Joshua 21

14 6 THEN the children of Judah drew nigh unto Joshua in Gilgal : and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD spake unto Moses the man of God concerning me and concerning thee in Kadesh-barnea. Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land ; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt : but I wholly followed the LORD my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy foot hath trodden shall be an inheritance to thee and to thy children forever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God. And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he spake, these forty and five years, from the time that the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness : and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me : as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, and to go out and to come in. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day ; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakim were there, and cities great and fenced : it may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out, as the LORD spake. And Joshua blessed him ; and he gave Hebron unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, unto this day ; because that he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel. Now the name of Hebron beforetime was Kiriath-arba ; which Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. And the land had rest from war.

15 13 And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, even Kiriath-arba, which Arba was the father of Anak (the same is Hebron). And Caleb drove out thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. And he went up thence against the inhabitants of Debir : now the name of Debir before time was Kiriath-sepher. And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kiriath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my

17 daughter to wife. And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it : and he gave

18 him Achsah his daughter to wife. And it came to pass, when she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field : and she lighted down from off her ass ; and Caleb said

19 unto her, What wouldest thou? And she said, Give me a blessing ; for that thou hast set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.

19 49 And the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun in the midst of them : according to the commandment of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim : and he built the city, and dwelt therein.

20 1, 2 And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Assign you the cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses : that the manslayer that killeth any person unwittingly and unawares may flee thither : and they shall be unto you for a refuge from the avenger of blood. And he shall flee unto one of those cities, and shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city ; and they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver up the manslayer into his hand ; because he smote his neighbor unawares, and hated him not beforetime. And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days : then shall the manslayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled. And they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. And beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh. These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person unwittingly might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.

21 1 Then came near the heads of fathers’ houses of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel ; and they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to 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, according to the commandment of the LORD, these cities with their suburbs.

And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites : and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.

And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses. And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are here mentioned by name : and they were for the children of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi : for theirs was the first lot. And they gave them Kiriath-arba, which Arba was the father of Anak (the same is Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it. But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

And unto the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with her suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Libnah with her suburbs ; and Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs ; and Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs ; and Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs ; nine cities out of those two tribes. And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs ; Anathoth, with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs ; four cities. All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs. These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them : thus it was with all these cities.

So the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers ; and

44 they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he swore unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before 45 them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not aught of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

[The cities of the Levites omitted in the text.]

6. We infer from the words and attitude of Caleb, and from the similar privileges afterward accorded to Joshua, that Moses had, by direction of the Lord, given these two a right of special and personal choice. This on account of their exceptional faithfulness, and as the sole survivors of the generation to whom the land had been given. Of this Caleb now reminds Joshua, and in words of such vigorous faith as make us love still better the tried old warrior of Jehovah. Appearing at the head of “the house of fathers,” in Judah of which he was the head, he first refers to the past, then owns God’s faithfulness in having preserved him to the age of eighty five, with strength and courage undiminished for the holy war. From verse 9 we infer that when the twelve spies distributed themselves singly over the land for the purposes of their mission, Caleb specially “searched” that “mountain,” which was the favorite haunt of the dreaded Anakim. A. E.—We see in Caleb a life built on God’s promise. Five times in his short speech does he refer to the word which “the Lord spake.” On the first mention of it, he includes Joshua as the joint recipient of the promise, but in the others he speaks only of himself when he is urging his claim founded on it. A true reliance on God’s word makes it a personal word, however many besides may have a portion in it. “He loved me and gave himself for me” is faith’s version of “He so loved the world that he gave himself for it.” A. M.

7. I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. That what came from the simple impulses of his heart was well pleasing to God, shows that his heart was right with God; and that he had formed true conceptions of his character, his designs, and his covenant relations to Israel. A good understanding have all they that seek God—all they that love him; and they can venture to speak all that is in their hearts, knowing under what influence their judgments have been formed. This was the case with Caleb.

