Joshua 21:1

Joshua 21:1 says, Then 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;  The heads of the tribe of Levi came to the Eleazar the priest. Joshua, and the heads of the other tribes.  These people would have represented the entire nation of Israel, including those representing God.  Verse two states, And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle.  The Levites said that the LORD had commanded Moses to give them cities for them and their cattle to live in.  Though they did not have a specified land, the Levites were promised a place of their own within the land.  God will always provide a place for those who are serving Him full time, though it may not be a place that they own outright.  Verse three declares, And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.  The people of Israel gave to the Levites certain cities, because they knew that it was the will of God.  They didn't complain about having to give up certain cities themselves, just as we shouldn't complain about giving to support those who work for God today, such as preachers and missionaries.  Verse four says, 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.  The cities, like the land itself, were chosen by lot.  We are also told that Aaron was a descendant of the Levites.  Verse five adds, 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.  This verse and the next few simply tell of the cities given to the Levites in particular areas.  Verse six adds, 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.  Verse seven continues, 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.  There were a total of forty-eight cities given to the Levites, and they were divided by God's guidance to the sons of Levi.  They were not confined to one geographic location, but were spread out throughout the whole land of Israel.  Those who are preachers and missionaries today are not confined to one location, but are spread out throughout the world, and should always be willing to go where God sends them, as should we all.  Verse eight says, And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.  The distribution was done by lot, which represented the guidance of God.  Verse nine states, And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are here mentioned by name,  Then verse ten adds, Which the children of Aaron, being of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi, had: for theirs was the first lot.  The children of Aaron had the first lot.  Verse eleven continues, And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.  The verse twelve concludes, But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.  Though the descendants of Aaron were given a particular city, the fields and the villages around it were given to Caleb.  God may not have given them everything that they thought they needed, but He gave them all that He knew that they needed.  We may at times feel that God hasn't given us all that we need, but we can be certain that He always will.  God just may not always give us everything that we want.