter 18...

The Lord spoke unto Aaron, "Thou shalt have no inheritance in the land, neither shalt thou have any part among them. I am the part; I am your part and your inheritance among the children of Israel." You see, there was something special about this tribe, the tribe of Levi. They were set apart for some reason that hopefully we'll get to the bottom of tonight. This group of people was designated by God, who said to them that they would not receive an inheritance in the land. They would not have a lot cast, nor would they be given a portion of land, because God said, "I am your inheritance."

They would be given a portion and provision, but they were to look to God for everything. In Deuteronomy chapter 10, verse 9, we read that God promised this tribe, these Levites who were to be the priests, that they would not receive an inheritance because He was their inheritance. It was a promise from God, and it was a good thing for these Levites that they were to look to Him.

I mentioned several weeks ago, when we were in the book of Joshua, that in Joshua chapter 13, verse 14, we saw that only unto the tribe of Levi did Joshua give no inheritance. "The sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel, made by fire, are their inheritance," as He said unto them. Again, in Joshua chapter 13, verse 33, it states that unto the Levites, Moses gave no inheritance. "The Lord God of Israel was their inheritance," as He said unto them.

There was, as I've said, something special about this group, these Levites, these men that God had called. They were not given an inheritance in the land because there was something specific that God had called them to. But why were they not given an inheritance? We find the answer if you turn in your Bibles to Genesis, specifically Genesis chapter 49. In Genesis 49, we have the death of a patriarch. This chapter portrays for us the story of Jacob, whose name was also Israel.

And there he is on his deathbed, calling all his family to himself. He calls his twelve sons to him and begins to speak blessings, as well as some curses and prophetic words. Jacob addresses his sons in Genesis 49, verse 5, where he blesses and curses some of them prophetically. That would be quite a difficult thing to hear from your dad.

Imagine going to see your father on his deathbed, knowing he is preparing to join his forefathers. Jacob says to Reuben, his oldest son, "You are my oldest. You are the beginning of my strength, the excellency of my power. But you are unstable as water, and you will not excel." He then goes down the list to his next two sons, noting that there is something definitely different about them, especially this group, the Levites.

As we read this portion of Scripture in Genesis 49, it doesn't sound like they were very special. If I were God, which I'm not, and you can thank God for that, I don't think I would want to set instruments of cruelty aside to be my priests—the ones who would come to me on behalf of the people and go to the people on my behalf. Yet, God often does things differently than we might expect.

In verse 6, we gain more insight. Jacob says, "Oh, my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united. For in their anger, they slew a man, and in their self-will, they dug down a wall." Jacob tells Simeon and Levi that they are instruments of cruelty. In their anger, they killed someone, and in their self-will, they destroyed a wall.

Again, if I were God—and thank God I'm not—would I want to choose people like this to be my priests, the ones who would represent me to the nations?

Would I want to pick some guys who were self-willed, angry men, and who slew other people? Probably not. There in verse 7, Jacob continues. He says, "You guys are to be cursed. You're not going to receive a full inheritance. You're going to be scattered in the nation of Israel."

Now, you may think, well, just a couple of weeks ago, we were looking at how Simeon was given a portion of land in the southern part of the nation. And you're right; they were. They were given a portion out of the tribe of Judah. Right in the middle of the tribe of Judah, Simeon, this also cruel and angry tribe, was given a portion of land.

But you know what? As you follow the Old Testament and the word all the way through, you see that the tribe of Simeon, right after they took their portion in the southern part of the land, left their portion and began to be scattered throughout the rest of the northern tribes of Israel. They no longer stayed in their portion. They were scattered, just as the words of their father, Jacob, had said. "You guys were cruel. You guys were angry. And because of that, you're to be scattered."

Well, the Levites, too, were to be scattered throughout the nation of Israel. They were not going to receive a full inheritance, a full lot, because of something they did. Because they were angry. Because of their self-will. Because they slew a person.

But what exactly is Jacob talking about? To get to the bottom of this, we're going to talk about the story of Jacob. To get a little bit more information, let's go back further, back to Genesis chapter 34. The 34th chapter of the book of Genesis contains another interesting story. You know the Bible is full of all kinds of very intriguing stories.