8. I wholly followed the LORD my God. In this all his secret, all his distinction, lay. He wholly followed the Lord—he had no reserve, no secondary objects, no fears, no regard to human influence or man’s opinions. Kit.—The energy of the expression is well preserved in our version. The words give the idea of a traveller, who, intent upon following his guide, so treads in his steps as to leave hardly any void space between. As he had obtained this testimony from God himself, it was not vain-glory for him to speak of it, especially as this was the main ground on which he had become entitled to the object of his petition. It is not pride but simply a tribute of due acknowledgment to declare what a gracious God has done for him. Bush.—His language corresponded to his name, which means All-heart. He said then, “Let us go up at once and possess the land,” not merely let us attempt it, since faith in Jehovah’s promises assures him of success, “for we are well able to overcome it.” His sole and firm dependence was on Jehovah: “It may be that the Lord will be with me, then I shall drive them out” (verse 12). He believed God’s word to Judah (ch. 1:2), “Behold I have delivered the land into his hand.” According to his faith it was to him. A. R. F.

He twice quotes the never-to-be-forgotten phrase which he had received from God, that he “wholly followed the Lord.” The old soldier’s cheek may well flush and his eye glitter, as he repeats the General’s “well done.” The commendation is high. Caleb had kept close behind his divine guide, and had not allowed fear or sloth or sense to shape his course. But, high as the praise was, it was God’s judgment on his act, and he might well say it of himself after God had said it of him. He beautifully adds “my God” to the divine eulogium, thus unconsciously showing the root of his thorough obedience in his personal devotion, by which he had made the “God of Israel” (verse 14) his God, whom he possessed by faith and love, and who possessed him. Thus the old man looks back on the long stretch of eighty-five years, and sees in them two things,—God’s preserving care and his own clinging to God, his leader and support. And still, a life of trust and following Christ however imperfectly does yield calm remembrances, which nothing else does, and for the lack of which nothing can compensate. If we would lay up for ourselves against old age the treasure of such calm and humble memories, we must in youth and manhood choose God for our God, and take heed to follow him though we may be singular; and to do it wholly. A. M.

10. And now behold the LORD hath kept me alive.** It was the Lord that did everything for him. He does not exult in the strength of his constitution, on which time had made so slight impression. Notwithstanding his consciousness of strength even in age—he does not venture to think himself equal to this great enterprise, unless the Lord were with him. Kd.—The dates given in this brief personal history of Caleb avail to show that this transaction was seven years after the crossing of the Jordan. Caleb being forty years (verse 7) of age at the mission of the spies from Kadesh-barnea and eighty-five now, the difference (forty-five) allows thirty-eight years for the remaining wilderness sojourning, and seven for residence in Canaan. These seven years measure the duration thus far of the wars of the conquest. H. C.

A man who wholly followed the Lord at forty is all right at eighty-five. The panic of his fellow-spies and the threatened stoning by the people made no differences at twoscore. He has no more fear of giants and walled cities at fourscore and five. He never for a moment lost his confidence in God’s promise or his expectation of its fulfilment. That land was his from the instant of promise, as much as heaven is ours from the instant we claim the promise that was left us. Bp. Warren.

He considered the promise a gift of Hebron to him; and Joshua concurred in the opinion. For five and forty years he had kept this word “hid in his heart,” and now he puts out a hand, unweakened by age and long-delayed fulfilment, to grasp the realization,—a grand example of steady, persistent faith, which waits for the vision, though it tarry, and buoyantly welcomes it when it comes at last! A life thus filled with trust in God’s faithful word has ever present instalments of accomplishment, as brooks by the way, to keep its hope fresh. The prolongation of Caleb’s life was the pledge to him of the fulfilment of the remoter promise. Faith, which looks forward to yet unfulfilled promises of an inheritance, is strengthened by a backward look on a life which, however commonplace its separate incidents may have seemed as they occurred, is discerned in retrospect to have been all of God, and all good. Such a life has hope burning as a guiding star to the very end. The heart which trusts to his sure word may make certain that, for this life, it can never outlive its joys nor its hopes, but that “to-morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant:” and that, after all earthly hopes have gone out in darkness, that hope which is set on God shall “abide.” God keeps his children alive in the wilderness, and brings them, after the desert, to the mountain of their inheritance, “whereof the Lord spake in that day.”

