THe Shepherd’s Faithful Word
Third Sunday in Easter
Joshua 21:41-45
41 The cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the people of Israel were in all forty-eight cities with their pasturelands. 42 These cities each had its pasturelands around it. So it was with all these cities.
43 Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. 44 And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. 45 Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, out of your fatherly goodness you have sent your beloved Son to be the Shepherd of us poor sinners, that we may be nourished by His Word and defended from sin, death, and the devil. We ask that you grant us your Holy Spirit, that, even as our Shepherd knows us and helps us in every need, we also may know Him, and, trusting in Him, seek help and comfort in Him, hear His voice, and obtain eternal salvation; through your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
Dear Fellow Redeemed,
The book of Joshua is an amazing book in Scripture. The Lord had chosen Joshua after Moses to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. Joshua did not have an easy job description. He was to lead Israel to conquer the land from Mount Hermon to the Negev and from the Mediterranean to the Arabian Desert. It was a land filled with the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They would battle through the whole way to conquer this land. But the Lord promised Joshua before this great quest, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them” (Joshua 1:5–6).
Joshua was not alone. The Lord of armies, the God of Sabaoth, was with him. Joshua’s name meant, “the Lord is salvation.” His name would hold true. The Lord was going to give Israel their inheritance, which he had promised them. Joshua was the leader of the people, but it was the Lord’s work. He made it possible by drying up the Jordan River (3–4), causing the walls of Jericho to fall (6), hurling hailstones from heaven and even making the sun and moon stand still so that Israel could complete its victory and take possession of the land (10:11–14). The Lord was with Israel. He delivered them from their enemies. He gave them their inheritance, the promised land.
After the Lord delivered their enemies into Israel’s hands and they had conquered the land of Canaan, the land was divided between the twelve tribes. In the chapters leading up to our lesson today, we have the territories and cities listed out for the different tribes of Israel. Last, but not forgotten, was the tribe of Levi. These chapters towards the end of the book of Joshua where the land is divided may seem a little less exciting to us than the great military victories the Lord provided earlier in the book of Joshua. However, this section is vitally important and a tremendous comfort. It is God’s exclamation mark! His obvious, solid ground, proof—that his Word is true. As we heard, “Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.”
In our lesson we learn about the cities and pasture lands distributed to the tribe of Levi. The Levites were responsible for the religious duties in Israel. They were the ones who carried the ark of the covenant during their journey in the wilderness. The sons of Aaron served as priests in the tabernacle and eventually in the temple. However, unlike the other tribes, Levi was not given its own land. This was a consequence for Levi after he and Simeon got revenge against Shechem who had defiled their sister (Genesis 34). Because of their harsh revenge, Jacob declared to Levi and Simeon, “Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.” However, God would turn this punishment into a blessing. Since the Levites were the only ones to stand with Moses after the Golden Calf incident, the Lord blessed the tribe of Levi (Exodus 34). While they would be scattered throughout Israel, he gave them cities to dwell in. But this would bless more than just Levi. It was God’s way of evangelizing and sharing the Gospel with all those in Israel because the sons of Levi were responsible for teaching the Scriptures, offering sacrifices, and prayers for the people. Our faithful Shepherd ensured that all his people could hear his voice.
There are two helpful examples that we can learn from the Levites. The first is that the Lord blesses those who are faithful to him. When Israel committed idolatry, only Levi remained faithful and stood with Moses. They were not part of the popular crowd, but they stood with the Lord, and he stood for them. As Christians, we will face challenges in this world, sometimes big and sometimes small, like one who risks their life for the Gospel or one who loses face among their peers for confessing the unpopular truth. These earthly skirmishes can be tough, unpleasant, and uncomfortable. But even if you are one against eleven, you will forever be blessed by remaining faithful to Christ. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (John 10:17–28).
The second example that we learn from the Levites is that they did not own their own cities—they simply used cities belonging to the other tribes throughout Israel. This fact serves as a good picture for the Christian life—we live as aliens and strangers on this earth. The author of Hebrews writes, “We do not have here any enduring city, but we eagerly await the coming [city]” (Hebrews 13:14). While we make use of the earthly things for a time and value them as gifts from God, we do not “own” them in any eternal sense. Scripture states, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (I Timothy 6:7). But we do have a lasting inheritance… the Lord and his salvation in Christ. The Levites didn’t own any land, but they were fortunate beyond all the other tribes as their landless life directed their hearts and minds to more precious priorities. We too are blessed beyond all measure when we recognize that this is not home. We are strangers in a foreign land, we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where moth and rust will not destroy. When a person keeps their mind on their heavenly citizenship, rather than this fleeting world, they store up heavenly treasures beyond compare.
The Levites’ faithfulness to the Lord and their detachment to earthly things serve as good examples and pictures for our Christian life as sheep in Christ’s fold. But how are you doing dear sheep? What kind of a sheep have you been? Have you stood up for Christ in every circumstance? Have you loved him more than yourself or your favorite pet sin? Have you heeded his voice over the devil’s temptations to get angry at your neighbor, ignore God’s Word when it’s inconvenient, gossip about your neighbor, or covet what does not belong to you? Do you spend your time gathering wealth and establishing your earthly pastureland, while failing to graze for a few minutes each day on the green grass of God’s Word and drinking from his well which quenches our thirst forever? Do you treasure the gifts God has given or constantly seek what the other nations have around you?
If we are at all honest with ourselves, we know we haven’t always been faithful. We haven’t always remembered and lived as if this life was temporary, and as if heaven is the home that really matters. Not only are we sinners from birth, but we daily sin much and deserve nothing but punishment. We need to repent. It’s not easy or fun. It’s uncomfortable to admit your sins and failures. It’s the unpopular truth.
This is why it’s so important for us to study the history of God’s people. Were the Israelites always faithful? No. Did they never sin and fall for the devil’s temptations? No! But did God remain faithful to his promises—his word? A resounding, yes! “And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers… Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.”
God kept his promises to his covenant people to give them the promised land as their inheritance. We can trust all of God’s promises, which find their fulfillment in Jesus, the second Joshua, the greater Rest-giver. Jesus came to give us eternal rest from our enemies of sin, death, and the devil. He fought for us by living a holy and faithful life in our place from the manger to the cross, where he laid down his life for his flock. Jesus is our Good Shepherd who loves his sheep, who didn’t run away at the first sign of danger, but joyfully went forward to the cross to pay for our sins so that he could lead us to the promised land of heaven.
We put our trust in God, because not one of his good promises fail. They all come true. Our Savior wants you to hear his voice, which is why he sends preachers, establishes churches, dispenses the lifesaving medicine of his Word and Sacraments throughout the world just as he put the Levites throughout Israel. He wants you to be saved. He gives you his promises spoken through the pastor as if from Christ himself, “your sins are forgiven.” “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” “Take and eat, this is My body, given for you; take and drink, this is My blood shed for you for the remission of all your sins.” Your inheritance as a baptized and forgiven child of God is eternal life in heaven. These are the Lord’s good promises to you which will not fail. They are yours because of Jesus.
Jesus laid down his life for his sheep. He knows you and by faith you know him. But Jesus goes on, “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” Today, we see Jesus bringing another sheep into his fold. We heard a young man confess his faith in Jesus, who alone has the power to save us. He is listening to his Shepherd’s voice and he confessed his faith before all of us. And Jesus said, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).
Today is a good day. He brought another sheep into his fold. We are part of his one flock, the body of Christ, and we have one Shepherd. The Lord joins people together from all walks of life and all ages. We are united in Jesus. We are fickle sheep, but we are Christ’s sheep, and he laid down his life for us. Together, we come to confess our sins, receive Christ’s forgiveness and strength, pray for one another, and continue to support the preaching of the Gospel for those who have not yet been brought into the fold. And so, we sing (ELH 585:1):
How blessed is the little flock
Whom Jesus calls His own!
He is their Savior and their Rock,
They trust in Him alone.
They walk by faith and hope and love,
But they shall dwell with Him above
When hope and faith shall pass away
And love shall last for aye.
Amen!