I pray that you take some time to read through the material we are looking at and to dig a little bit deeper to see the things that God wants to speak to you. It's not just my place to come up here and speak to you, or Pat's place, or Richard's place, or Mark's. God desires that each one of us would dig into the Word. You're going to find all kinds of interesting stories, especially as we get ready to go into the book of Judges after the book of Joshua. We'll find all kinds of very intriguing things there in the book of Judges.

But back to Genesis chapter 34. Here we find Jacob, the father of the nation. His name was changed by God just a couple of chapters before in Genesis chapter 32 to Israel. You guys know the story, hopefully. Remember, there was Jacob by the river, getting ready to go back into the land of Canaan.

He had fled from the land of Canaan years before because his older brother Esau wanted to kill him. You see, Esau was supposed to receive a blessing, but his brother, the blessing burglar, came along and took it. His brother deceived Esau when he came in from the field one day. Esau was a burly guy and a hunter before the Lord. He came in tired from hunting, and his brother Jacob, who was kind of a homely fellow, was there making some food, specifically a bowl of beans.

Jacob, being a smart man and a businessman, said to Esau, "Well, give me your birthright. Give me your blessing, and I'll give you this bowl of beans." Esau sold his birthright and his blessing for a bowl of beans. He didn't really care about it too much at the time. However, when the day of reckoning came, when he was to receive a blessing and a double portion, his younger brother Jacob deceived him again. You know how Jacob went before Isaac, put the skins on his arms, and tried to make himself smell different. He deceived his father, whose eyes were going blind, and received the blessing meant for Esau.

Esau was filled with anger. He was so furious that he said he would kill Jacob. At the counsel of his mother, Jacob fled, and his father sent him away. He ran far to the east, back to a place called Haran, to his mother's descendants and her brother Laban. There, he served Laban for the next twenty-some years, and the Lord multiplied him greatly. At this point, he had two wives, two concubines, and twelve children.

Now, Jacob was returning to the land, fleeing from his father-in-law Laban. Finally, Laban caught up with him and was pretty angry because Jacob's wife Rachel had stolen the household gods. You might wonder what that has to do with anything. Well, if a son-in-law had the household gods, it served as an identification card that he was the one to receive the inheritance. By stealing the household gods, Jacob was, in essence, stealing the inheritance.

From Laban. Laban was really ticked off about this and very upset. They made a covenant with each other, committing that neither one of them would cross this line or go across the river to each other for evil.

Jacob was now ready to go into the Promised Land and return home, but he realized he couldn't go back because his uncle Laban might kill him. He also couldn't go forward because Esau had threatened to kill him. He was very worried. That night, he wrestled with God, and the Lord changed his heart and his name from Jacob to Israel. He was a broken man. When he returned to the land, he was restored with his brother, who decided not to kill him. Esau said, "The Lord has blessed me; I have an abundance as well, so you can live in the land too."

However, right after that, we come to chapter 34, where Jacob camps just outside a place called Shechem. In Genesis chapter 34, verse 1, we read that Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. So now Jacob is camping just outside of Shechem, and he has a daughter named Dinah. She goes out to meet the ladies in the land, and when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the country, saw her, he took her, lay with her, and defiled her.

As Dinah entered the town called Shechem, there was a man in the town named Shechem, whose father was the king. This man, Shechem, was the prince of the place and held a high position. He took this young lady, who was very beautiful, and sexually assaulted her. He raped her and defiled her.

Then, in verse 3, it says that his soul clave unto Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved her and spoke kindly to her. Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, "Get me this damsel to wife." Shechem had taken Dinah, Jacob's daughter, and lain with her. He had defiled her and raped her, but then he fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. He went to his father, the king of the city of Shechem, whose name was Hamor, and said, "Get this woman for me to wife."

In verse 5, we see that Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled Dinah, his daughter.

And now his sons, the twelve sons of Jacob, were with the cattle in the field. Jacob held his peace until they came. Hamor, the father of Shechem, went out to Jacob to commune with him. The sons of Jacob came out of the field, and when they heard what had happened, the men were grieved and very wroth. They were angry because he had wrought folly in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, which ought not to be done.

Hamor communed with them, saying, "The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. I pray that you would give her to him to wife. Make marriages with us. Give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade therein, and get possessions therein." Shechem said unto her father, Jacob, and her brethren, "Let me find grace in your eyes. Whatever you shall say unto me, I will give. Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give it unto you according as you shall say unto me. But give me the damsel to wife."

