Summary
After the distribution of land to the twelve tribes, chapters 20 and 21 describe cities given to the Levites, including cities of refuge. A total of 48 cities were given to the Levites, of which six were cities of refuges. With the allotted cities to the Levites, land distribution concludes. With the conclusion of the land distribution, the author attributed all the successes that Israel experienced to the LORD their God.
Institution of the Cities of Refuge
Although not a topic frequently highlighted in today’s Christianity, the cities of refuge must have been a very important topic for God and for the Israelites as it was repeated multiple times. The cities of refuge were given so that the man slayer who killed any person unintentionally could flee there to take asylum from the avenger of blood. The first set of commands associated with the cities of refuge were given by God to Moses in Numbers 35. In Deuteronomy 19, in his last message to the second-generation Israelites, Moses reiterated the importance of the cities of refuge. In Joshua 20, the LORD reminded Joshua of this command and told him to establish the cities of refuge. The repetition probably means the importance of this to the formation of Israel’s future society. Let’s find out why.
The institution of the cities of refuge embodied the loving, caring heart of God and His very practical wisdom to protect people in the fallen nature of the world.
The necessity of establishing cities of refuge originated from the fallen nature of the world since Adam transgressed God’s command to allow the entrance of sin to the world (Genesis 3). Because the world was tainted by sin, homicides as well as unintentional murder took place. To protect those people who accidentally kill others by mistake without any premeditation or hatred, God placed this institution. God knew the fallen world, and placed a very practical way to prevent unnecessary vengeance and murder.
The protection that the cities of refuge provided is two-way. The most visible purpose of the cities of refuge was to protect any person who accidentally kills another person from the hand of the avenger of the blood. The other important purpose, though not explicit, was to protect the avenger of the blood from committing a presumptuous sin by killing an innocent person. Hence, the cities of refuge provided a two-way protection: 1) person from the avenger of the blood; and 2) the avenger of the blood from committing an unnecessary murder. By establishing this institution, the LORD desired the society of His people to minimize the adverse effect of the revenge cycle.
Then, who was eligible to be protected? Note that in Joshua 21:9, these cities of refugees were appointed for all the sons of Israel as for the strangers. The strangers, in other words, even the foreigners or non-Israelites who resided within the Israelites communities were also to be protected. The heart of God was to encompass everyone.
Finally, this institution also pointed out the caring heart of God for especially the marginalized in the society. Unintentional killing of other people was probably more prone to occupations that were hazardous, requiring strenuous physical labors, as shown in the example provided in Deuteronomy 19 (i.e. when a man accidentally swung the axes to cut down the tree strikes someone else). God wanted to ensure that social structure would be in place to protect those in the hazardous occupations from unintentional, fatal mistakes.
Presence of Levites by Number and Table
The table below summarizes the number of cities, including the cities of refuge, given to the Levites by each tribe.
| Tribe | Population (Based on Numbers 26) | Number of Levite cities | Refuge Cities (included in the Levite cities) |
| Reuben | 43,730 | 4 | 1 |
| Gad | 40,500 | 4 | 1 |
| Judah & Simeon | 76,500 (Judah) and 22,200 (Simeon) | 9 | 1 |
| Issachar | 64,300 | 4 | |
| Zebulun | 60,500 | 4 | |
| Ephraim | 32,500 | 4 | 1 |
| Manasseh | 52,700 | 4 | 1 |
| Benjamin | 45,600 | 4 | |
| Dan | 64,400 | 4 | |
| Asher | 53,400 | 4 | |
| Naphthali | 45,400 | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 601,730 | 48 | 6 |
The number of Levite cities were roughly given in proportion to each tribe’s population. Because Judah and Simeon together accounted for the largest population, they together provided the most number of cities to the Levites.
Ubiquitous Presence of Levite: A Sign that points to God
The Gospel of John uses this word more often than the other three Gospels when describing miracles done by Jesus. That word is “sign.” The Gospel of John highlights seven miracles of Jesus Christ and John deliberately use the word “sign.” A sign for what? Miracles in themselves were meaningless – unless they point to Jesus. In other words, miracles were merely a sign that points to Jesus Christ.
Land is one of the major topics of the book of Joshua. The LORD God swore to give this land to the Israelites with the first promise tracing all the way back to Abraham. Land is described as inheritance to the sons of Israel. Although land is a very important topic, it can and should never displace the LORD God. Other than providing a physical space for the Israelites to reside and settle, what was the purpose of the inherited land?
Land was to serve as a “sign” that points to the LORD God. That the Levites were dispersed to 48 cities across the twelve tribes was to facilitate this role. For the Levites, the land was not inherited because the LORD Himself was the inheritance to them. By having the Levites in inherited land for other tribes, other tribes were to be continually reminded that the “true” inheritance was the LORD Himself, not the land. For us, likewise all the blessings and great gifts are merely signs that nudged us to see the true origin of the blessing: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Fitting Conclusion: Acknowledge the True Source of the Promises
With the assignment of cities to the Levites, chapters 20 and 21 concluded the logistics section of the land distribution, which began back in Chapter 15.
Joshua acknowledged the true source of all the fulfilled promises – the LORD God. The LORD gave Israel all the land (Joshua 21:43). The LORD gave them rest on every side as He defeated all the enemies (Joshua 21:44). All the promises that the LORD had made to Israel were fulfilled (Joshua 21:45). These three statements ensured that the main subject was the LORD God, not the Israelites, not Joshua. This surely was the fitting conclusion of the land distribution section of the book of Joshua, from chapters 15 to 21.
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