This “old young man,” as Thomas Fuller calls him, followed the Lord wholly; therefore he “brought forth fruit in old age,” and the aged tree was “full of sap and green” in all its gnarled branches. In a very true sense, a man may keep himself young all his days. A youth and manhood of Christian sobriety and self-restraint, temperate, chaste, and free from the “sins of youth,” which rot “the bones” and “lie down with” their victims “in the dust,” is likely to conserve physical vigor. A life of Christian devotion and faith will keep its spring flowers blowing till late autumn, and blossom and fruit will hang together. The buoyancy, carelessness, hopefulness, cheeriness of youth are not far away from the aged heart, which lives by faith, and therefore dwells at ease, and is glad and secure, though the shadows of evening be falling. “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” The perfection of life is to carry on to each stage the best of the preceding, harmonized with the best of the new. A Christian old age may be like Mount Heela, which bears snow on its crest and a fire in its heart.

12. Caleb and Joshua had seen all that the other ten had, but everything depends on the eyes which look. The others had measured themselves against the trained soldiers and giants, and were in despair. These two measured Amalekites and Anaks against God, and were jubilant. They do not dispute the facts, but they reverse the implied conclusion, because they add the governing fact of God’s help. How differently the same facts strike a man who lives by faith, and one who lives by calculation! Israel might be a row of ciphers, but with God at the head they meant something. Caleb’s confidence that “we are well able to overcome” was religious trust, as is plain from God’s eulogium on him in Nu. 14 : 24. The lessons from it are that faith is the parent of wise courage; that where duty, which is God’s voice, points, difficulties must not deter; that when we have God’s assurance of support, they are nothing. Now, Caleb claims his portion because God has given it him, and he urges his request for a chivalrous reason,—“Give me this mountain; . . . for . . . the Anakim were there, and cities great and fenced.” That is the true temper of the Christian soldier, seeking the hardest, not the easiest, work, and finding in danger an attraction. How nobly it has been exemplified in many a mission field, to which, whenever disease has smitten down one, two have been ready to go! To-day American and English Christianity is showing that the old heroic fire burns yet, in the men who, on the Congo and elsewhere, have hazarded their lives for the name of Jesus, and been drawn to the field by its very dangers. Paul made a long stay at Ephesus, because a great door and effectual was opened, and there were many adversaries, and he knew the door to be effectual, just because the adversaries were many. Caleb’s spirit is the true spirit for Christ’s soldiers. A. M.

12. Another point which greatly interests us is to mark the combination of manly courage with humble acknowledgment of God which characterizes the speech of Caleb. He is prepared to take his possession with his good sword, yet he trusts for success not in his prowess, but in the blessing of God; nor, in his might, is he afraid of the fortresses or the power of the Anakim. We also should not desire success without our own personal and best exertions—whatever our calling be. Yet do we look for it, not from our own labor, but from the blessing of God; and in that struggle we fear no foe. A. E.

14. Caleb’s readiness for one more fight was fed by his reliance on God’s help in it. When he says, “It may be the Lord will be with me,” the perhaps is that of humility, not of doubt. The old warrior’s eye flashes, and his voice sounds strong and full, as he ends his words with “I shall drive them out, as the Lord spake.” That has the true ring. What were the three Anak tribes, with their barbarous names, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, and their giant stature, to the onset of a warrior faith like that? Of course, “Caleb drove out thence the three sons of Anak,” and Hebron became his inheritance. A. M.—“Add to your faith manliness,” says Peter. Courage to avow and to obey your faith. Most failures in conduct are preceded by failures in courage. To face duty as well as danger requires hardihood of spirit. Now observe the magnificent manliness of Caleb. It gleams through his report as a spy. It is apparent in this choice of the as yet unconquered territory. It comes out in the energy of his old age. And this simple quality in one man was of incalculable service to Israel. We all need this quality. More manliness would mean less falsehood, less failure, less wretchedness of apprehension, more enterprise and grand success. And godliness begets it. For godliness gives larger thought, greater dignity, scope for grand purposes, consciousness of help laid up in all providential law and processes. By communion with God man attains calmness, wisdom, strength, and help. Glover.