Shechem expressed his regret, saying, "Hey, guys, listen. I'm sorry I did this, but I'll give you whatever you want. Whatever dowry you ask for, I'll give it to you. But I want to marry your sister, Dinah, this daughter of yours, Jacob." He insisted, "Give her to me to wife, and I will do whatever you ask me to do."

The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor, his father, deceitfully because he had defiled Dinah, their sister. They became very angry with him and had a little shouting match. They said unto him, "We cannot do this thing and give our sister to one that is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach unto us. But in this, we will consent unto you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised, then we will give you our daughters, and we will take your daughters unto us, and we will dwell with you and become one people. But if you will not hearken unto us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone."

Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son. The young man did not delay to do this thing because he delighted in Jacob and in Jacob's daughter. He was more honorable than all the house of his father. Shechem said, "I will do whatever you've asked me to do."

If that's what you're calling me to do, then that's what I'll do. Shechem and Hamor went back to the city of Shechem. They went to the city gates and spoke with all the men, all the elders of the city. They said, "Listen, this is what's going on. This is the proposition that they've laid out before us." Somehow, they convinced all the men of the city to go through with this.

In verse 24, Hamor and Shechem hearkened to all that went out unto the gate of the city. Every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city. They all consented to do this. All the men that went in and out of that city gate agreed to be circumcised. I think I probably would have moved.

It came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that the two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword. They came upon the city boldly and slew all the males. They slew Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword. They took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went out. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and spoiled the city because they had defiled their sister. They took their sheep, their oxen, their asses, and everything that was in the city and in the field, along with all their wealth, their little ones, and their wives. They took them as captives and spoiled even all that was in the house.

So, Simeon and Levi, after these men of the city consented to be circumcised, acted three days later when they were in pain. Simeon and Levi, the second and third born sons of Jacob, took up their swords and went into this town. They killed every single male there, including Shechem and his father Hamor. Then they took all the women and children as captives, along with all the gold, silver, sheep, oxen, and everything else, and they took it back as spoil. They spoiled the city.

Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have troubled me to make me stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I bring few in number, and they shall gather themselves together against me and slay me, and I shall be destroyed, I and all my house." Simeon and Levi replied to their father, "Should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?" Jacob then spoke to his sons.

Why have you guys done this? You've troubled me here. We're just a small group of people, and now all the other people around here are going to gang up on us and take us out because you did this wicked thing, this evil thing. Oftentimes in Scripture, there are such sad and disgusting stories—things that take place that are lessons for us. God desires to teach us something through this.

This tribe, this group of people, the Levites, were set apart for a special task, yet they were a cursed people who did a wicked thing. Their father cursed them and said, "You guys are going to be scattered throughout the nation." How could you do this thing to kill all of these people? You're instruments of cruelty. You're self-willed. And yet, God is able to take that which is crooked and make it straight. He's able to take that which is broken and make it whole. God is the one who's able to fix things.

Every single one of you in this room is a testimony to God's amazing power to take something that was broken and to fix it, to restore it. Here was this tribe, the tribe of Levi, who were cursed, destined to be scattered through the land. They had done something wicked, and they were self-willed, yet God wants to take this group of people and do something good.

So how did this group of people who were cursed become the group of people that God would say, "You're my priests"? We find that story in the book of Exodus, specifically Exodus chapter 32. You probably know the story. There was Moses on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights, receiving the law from God. God was inscribing the law on tablets of stone. It's actually God's autograph, pretty much. He's using His finger to inscribe it on these tablets of stone.

Moses was fellowshipping with the Lord, communing with Him for forty days and forty nights. Scripture says that during that time, he did not eat or drink. While he was on top of the mountain, down below, the people began to say, "What has happened to this guy? Where did he go? He's gone. This guy who's brought us out of the land of Egypt has left us. We don't know what's happened to him."

And so they went to his brother Aaron and asked, "Aaron, where did your brother go? We have no clue." They urged him to make gods for them to worship. Aaron replied, "You give me the gold from your earrings, your nose rings, and all these other rings that you have, and we'll put them together to make a god." He threw the gold into the fire, and it says in verse four of chapter 32 that he received the gold from their hands and fashioned it with an engraving tool after he had made it into a molten calf. He proclaimed, "These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." What absolute blasphemy!

