Numbered of the Levites

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Numbers 26:57–65, “And these are they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites. These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begat Amram. And the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. And unto Aaron was born Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the LORD. And those that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand, all males from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel. These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the LORD had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.”

The Levites had no inheritance of their own. The Lord chose them, as a tribe, to be devoted to His service in the Tabernacle and, later, the Temple. They were to be paid by the rest of Israel to do their service because they were representing Israel to the Lord and the Lord to Israel. This was fair and appropriate. For this reason they didn’t have to be numbered in the census and be given land to inherit. Later we see that they Levites were given towns to live in but they were never allotted land to inherit. The Lord established an ancient form of superannuation when He gave the families the land to inherit. When a person was old they would still be free to live in their home but their children would inherit the Land and keep them. In the fiftieth year all the land was to return to the original owner, as the Lord commanded, this meant that families would be able to regain access to their Land and never be completely poor and dependent. (compare Prov 30:7–9, “Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”)
Caleb and Joshua were the only men, who had been slaves, who entered into the Promised Land because they were the only men who weren't afraid of giants. The Israeli soldiers had to be ready to fight giants because there were giants in the Promised Land.