13. The claim thus made was immediately acknowledged, Joshua adding his blessing on Caleb’s proposed undertaking. But it was many years later that the expedition was actually made. A. E.—15:14-10; Ju. 1:10-15. The reconquest of Hebron and vicinity occurred after Joshua’s death. It is inserted in Joshua as appertaining to the history of Judah’s allotment. Crosby.—Hebron was one of the most ancient towns in Palestine, built “seven years before Zoan in Egypt;” originally called Kirjath-arba, from Arba the father of Anak, it afterward received the name of Mamre, and was the scene of some of the most remarkable events in the lives of the Patriarchs. The town is prettily situated in a narrow valley, the sides of which are clothed with vineyards producing grapes still reckoned among the finest in Palestine. For a long period Hebron was the centre of the tribe of Judah, and in the extensive vineyards which surround it, producing the vine and grape, which were always, among the Jews, the type of the blessings of Jehovah, we may see “the choice vine” by which “Judah was to bind his foal; he was to wash his garments in wine, his clothes in the blood of grapes.” Wilson.

17. This Othniel, who thus signalized himself when he was young, long after, in his advanced years, was led by the spirit to be both a deliverer and a judge in Israel, the first single person that presided in their affairs after Joshua’s death. H.

18. As was the father, so was the daughter, the worthy offspring of a worthy sire, no degenerate child, but large-hearted, like the whole-hearted Caleb. Her father gave her in marriage to the victor of Kirjath Sepher, a stronghold of the enemy. Othniel, though urged by Achsah, was too modest to ask anything more from his father-in-law, having received from him the best of earthly gifts, a devoted wife. But Achsah knew her father’s generosity and readiness to give, and that he only needed to be asked. Caleb did not even wait to be asked, but observing her eagerness anticipated her with his question, “What wilt thou?” “Give me a blessing,” was her reply; “thou hast given me a dry land, give me also springs of water.” So he gave her the upper and the nether springs; that is, springs on the higher and the lower ground. We need the upper and the nether springs. All that is good for us here below, and the fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore above. God begins by giving the upper and heavenly blessings, and promises, if we make them our first desire, He will add with them the lower (Matt. 6 : 33). So that we shall experience that “godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” A. R. F.

Joshua’s Inheritance.

49,50. It was not until they had “made an end of dividing the country,” and all other just claims had been satisfied, that the unselfish and public-spirited ruler received his own inheritance. The true nobility of Joshua’s character shines out conspicuously here. He who might have claimed the first and largest share of the spoils of victory postpones his right to that of the meanest of his people. A special portion had been promised to him by God, as to Caleb, as a reward for “following the Lord fully” in the matter of the spies. But he calmly waits till all have received their portions before he “asks” for his own. And then it is no widespread district, no province, that he requires, but just one city. “They gave him that which he asked, and he built the city and dwelt there:” the name given to the city—Timnath serah, “the portion that remains”—recording the fact that the conqueror’s inheritance was the last assignment made in the whole distribution of his conquests. E. V.—Joshua was last served, though the eldest and greatest man of all Israel, and who, having commanded in the conquest of Canaan, might have demanded the first settlement in it for himself and his family. But he was content to be unfixed till he saw them all placed; and herein is a great example to all in public places, to prefer the common welfare before their particular satisfaction. Let the public be first served. He had his lot, according unto the Word of the Lord; it is probable, when God by Moses told Caleb what inheritance he should have (ch. 14 : 9), he gave the like promise to Joshua, which he had an eye to in making his election, which made his portion doubly pleasant, that he had it, not as the rest, by common providence, but by special promise. H.

Joshua takes care that every one is served before himself. Such utter self-abandonment as was displayed by Moses and Joshua affords incontestable proof of the claim of the Mosaic dispensation to have been Divine. The invasion of Canaan has been declaimed against as cruel; but its cruelty was at least the fruit of a moral idea, a righteous indignation against an obscene and ferocious religion, which was itself the cause of infinite misery to mankind; while Joshua’s cruelty was kindness itself compared to the revolting atrocities recorded at their own instance by the Eastern conquerors of old, Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Moabite. We hear in excess of the impossibility of God’s ordering the slaughter of the unoffending Canaanites. We hear nothing of the high morality, the sublime disinterestedness, the devotion to a grand ideal which characterized the giver of the Law and the conqueror of Canaan. Such characters have been rare since Christ came into the world. Save these two great men, they were unknown before it. Lias.

20 : 3-6. In Nu. 35 two kinds of murder are distinguished in reference to which the avenging of blood is commanded: verses 16-18, if any one strikes another in such a way that death may be foreseen to be the probable consequence; verse 20, if one has slain another out of hatred, or by design, or out of enmity, in which case the means by which death was brought about is indifferent. On the other hand, in order to shelter from vengeance him who had slain a man undesignedly, without intending to hurt his neighbor, and inadvertently, the law provided for the selection of six free cities, three on the east, and three on the west side of the Jordan. The manslayer who fled into one of these must be protected from the avenger of blood who pursued him, after a provisional cognizance of the case by the elders of the free town, until the community of the place where the murder was committed had, through their elders, examined the matter. If the accused person was proved guilty of intentional murder, he must be given over to the avenger of blood, and even the altar could not protect him. In the opposite case, however, he was obliged to remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest in whose time the murder had occurred. For intentional murder, there was no other expiation than the blood of the manslayer. The jus talionis is here maintained in the most stringent sense; every substitute for the punishment of death is refused. Nor can exemption from residence in the city of refuge in consequence of accidental murder be purchased. The custom of other ancient nations permitted the manslayer to satisfy the injured family by making compensation. O.

8. The cities on the other side Jordan, Bezer,

Ramoth, and Golan, had been assigned by Moses (De. 4 : 43), but did not, until now, obtain the privilege of cities of refuge. They were all Levitical cities; which appears to have been so ordered, that the cases of manslaughter might come under the cognizance of those who might be presumed to be most thoroughly versed in the law of God, and most competent to give judgment according to it, and who moreover would be less likely than any others to be swayed by private bias in their decisions. Compare De. 21 : 5, where it is said of the priests, the sons of Levi, that “by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried.” Bush.

Some observe a significance in the names of these cities with application to Christ our Refuge. I delight not in quibbling upon names, yet am willing to take notice of these. Kadesh signifies holy, and our refuge is the holy Jesus. Shechem, a shoulder, and the government is upon his shoulder. Hebron, fellowship, and believers are called into the fellowship of Christ Jesus our Lord. Bezer, a fortification, for he is a Strong Hold to all them that trust in him. Ramoth, high or exalted, for him hath God exalted with his own right hand. Golan, joy, or exultation, for in him all the saints are justified, and shall glory. H.

7. The six cities were chosen from all parts of the land, so that some one of them would be near to any scene of blood. The highways to the cities—so we are told—were prepared to facilitate the flight of the manslayer, and signboards were erected at intervals along them, with directing letters so large that he who ran might read. Now, three of the cities designated for refuge were on the east side of the Jordan, and three were on the west side. And of those on the west side, Hebron was one. “They appointed,” it is said, “Kadesh in Galilee, in Mount Naphtali”—to the north—“and Shechem in Mount Ephraim”—in the middle of the country—“and Kirjath Arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Jadah”—on the south. N. C. B.

The existence of the cities of refuge and their purpose have often been used in illustration of the escape of men from the avenger of sin under the Gospel, and certainly with fine effect. There is much in any suggestion from such a source to stir the imagination and awaken the feelings. And this use of Old Testament usages is not only legitimate but praiseworthy, as indeed is everything which gives to well-known truth point, force, and incisiveness. But when matters are pressed beyond this, and we are bidden to see in all this arrangement a typical foreshadowing of the elements of the Gospel, essential truth is needlessly sacrificed. The typology of Scripture is a very important and useful branch of Biblical study, but it needs to be pursued with reverence and care. Conducted on genuine principles, it illumines much of the Old Testament, and imparts great freshness and vividness to the didactic statements of the New. But followed under the guidance of mere fancy or a capricious and arbitrary use of analogies, it sheds darkness instead of light, and is likely to lead its votaries sadly astray. Chambers.

The Lord is exalted in the Scripture as the Refuge, and between these cities of refuge and Christ as a Refuge there are some happy resemblance and some marked contrasts.

Points of Likeness. The cities were always accessible—could be entered at any hour of day or night. The manslayer never perished because of delay at the gates or because those gates were barred against him. So one of the unspeakably blessed things about Christ as a Refuge is that he is always accessible. The cities were open to all. There were no class distinctions in this provision of mercy. And a voice sounds out from the New Testament Refuge, saying, “Whosoever will,” let him run into the strong tower and be safe. The way to the cities was prepared and made plain. The roads to them were to be kept open and in good repair. At the cross-roads posts were put up bearing the words Refuge, Refuge, to guide the flight of the fugitive. So for the flight of the sinner to Christ every obstacle has been removed. The way is made light with truth, and easy to the feet with exceeding great and precious promises; and at every crossing and bypath there is a gospel signboard pointing to Jesus and bearing on it the evermore blessed words, “The eternal God is thy Refuge!” The city of refuge needed to be sought, and with effort. The manslayer had no agency in providing the refuge, but there was necessary a very urgency of effort on his part to secure it. He could be no loiterer on his way there and count on security. Swiftly, eagerly, earnestly, with active feet and intense look and resolute heart, he must speed his way to the city or fail of its refuge. Imagine him thus in flight, and you have a vivid picture of the sinner fleeing for refuge to Christ. Inside the city of refuge the manslayer was safe.

“So there is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe—is safe! Happy resemblances are these indeed. They are beautifully and strikingly illustrative of Christ as the Refuge of the sinner. They put before us in a definite and tangible way some most precious truths about the Lord our hiding-place. But these points of likeness fail to set forth the chief and distinguishing glories of Christ as a covert from the tempest and a refuge from an avenging law and an accusing conscience and a hating and malignant devil. It is by contrast we can best be told all that the Lord our God is as our Refuge.

Points of Unlikeness. The city was a temporary refuge. Christ is an everlasting Refuge. The city of refuge was sometimes distant, taking hours, and even days, to reach it. Christ is near—so near that the sinner, no matter how far he may have wandered from God, if he but feel that he is athirst and weary, homeless, and perishing, need but turn to find that a spiritual Rock is beside him, and that Rock is Christ, in the cleft of which he may instantly hide and be at peace. The manslayer, turned to the city of refuge, and running with all his might to reach it, could possibly fail, nevertheless. With the sinner once turned to Christ as a Refuge failure is impossible. “Look and live,” that “Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.” These are the words that make it impossible a sinner should ever be overtaken by the avenging law while running to covert in the cleft of the Rock of ages. The refuge of the city freed from unjust condemnation. It only protected the involuntary homicide, the man who had slain another by accident, without evil intent or any intent. If he were proved a willful murderer, even the city of refuge did not shield him from the avenger of blood. But the refuge of Christ frees from all condemnation, just as well as unjust. The avenging law thunders at the gates of the strong tower, and, flaming out in terrible majesty its righteous and exact demands, declares that they have not been met by the fugitive within, and says, as if with the awful emphasis of Sinai, “His condemnation is just.” And a voice comes from the tower—a voice in which blends all the majesty of Sinai with all the pathos and tenderness of Calvary—saying, “It is true, O Law; it is true he is a sinner, but he is mine. I bore his sins in my own body on the tree. And there is now therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” And before that plea Satan is silenced, and conscience is silenced, and the law is silenced. And the pursued, accused, and guilty sinner, pardoned and sheltered now, and saved, sings over and over, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. The eternal God is my refuge, and underneath me are the everlasting arms.” H. Johnson.

Thirteen Cities of the Priests (verses 4, 8-19). Thirty-five Cities of the Levites (verses 5-7, 20-42).

3. These cities were assigned by lot, that it might fully appear that God designed the Levites their habitations, as he designed the others their inheritances. The result of this arrangement would naturally be, that the Levites would be dispersed in every part of the land, to instruct the people in the knowledge of the Divine law, to edify them by their example, to restrain them from idolatry, and prompt them to a constant adherence to the worship of Jehovah, the only true God. Thus the prophetic sentence of the patriarch (Gen. 49 : 7), that they should be “divided in Jacob, and scattered in Israel,” though originally carrying with it a punitive import, was through the special mercy of heaven converted to a blessing to themselves and to the nation.

4. The children of Aaron the priest. All the Kohathites were children of Aaron, in being lineally descended from him, but they were not all priests; whereas the phrase “children of Aaron” here is but another name for the priests, his successors in office; and these had their allotment of cities in the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin; the rest, who were merely Levites and not priests, had their lot, as appears from verse 5, in the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Bush.