Aaron, a Levite himself, said to his brothers and sisters in the family of Israel, "I don't know where Moses has gone either, but you bring me your gold, and we'll make a god." He fashioned for them a golden calf. Interestingly enough, that was one of the things worshiped in Egypt—a calf. He brought this golden calf before the children of Israel and declared, "These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."

Meanwhile, Moses was up on the mountaintop with Joshua. As the scripture continues, we find that there was a great noise coming from the nation of Israel below. Moses approached Joshua, who said, "Man, it sounds like there's a war going on down there." Moses replied, "No, that's not the sound of war. That's the sound of singing. Someone down there is having a party."

Moses and Joshua went down the mountain, with Moses carrying the tablets of stone on which God had written His law. When he saw what was happening—people dancing around the golden calf and engaging in a huge orgy—he took the tablets of stone, the Ten Commandments, and cast them down, breaking them to symbolize to the nation, "You've already broken the law of God." Just forty days earlier, they had said, "All that God has said, we will do." Three times the children of Israel had made that promise.

Now, Moses came down the mountain with the tablets of stone and said, "You guys haven't even read the tablets of stone yet, and yet you've broken God's law." He cast the tablets down against the mountain, and they broke. Then, in verse 26 of Exodus 32, it says, "Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp."

And he said, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me." And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. He said unto them, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor." The children of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

How did God take this group of Levites, these cursed men, and change them into His priests? They were the only ones who followed His word. You see, earlier in the book of Exodus, around chapters 24 and 25, God had said that all the firstborn sons of all the tribes in the land of Israel were to be the priests. It was God's desire that every firstborn male child from each family in Israel would be the serving ministers of God's house. Yet, they forsook the word of the Lord, all but one tribe—the tribe of Levi.

Moses asked, "Who's on the Lord's side?" Levi came to him, and he said, "Strap the sword on your side." The sword. Of course, we know the word says that God's word is like a two-edged sword. They were the ones who knew how to minister and use the word. They were on God's side, and they decided and desired to follow God. Moses instructed them to take the sword, put it on their side, and go through the camp, slaying every man his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor who was involved in the sin that was occurring at that time. That day, three thousand people fell.

It's very amazing for me to note—there are no coincidences in Scripture—that on the day the law came down, three thousand men were killed. But if you look in the book of Acts, chapter 2, on the day when the Spirit came down, three thousand people were saved. Why? Because 2 Corinthians 3:6 tells us that the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. The law kills, and Moses made that very clear that day when he came down and broke the tablets before the children of Israel, saying, "You guys have broken it."

And he said, "Who's on the Lord's side?" The Levites came to him, and he said, "You go through and you kill anybody who's sinning." The law had already stated that if you serve any other God, as per the very first commandment, then you are to be put to death. So, on that day, those who were serving this false God, who were bowing down to this golden calf, were killed. The law that day killed 3,000 men.

However, the Spirit, 1,500 years later, would save 3,000 men as the Spirit came down. God's word is so perfect throughout. On that day, the Levites were given a blessing. In Exodus chapter 32, verse 26, we read that Moses had said, "Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, even every man upon his son, upon his brother, that God may bestow upon you a blessing this day." God bestowed upon the Levites, the tribe of Levi, a blessing. He poured out upon them this great blessing.

Beforehand, He had said that every firstborn son in all the families of Israel would be His priests. But on that day, He said, "The tribe of Levi, I am bestowing the blessing upon you. You shall be my priests. You shall be the ones to whom I am giving the call, the ordination to serve me in the temple, in the tabernacle, and to serve the people throughout the nation, overseeing the cities of refuge. You are the ones."

Why? Because they were on the side of the Lord that day. They were willing to take up the sword, even against people they knew—cousins, brothers, sisters—and say, "What you're doing is not right." Are we willing to do that? Are we willing to take up the word of God, the sword of the Spirit, even if it goes to one of our brothers or sisters, and say, "You know what? What you said today, what you did today, that attitude that you had, that's not right. God's word says this."

I believe the Lord is looking for those people. The eyes of the Lord look to and fro throughout the whole earth, searching for people like that—whose hearts are loyal to the Lord, who are on the side of the Lord, and who will say, "Whatever you call me to do, Lord, if you call me to take up your word, even to someone that I love."

