The ‘PRINCIPLE of GIVING’ to God’s WORK & WORKERS!
March 10 Bible
Reading: Joshua Chapters 19-21
The ‘PRINCIPLE of GIVING’ to God’s WORK & WORKERS!
Then
the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites came near to Eleazar the
priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers' houses of
the tribes of the children of Israel. And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the
land of Canaan, saying, "The Lord commanded through Moses to give us
cities to dwell in, with their common-lands for our livestock." So the
children of Israel gave to the Levites from their inheritance, at the
commandment of the Lord, these cities and their common-lands. (Joshua
21:1-3)
During the
last stages of allotting the land inheritance to the tribes, the heads of the
tribe of Levi came to Joshua and the heads of the other tribes of Israel to claim
for suitable places where they might settle with their families and
possessions. In reality, the Levite leaders were pleading a Divine promise that
was recorded back in Numbers 35:1–8. They
were only asking for that land property to which they had a right granted to
them by Jehovah!
The tribe of
Levi had been set apart by God for the ministry of the tabernacle and other
sacred responsibilities (Num. 3:11–51). Due to that, this tribe was exempt from
any territorial allotment in the Promised Land. Instead, the Levites and their
families were to reside in forty-eight cities scattered throughout the land
(Josh. 21:41), six of which were the cities
of refuge along with their common-lands for pasture. We can further see
that the cities of refuge were scattered throughout all the tribes of Israel to
fulfill the prophecy of Jacob (Gen. 49:5–7).
Since the
Levites were to teach Israel the Law, it was necessary that these cities be
scattered throughout the land to better facilitate their teaching ministry to
the nation. It would have been such a blessing for all the Israelites to have God’s
servants live among them and share the truth of God’s Word with them (Deut.
33:10). The Levites were thus to be custodians of Israel’s spiritual life, and
their cities were distributed throughout the tribal territories: 13 in the south
(v. 4), 10 in central Palestine (v. 5), 13 in the north (v. 6), and 12 east of
the Jordan (v. 7).
To state
this simply, this passage and the remaining chapter (21) shows the gracious
provision that Jehovah God made to meet the physical needs of the Levites. The
Levites who served God in the tabernacle and ministered to the congregation in
holy things were to be suitably compensated by other tribes since the Levites
had no land of their own (Deut. 10:8, 9; Joshua 13:14).
When we take
this analogy to our times, the ministers
of the Gospel are the counterparts
of the Levites. This analogy was
further clarified by Apostle Paul using the following words: "Do
you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the
temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar?
Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live
from the gospel" (1 Cor 9:13-14). This act of giving was designed by
God to counteract that selfish spirit and attachment to a present world which
is common to all of us!
We can see
an important principle of giving that
should always govern our lives. In 2 Cor. 9:1, Apostle Paul states that it was superfluous for him to write concerning
ministering to the saints of God, who have dedicated their lives for God’s
ministry. Our giving should be "a
matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation" (2 Cor 9:5b),
and when we give bountifully we will also
be rewarded bountifully by God who is not unjust to forget our labor of
love in giving (Heb. 6:10).