Of the forty-eight Levitical cities, thirteen (verses 13-19) were properly sacerdotal, being assigned to the sons of Aaron, to whom the priesthood was exclusively confined. Although the cities were all assigned by lot, yet it was directed by a special Providence that the share which fell to the priests should be in the tribes nearest to the great city which God intended should be the fixed place of his worship, to the end that the priests might be always ready to give their attendance. Patrick.—It is remarkable that all the cities of the priests lay within the southern tribes; eight belonging to Judah, four to Benjamin, and only one to Simeon. This was wisely allotted by Providence, to guard against the evils of schism between the southern and northern tribes. For by this arrangement all these cities, except one, lay in the faithful tribes of Judah and Benjamin, to keep up the national worship in them in opposition to the apostasy of the other tribes; and that one may have remained under the control of Judah, as being situated on his frontier. Otherwise the kingdom of Judah might have experienced a scarcity of priests, or have been burdened with the maintenance of those who fled from the kingdom of Israel, when Jeroboam made priests of the lowest of the people, without learning or religion, to officiate in their room. Hales.—There is no evidence that the priests were bound to live in these, and in no other cities. When the tabernacle was at Nob, both the priests and Levites dwelt there (1 S. 21 : 1-7), and when the worship of God was established at Jerusalem, multitudes both of priests and Levites resided there, though it was no Levitical city; as did the courses of the priests afterward at Jericho. This was a circumstance which Moses had foreseen and for which he had provided (De. 18 : 6). So, on the other hand, persons belonging to the other tribes were not precluded from living in the Levitical cities; as, for instance, Gibeah of Benjamin, which is here made a Levitical city (verse 17), was always peopled by the Benjamites.

41. All the cities—were forty and eight cities, with their suburbs. This was in exact accordance with the direction given by Moses several years before, as we learn from Nu. 35 : 7. This order of Moses is a direct demonstration that it was given under Divine inspiration, as otherwise, how could he possibly have known that so many cities could be assigned to the Levites, without unduly encroaching on the limits of the other tribes? Bush.

Distribution Among the Tribes.

| KOHATHITES. | | | — | — | | Priests… | Judah and Simeon… 9 | | | Benjamin… 4 | | Not Priests… | Ephraim… 4 | | | Dan… 4 | | | Half-Manasseh (West)… 2 | | GERSHONITES. | | | Half-Manasseh (East) … | 2 | | Issachar… | 4 | | Asher … | 4 | | Naphtali… | 3 | | MERARITES. | | | Zebulun… | 4 | | Rouben … | 4 | | Gad… | 4 | | | 43 |

After their settlement in their cities they took the place of the household priests (subject, of course, to the special rights of the Aaronic priesthood), sharing in all festivals and rejoicings. They preserved, transcribed, and interpreted the law, which they solemnly read every seventh year at the Feast of Tabernacles. At a still later time they became the learned class in the community, the chroniclers of the time in which they lived. They are described as “officers and judges” under David, and as such are employed “in all the business of Jehovah, and in the service of the king.” They are the agents of Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah in their work of reformation, and are sent forth to proclaim and enforce the law. Under Josiah the function has passed into a title, and they are “the Levites that taught all Israel.” The two Books of Chronicles bear unmistakable marks of having been written by men whose interests were all gathered round the services of the Temple, and who were familiar with its records. P. S.

What Jehovah said to Aaron (Nu. 18 : 30) is in De. 10 : 9 applied to the whole tribe of Levi—namely, that Jehovah Himself would be their inheritance. The tribe is scattered among the other tribes, in the territories of which it received forty-eight towns, with their suburbs—that is, pasturages. In this law the priests are included with the Levites. The tithes were assigned to them for their support, not an overabundant endowment. Even when the tithe was conscientiously paid, it was no certain income. Moreover, if the people showed themselves averse to this tax, the tribe of Levi was subjected to unavoidable poverty. And thus Deuteronomy represents the Levites as placed in a position requiring the support of alms, and as standing in the same line with strangers, widows, and orphans. O.

Distribution of the Land Completed. Concluding Statement.