I'll go and I'll say it, even though it may offend them and hurt them. I believe when God sees an individual who is willing to do that, He says, "You are one that I'm calling to be a minister of Mine." That doesn't mean that you'll be a minister full-time, serving at a church in a paid position, but you will be a person whom God says, "I want you to serve Me," because you're willing to take up the Word and you're willing to stand strong for Me.

The eyes of the Lord are looking for someone in this room, in all the churches across the land. God is looking for people who are willing to be like the Levites, who will stand up and say, "That lifestyle is wrong," or whatever it may be. That's what God is really looking for from His church. He found it in this group of men, these Levites. They were not going to be given an inheritance; they were cursed. They would not receive an inheritance in the land; they were to be scattered. But God made a provision for them too.

I believe it was God's will that they would be scattered. You see, God desires that His ministers, His priests, be throughout the whole world, throughout the whole nation, not just clumped together in one little small church or one little small place where people drive by and say, "Hey, that's where all the real believers work and live," but they never go outside those city walls. No, the Lord desired that they would be scattered throughout the whole nation of Israel. God has planted every single one of you in strategic places throughout this nation with influence upon people. It is God's desire that you and I would be scattered in those ways.

It was God's desire that these Levites be scattered that way too. He made a provision, and He told Moses there in Numbers 35, "When you come into the land and you receive rest and refuge, I want you to give to the Levites these cities." So, there in Joshua chapter 21, the Levites came to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun, and they said, "We desire that you would give us our provision, a provision for the priesthood." I believe it is God's desire to provide for those whom He has called to be priests.

Every single one of us in this church who believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us in 2 Peter chapter 2 that we are a royal priesthood. God makes provision. So, these Levites came to Him and they said...

You remember the word that Moses gave, that we were to be given cities to dwell in and suburbs thereof for our cattle in the end of verse 2. Then, in verse 3, the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance. The children of Israel said, "All right, we're going to give to you out of our inheritance at the commandment of the Lord these cities and their suburbs." The lot came to the families of the Kohathites.

Levi had three sons. The first son was named Kohath. The children of Israel, specifically the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Simeon, and the tribe of Benjamin, 13 cities. The family of the Kohathites was given 13 cities out of the inheritance of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. The rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe of Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh, 10 cities. Thus, another 10 cities were given to the rest of the family of the Kohathites from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh.

In verse 6, we see the children of Gershon, the second son of Levi. To the children of Gershon, they had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, 13 cities. This next group of Levites was also given 13 cities out of the inheritance of these other tribes.

Then, the children of Merari, the third son of Levi, by their families, had out of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun, 12 cities. The children of Israel, in verse 8, gave by lot unto the Levites these cities and their suburbs as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.

Starting in verse 9, all of these cities are mentioned by name, and you can take a look at those later. It goes all the way down through the next several verses, down to verse 42. God names every single one of these 48 cities that were given to the Levites. The tribe of Levi was given a provision because they were God's priests. They were not given an inheritance, but out of the inheritance of all the other 12 tribes, they were given a provision. Now we know why they were the priests.

And we know why they were the priests and what they were given, but what does it have to do with us? Two things. First, God cares for His people. The first thing, if you're taking note, is that God cares for His people and thus He provides. God cares for His people, and so He provides. He provided for all His people, all the tribes. He provided this beautiful land, this land of life and this land of rest. He had given them cities of refuge.

So, God provided for their physical needs, number one, in the land. He provided for their physical needs with the land, but He provided for their spiritual needs with the Levites. He gave them the land for their physical needs, but He gave them the Levites for their spiritual needs. The first thing that we can take out of this passage of Scripture tonight is that God provides for us, His people, by giving us land, by giving us jobs, and everything that you have. All the talents you have to do the job that you have, whatever degree you may have, are gifts from God.

You may think, "I worked so hard to go to such and such a school to get this degree," but you know what? God is the one who gave it all to you. That land that you have, He has given to you because our God is faithful and He provides for our physical needs. Yet, on top of that, God provides for every single one of our spiritual needs as well. He does this by putting over us Levites—those who are ministers, who speak to us the Word of God, who encourage us, challenge us, or rebuke us. God has given those to us because we have a spiritual need, and they have been put over us.

