Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 2.djvu/88

84 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.

Lastly, Beside all these, the horns of the altar, wherever it was, were a refuge to those who took hold on them, if the crime were such as that sanctuary allowed. This is implied in that law, Exod. 21. 14, that a wilful murderer shall be taken from God's altar and be put to death. And we find the altar used for this purpose, 1 Kings 1. 50.—2. 28. Christ is our Altar, who not only sanctifies the gifts, but protects the giver.

CHAP. XXI. It had been often said that the tribe of Levi should have no inheritance with their brethren, no particular part of the country assigned them, as the other tribes had, no not the country about Shiloh, which, one would have expected, should have been appropriated to them as the lands of the church; but though they were not thus cast into a country by themselves, it appears, by the provision made for them in this chapter, that they were no losers, but the rest of the tribes were very much gainers, by their being dispersed. We have here, I. The motion they made to have their cities assigned them, according to God's appointment, v. 1, 2. II. The nomination of the cities accordingly, out of the several tribes, and the distribution of them to the respective families of this tribe, v. 3..8. III. A catalogue of the cities, forty-eight in all, v. 9..42. IV. A receipt entered in full of all that God had promised to his people Israel, v. 43..45.

HEN came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel; 2. And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle. 3, And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the, these cities and their suburbs. 4. 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 Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities. 5. And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot, out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities. 6. And the children of Gershon had by lot, out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities. 7. The children of Merari, by their families, had, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. 8. And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the commanded by the hand of Moses.

Here is,

I. The Levites' petition presented to this general convention of the states, now sitting at Shiloh, v. 1, 2. Observe,

1. They had not their lot assigned them till they made their claim. There is an inheritance provided for all the saints, that royal priesthood, but then they must petition for it, Ask, and it shall be given you. Joshua had quickened the rest of the tribes who were slack, to put in their claims, but the Levites, it may be supposed, knew their duty and interest better than the rest, and were therefore forward in this matter, when it came to their turn, without being called upon. They build their claim upon a very good foundation, not their own merits or services, but the divine precept. "The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities, commanded you to grant them, which implied a command to us to ask them." Note, The maintenance of ministers is not an arbitrary thing, left purely to the good-will of the people, who may let them starve if they please; no, as the God of Israel commanded that the Levites should be well provided for, so has the Lord Jesus, the King of the christian church, ordained, and a perpetual ordinance it is, that they which preach the gospel, should live of the gospel, 1. Cor. 9. 14. and should live comfortably.

2. They did not make their claim till all the rest of the tribes were provided for, and then they did it immediately. There was some reason for it: every tribe must first know their own, else they would not know what they gave the Levites, and so it could not be such a reasonable service as it ought to be. But it is also an instance of their humility, modesty, and patience, (and Levites should be examples of these and other virtues,) that they were willing to be served last, and they fared never the worse for it. Let not God's ministers complain if at any time they find themselves postponed in men's thoughts and cares, but let them make sure of the favour of God, and the honour that comes from him, and then they may well enough afford to bear the slights and neglects of men.

II. The Levites' petition granted immediately, without any dispute, the princes of Israel being perhaps ashamed that they needed to be called upon in this matter, and that the motion had not been made among themselves for the settling of the Levites.

1. The children of Israel are said to give the cities for the Levites. God had appointed how many they should be in all, forty-eight. It is probable that Joshua, and the princes, upon consideration of the extent and value of the lot of each tribe as it was laid before them, had appointed how many cities should be taken out of each; and then the fathers of the several tribes themselves agreed which they should be, and therefore are said to give them as an offering, to the Lord; so God had appointed, Numb. 35. 8, Every one shall give of his cities to the Levites. Here God tried their generosity; and it was found to praise and honour, for it appears by the following catalogue, that the cities they gave to the Levites, were generally some of the best and most considerable in each tribe. And it is probable, that they had an eye to the situation of them, taking care they should be so dispersed, as that no part of the country should be too far distant from a Levites' city.

2. They gave them at the commandment of the Lord, that is, with an eye to the command, and in obedience to it, which was it that sanctified the grant. They gave the number that God commanded, and it was well that matter was settled, that the Levites might not ask more, nor the Israelites offer less. They gave them also with their suburbs, or glebe-lands, belonging to them, so many cubits by measure from the walls of the city, as God had