And now the ancient promise had been fulfilled: the solitary, childless patriarch who had listened to the Voice which spake at Ur of the Chaldees had grown by regular gradations into a family, a tribe, a horde, and now a nation. The inheritance of the heathen was theirs: wells they digged not, vineyards they planted not, cities they builded not—all these were theirs. Over the old strongholds of the mighty giant chieftains waved the banners of the House of Jacob. Joshua, the grave single hearted soldier, had been enabled to finish thoroughly his mission. Wilberforce.

We may note in these verses the threefold repetition of the one thought, of God’s punctual and perfect fulfilment of his word. He “gave unto Israel all the land which he swore to give;” “he gave them rest, . . . according to all that he swore;” “there failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord had spoken.” It is the joy of thankful hearts to compare the promise with the reality, to lay the one upon the other, and to declare how precisely their outlines correspond. It is no small part of Christian duty, and a still greater part of Christian blessedness, to do this. Many a fulfilment passes unnoticed, and many a joy, which might be sacred and sweet as a token of love from his own hand, remains common and unhallowed, because we fail to see that it is a fulfilled promise. The eye that is trained to watch for God’s being as good as his word will never have long to wait for proofs that he is. “Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even he shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.” And to such a one faith will become easier, being sustained by experience; and a present thus manifestly studded with indications of God’s faithfulness will merge into a future still fuller of these. A. M.

We have here the foregoing history summed up, and to make it appear the more bright, compared with the promise of which it was the full accomplishment. God’s word and his works mutually illustrate each other. The performance makes the promise appear very true, and the promise makes the performance appear very kind. God had promised to give the seed of Abraham the land of Canaan for a possession, and now at last he performed that promise, they possessed it and dwelt therein. Though they had often forfeited the benefit of that promise, and God had long delayed the performance of it, yet at last all difficulties were conquered and Canaan was their own. And the promise of the heavenly Canaan is as sure to all God’s spiritual Israel, for it is the promise of him that cannot lie. God had promised to give them rest in that land, and now they had rest round about. Rest from the fatigues of their travel through the wilderness, rest from their wars in Canaan. They now dwelt, not only in habitations of their own, but quiet and peaceable ones; though there were Canaanites that remained, yet none that had either strength or spirit to attack them. This rest continued till they by their own sin and folly put thorns into their own beds and their own eyes. God had promised to give them victory and success in their wars, and this promise likewise was fulfilled, there s’ood not a man before them. They had the better in every battle, and which way soever they turned their forces they prospered. So that the foundation of God stands sure; Israel’s experience of God’s fidelity is here upon record, and is an acquittance under their hands to the honor of God, the vindication of his promise which had been so often distrusted, and the encouragement of all believers to the end of the world. There failed not any good thing, no, nor aught of any good thing (so full is it expressed), which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel, but in due time all came to pass. Such an acknowledgment as this, here subscribed by Joshua in the name of all Israel, we afterward find made by Solomon, and all Israel did in effect say amen to it (1 K. 8 : 56). The inviolable truth of God’s promise and the performance of it to the utmost, is what all the saints have been ready to bear their testimony to; and if in anything it has seemed to come short, they have been as ready to own that they themselves must bear all the blame. H.

Here is the triumphant record of God’s faithfulness. But the only name inscribed thereon is Jehovah’s. Other memorials of victories have borne the pompous titles of commanders who arrogated the glory to themselves; but the Bible knows of only one conqueror, and that is God. “The help that is done on earth, he doeth it all himself.” The military genius and heroic constancy of Joshua, the eagerness for perilous honor that flamed, undimmed by age, in Caleb, the daring and strong arms of many a humbler private in the ranks, have their due recognition and reward; but when the history that tells of these comes to sum up the whole, and to put the “philosophy” of the conquest into a sentence, it has only one name to speak as cause of Israel’s victory. That is the true point of view from which to look at the history of the world and of the church in the world. The difference between the “miraculous” conquest of Canaan and the “ordinary” facts of history is not that God did the one and men do the other; both are equally, though in different methods, his acts. A. M.

RETURN OF THE ARMED CONTINGENT OF THE TWO AND HALF TRIBES. WITNESS-ALTAR ERECTED. MISAPPREHENSION EXPLAINED.