Now, I may be a pastor at this church, but I'm yielded to the pastors of this church, and I also receive teaching and instruction from all kinds of different pastors. If I'm listening to the radio or whatever it may be, God has provided for my spiritual needs too.

So, the first thing that we take from this portion of Scripture is that God provides for His people, and He provides for our physical needs and our spiritual needs. Secondly, God provides for His priests through His people. God provides for His ministers—those who work full-time for the Lord—through His people. That is God's desire. But I want us to note a couple of things about that.

Because we hear today, and we see on TV, you can turn on TBN or one of the other channels and see people who are considered ministers of God. They stand before the people of God and say, "You need to give me money. You need to provide for my needs. You need to do this." I don't see that in Scripture. It's wrong. It's absolutely wrong.

God does desire to provide for His ministers, those who are serving Him full-time. He does use the people of God, His people, to make that provision. But notice how it happened. Let's look back at verse 1 of Joshua 21. Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eliezer, the high priest, and unto Joshua, the son of Nun. Joshua, we've already looked at, is a type of Jesus.

But who is this Eliezer? What is he a type of in Scripture? His name literally means "helper." If you turn to the New Testament, you don't have to turn there, but in John chapter 14, verse 16, Jesus says, "I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another comforter or helper that He may abide with you forever."

Then again in John chapter 14, verse 26, Jesus says, "But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you."

So who is Eliezer? Who is the helper? Maybe if you haven't gotten it quite yet, in John chapter 15, verse 26, Jesus says, "But when the comforter, the helper, is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, He shall testify of Me."

And then one more in John chapter 16, verse 7, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth. It is expedient for Me to go away. For if I go not away, the comforter or the helper will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send Him unto you."

Eliezer, whose name means helper or comforter, is a picture in Scripture of the Holy Spirit. So who did the Levites, the priests, the ones who were called by God...

To minister to God in the temple and in the nation, who did they go to for provision? They didn't stand before the people on TV or whatever it may be and say, "You need to provide for me. Send your money to this address." They didn't do that. Instead, they went to Eliezer, the priest, the Holy Spirit, and to Joshua, the son of Nun, a picture of Jesus Christ. They brought their request to them and said, "Listen, we have need." Then Joshua and Eliezer stirred the people to provide. That's how God works.

We have a need here at Calvary Chapel. We don't stand up before you and say, "We need you to provide for this." We go before the Lord and say, "Lord, if you desire to do this, then you provide." And you know what He does? He stirs your hearts by His Holy Spirit. We don't have to say a word to you. We don't have to say we have this need. A lot of times, the Lord just provides—miraculously—as we're faithful to go to Him.

Now, I do see one other thing here in verse 1. They also went to the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel. When I have a need as a pastor at this church, I go before the Lord first and say, "Lord, would you provide for this need?" Practically, I also go to the elders sometimes of this church and say, "This is my need." The heads of the fathers of the tribes of Israel were like the elders.

But it's not our desire here at Calvary Chapel, nor do we see in Scripture, to stand up before you and say, "This is what we need. This is what you need to do," because that's not in Scripture. Instead, the Levites went to Eliezer the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and said, "We need, we have this need. We need your provision." They went and stirred the people, and God provided for His priests. God is so good to always do that. He provides for those who have provision and have a need.

I thought this was interesting as well. Did you know that the priesthood is really in the genes of the Levites? I'm serious. You may think I'm nuts, but the Levites, those of the tribe of Levi, it really is in their genes. Just a couple of years ago, starting around the mid-1990s, there was a group of Jewish scientists over in Israel who began to do a study.

To see if these men who said they were from the tribe of Levi, who believed that they were descendants of the Levites, were indeed who they claimed to be, scientists conducted a study. Have you ever met someone with the last name Cohen? That name comes from the Hebrew word Kohen, which means priest. There was a group of these people who claimed, "This is our last name. We're of the tribe of Levi. We believe that."

In this study, scientists found something interesting. On one of the chromosomes, specifically the Y chromosome, they discovered six unique genes that were specific to this group of people. The overwhelming majority of those with the name Cohen or who believed they were of the tribe of Levi, when tested, showed that genetically speaking, it really was in their genes. This finding is quite impressive, especially since it was not known until just a few years ago. In fact, it was cited in one of the British medical journals in 1997.

