Joshua 20–22 records the establishment of the cities of refuge, the giving of cities to the Levites, and the return of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh to their inheritance beyond Jordan. These chapters emphasize both the faithfulness of God to His promises and Israel’s responsibility to obey the LORD carefully. They also contain an important example of how apparent apostasy should be taken seriously without condemning brethren before the facts are known.
Chapter Summaries
Joshua 20 — The Cities of Refuge
The LORD commands Joshua to appoint the cities of refuge previously spoken of through Moses.
Joshua 20:2–3 says:
“Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.”
The purpose of these cities was not to excuse murder. They provided protection for someone who had caused another person’s death “unawares and unwittingly.” The distinction between deliberate murder and an unintended killing had already been established in the law given through Moses.
When the slayer reached the city, he was to stand “at the entering of the gate of the city” and declare his cause before the elders. The elders were then to receive him and provide a place where he could dwell.
The accused was not merely granted automatic immunity. Joshua 20:6 specifically says that he was to remain there “until he stand before the congregation for judgment.” The refuge system therefore joined mercy with judicial examination.
If the avenger of blood pursued him, the inhabitants were forbidden to surrender the slayer when the death had occurred unwittingly and there had been no previous hatred.
The slayer remained in the city until the death of the high priest who was serving at that time. