Joshua, Chapters 20-21 - Build a Holy Nation | Prophets of Israel

[music] >> Shalom, friends. Welcome back to the Prophets of Israel daily brought to you by the Land of Israel network at the landofisrael.com. And friends, if you're enjoying this, become a member. Consider it. There is so much. There's our crown jewel, the [music] fellowship, a community of hundreds from around the world. Every week we come together. It's impossible to describe it. The Judean diet, women of valor, there's just so much. And when you join it, it strengthens us. It's a blessing to us, so please consider it. Anyways, here we are. We are entering Joshua chapters 20 and 21. And this is the last time we're really going to be batching chapters together for a while now, but it just made sense considering it all. Anyways, at first at first glance, these chapters can feel almost administrative. Right? There are cities of refuge, Levitical cities. There are more lists and names and places, but the truth is, these chapters are anything but dry. They reveal something about the why of the Jewish people. They reveal something essential about the kind of nation Israel was meant to become in the land. And if you lose your why, you don't have anything. Right? Because after all the battles and all the conquests, we finally arrive at the real question. What is the land actually for? It was never about our possession or borders. We're not like other nations. We answer to a higher calling. We are driven by a deeper purpose. So, what is that calling? Right? What is that purpose? To build a society where God's presence dwells among his people. A society that's rooted in justice, that's filled with compassion and mercy. A society with Torah not on the margins and not as a flavor, but at the very center of life itself. That is what Joshua 20 and 21 are really about. And what we're about to see are really two foundational layers of that society. In chapter 20, God commands Joshua to designate cities of refuge. And that alone is remarkable, right? Because think about it. Israel's just entered the land after years of wandering and warfare. And any normal nation would be focused on survival, on defeating their enemies, on on fortifying their stronghold in the land. But we're not a normal nation. We are a holy nation. We are, as the book of Exodus tells us, a mamlekhet kohanim ve-goy kadosh, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. So, Hashem tells them to establish special places where someone who killed unintentionally can flee and be protected until a fair judgment takes place. Right? Here it is, the opening the opening verse, you know, of chapter 20. Then the Lord spoke to Joshua saying, "Speak to the children of Israel saying, 'Assign for yourselves the cities of refuge of which I spoke to you through Moses.'" What does that mean? It means that holiness isn't found in the battlefield. I mean, it's there, too, but that's not where it is. It's it's found in restraint. It's found in in due process and in creating a society that recognizes the complexity of human action. Right? The Torah understands something very deep about human life. Not every tragedy is murder. Not every death is rebellion. Sometimes terrible things happen without intention. And in a world of of pain and blood and vengeance, God establishes a place where justice can take form, where justice can breathe, where justice can live. And I think that gives you an insight into what this nation is meant to be. The cities of refuge teach us that justice in Israel is never meant to be driven by mob instinct, emotional revenge, or blind fury. Right? Even in a land of warriors, there must be places of mercy and compassion and refuge and and safety. Even in a nation that must fight, there must be a legal and moral center. And I think that's it's a beautiful thing. Right? The the same people who are commanded to conquer the land are also commanded to protect the vulnerable within it. The same nation that must know how to wield the sword must also know when to lower it. And that balance is a holy balance. It's right in there that that you find the the presence of God in that balance. So, we read in verse three. Lanush shama rotzeach, so that a manslayer who strikes a person unintentionally, without knowledge, may flee there. And they shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood. Right? Without knowledge or intent. That matters. The Torah cares not only about what happened, but about why it happened, about the heart, about intent, about truth. And I think in our times, when everything is is flattened, when people are judged instantly, they're labeled instantly, they're condemned instantly, they're canceled, right? Instantly. This is This chapter speaks with really with a lot of force. God's nation must not become a mob. We are a people that must build structures of faith and patience and discernment. You know, Ari, before you move on, there's a question here that really popped out at me. Like, why cities? I mean, if it's not just about legal protection, you don't need a whole city. You need a courtroom. You need a ruling. Maybe a designated safe zone. Why build entire cities for this? And I think that the answer isn't just about protecting the person legally. It's about rehabilitating them spiritually. You know, think about it. This person's life is completely uprooted. He leaves his home, his routine. He leaves everything that he knew and that was familiar to him. And now he's living in a city surrounded by Levi'im, by Levites. People whose entire role is teaching the Torah, living a life of spiritual awareness, living as an example for everyone to come and see. And so, what we see is that it's not just an exile to keep him safe, it's meant to change him. It's not about punishment, it's really about transformation. The city becomes more than just a refuge, it becomes the place where he can process what happened, a place where he can reflect and grow and come to terms with whatever blemish he may have had in him that allowed him for such an negligent killing to happen to begin with, to go through a process. And it's almost like the Torah is saying, "When something that serious happens, you don't just need protection, you really need a reset." You know, the way you just described that actually made me sort of want to spend time in a city of refuge myself. You know, it sounds like a retreat on some level. I'm sure it wasn't that. You're away from your family. It's not really something you're opting in for, but but I think I could actually really use a break in a city of refuge right about now. But I I I want to take that idea one step further. I really think that what you just said touches on the reason that the cities of refuge are now outside the land. They're not right? They're they're woven into the land. They're not outside of it. They're woven into it itself. Meaning that the land of Israel is not only a place of inheritance, it's a place where divine values are meant to be embodied geographically. Right? Justice is mapped onto the hills. And mercy is is built into the roads. You know, the the the the holiness of the land, it takes physical form in cities and boundaries and institutions. And that's why the the lists that we read are really worth reading and understanding that they're infused with that holiness. You know, and this is one of the great messages of Joshua as a whole. Hashem's promises do not remain abstract. They become vineyards. They become borders. They become homes. They become courts. And they become cities of refuge. Right? Okay, now chapter one takes us further to the second layer of society, which is justice critical. Right? Now, the Levites come forward. And unlike the other tribes, they don't receive one contiguous tribal portion. Instead, they receive cities spread throughout Israel. Which is really significant and important. Let's look in verse one, chapter 21. The heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel. Right? The Levites come and remind Joshua and the leaders that God has commanded through Moses, Mosaic law, that they, too, must be given cities in which to dwell. Why? Right? Because a nation cannot survive on armies and agriculture alone. A nation, particularly in the nation of Israel, we need spirit and teaching and memory and song. Right? Let's Let's remember, the Levites tended to be musicians. They were the ones who brought the music to the temple. Bottom line is that the nation was designed to be a a light, a vessel for godliness in the world. And so, we needed to be immersed in in these Levites. The Levites are not concentrated in one isolated spiritual district somewhere far away from the rest of the nation like a prison locked away where we don't have to look at or deal with it. No. They are planted betoch Yisrael, throughout Israel, embedded among the tribes. Why? Because the Torah must not be peripheral. It must be present everywhere. And uh and that's just such a powerful vision. Right? The ideal Israelite society is not one where holiness is confined to Jerusalem alone or to priests alone or or to rare sacred moments. It's a society where every tribe, every region, every part of the land is infused with godliness and has equal access to the teachers and guides and trusted to inspire them to walk in the ways of Hashem. Uh in other words, if God is giving Israel to the land, then the people must build a civilization worthy of that gift. Um so let's Okay. We arrive at one of the the most satisfying satisfying verses thus far. I think definitely in chapter 21. Okay, verse 43. And the Lord gave to Israel all the land which he had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and dwelt in it. Right? What a verse. You just like feel it like ah. You know, God gives us the promise. Israel must now step in and take hold of it, but we're there. You know, and then Israel, you know, we're not we're not there as wanderers or dreamers, but we're there as people that are rooted in our inheritance. Right? And it continues. Verse 45. Not one thing failed of any good thing which the Lord has spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass. It all came to pass. Right? After slavery in Egypt, the wilderness, the rebellion, the battles, the setbacks, after all the long waiting and yearning, not one thing failed. Hashem was true to his word. You know, by the way, Ari, that is not just a statement about the past. I think it's a revelation of who Hashem is in the world. And I'll tell you, studying the book of Joshua in such depth, one chapter a day, every day, it's like it strengthens me in the knowledge that if it was true then, it's no less true now. The verse says, "All came to pass." I mean, with everything we're facing right now as a people, the challenges, the heartbreak, the confusion, the pain, we have to hold on to that. We have to remember that the same God who fulfilled his promises to our fathers is the very same God who's guiding us in our generation. And just like them, it wasn't easy. It wasn't a moving sidewalk. It took faith, and courage, and action. And what we can see in our generation, especially with what everything that's happening around us, is that the story isn't over. Not even close. I mean, we're living inside the continuation of those promises as they unfold in real time. And the only real question is, will we have the faith to recognize it when it's happening and the courage to actually step into it? Yeah, the the journey actually uh the journey we're on, it's had a similar effect on me. It's hard not to see our lives in our generation as yet another chapter in the book of Joshua. Because we too live in an age where the promises of God are no longer just theological concepts floating in the heavens, right? We're watching the words take shape in stone and soil, not on the other side of the ocean, but here, in the roads and the vineyards of our farm right here. Right? In the cities and the communities that were returning they're returning to life in the land of Israel. So Joshua 20 and 21, they remind us that redemption is not only about return, at least not just physical return. It's about order and justice and sanctity. It's about building a society that can carry the presence of God. That's the challenge. That's the challenge that we're facing. Can we make room for Torah in every corner of our national life? Can we become a people worthy not only of receiving the land, but of living in it according to God's will inside the land. That is the deeper conquest. And maybe that's why these chapters matter so much. Because after the miracles and the victories, the real question really begins. What kind of nation will Israel become? Will we be a Hebrew-speaking country, another one flag of the EU, or will we become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation? Will the land merely be occupied, or will it be sanctified? And so we read these chapters, and and we're not not to skim them. We should read them out loud in depth, because hidden within these lists is a vision of redemption that is concrete and grounded and and very relevant. Right? God's promise is real and the land is real, and justice, that has to be real. The Torah has to be real. And if all of that becomes real together, then the divine presence can truly dwell among the people. And maybe that's the the great takeaway here from these chapters. The redemption is not only when our people come home, redemption is when that that people, that nation of Israel returns to ourselves and builds a home that is fit for Hashem. And so with that, my friends, I wish us "chazak ve'amatz", be strong and courageous. Bezrat Hashem, we'll see you all tomorrow as we are diving into chapter 22 with Jeremy.