In Israel, there has been a long-standing effort to identify true Levites. Why? Because there is a desire to rebuild the temple, and when that happens, Levites are needed to run it. However, they cannot simply take someone's word for it and say, "Well, we think you're a Levite." Just in 1997, they actually obtained proof that these men are who they say they are. As of the year 2000, there were 200 Levites training in a Levite seminary in Israel, preparing to be the priests in the temple when it is rebuilt.

What does this tell me? It tells me that Jesus is coming soon. He is coming back quickly. But until He does, He has called you and me to be His priests to this world. We are a royal priesthood. In fact, the Bible says in that very same verse in 2 Peter that we are a peculiar people. Looking around, I do see some pretty strange individuals. We are a peculiar group of people, but God has called us, as cursed as we once were, as broken and crooked as we once were, to be His priests to this world. He desires to use us, and we can trust that He will provide for us. He said that He would.

God always provides for His people. He has provided for our physical needs, this land that He has given to us, and the life that we have. He has also provided for our spiritual needs, those Levites that He has put over us. He has called us to provide for them; that is what God has called us to do. But I will let the Spirit of God speak. I will speak to you on that because it is not my place.

The scripture says that when we have need, we, as the priests of God, are to go to the Lord by His Holy Spirit and ask of Him who gives all things liberally. There is no shadow or variation of turning with Him. He is the Father of lights who delights in His children, and every good and perfect gift comes from Him, just like we sang tonight. When we have need, we need to go to Him, to Eliezer the priest and Joshua the son of Nun, and seek of Him, and He will provide. We can trust Him.

In verse 43 of Joshua chapter 21, we read, "And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which He swore to give unto them, unto their fathers. And they possessed it, and they dwelt therein." What does He want us to do in this life that He has given to us as believers? He wants us to lay hold of it. He wants us to possess it. Paul said, "I press on that I may lay hold of that for which God has laid hold of me." That is what God wants us to do. The land, the life that He has given to you and to me, He wants us to possess it, to lay hold of it, and then to dwell therein.

To dwell in that land that He has promised to you and to me. The Lord gave them rest round about. So many people in this world are seeking after rest. Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He is the rest that we need. He is all we need. The Lord gave them rest round about in verse 44, according to all that He swore unto their fathers. There stood not a man of all their enemies before them, and the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.

Note this verse; I have underlined it in my Bible. You should underline it, circle it, draw arrows to it, and write "important" next to it. "There failed not ought one good thing of anything which the Lord gave them, which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel. All came to pass. There failed not a word." That word "ought" in the King James...

Is not a word of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel. All came to pass. Maybe just one more time so we get it. There failed not ought any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel. All came to pass. He swore to them that he would bring them home, bring them in, and give them rest. That he'd pour out upon them. And he did. Every good thing that he said, he did. It all came to pass in my life and in yours. God will do the very same thing. He will give you the land for you to dwell in it and possess it. He will give you the rest that he desires for every single one of us in this room. And he will not fail. Everything will come to pass.

If tonight you're not possessing the land that God has given to you and you're not dwelling in that faithful land that he wants you to have, and if tonight you don't seem to have rest, maybe it's because you're trying to do it all on your own. You're trying to labor. Jesus would say, "Come to me, you who labor and are heavy burdened, trying to do it on your own." I have a burden for the Lord. I hear that from a lot of people. "I got a burden to do this and a burden to do that." Well, is it God's burden? And if so, lay it down at his feet. He'll give you rest and he'll show you what to do. It's how God works.

But there failed not one good thing, any good thing, of all that the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel. All came to pass. Is that your testimony? Is that mine? If it's not, maybe we're striving. Maybe we're trying too hard to make it happen in my life and in yours. And God would say, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened. I'll give you rest."

Let's pray. Lord, I do thank you for your word. It is so applicable to us, and you desire to speak to us tonight even as we go. So God, I pray that you'd help us not to soon forget your word tonight, but to take it to heart. Lord, that everything that you've promised, not one bit failed. It all came to pass, Lord. And you've spoken great and precious promises to us, and it will come to pass in our lives. None of it is going to fail because you never fail. We thank you for that. In Jesus' name, amen.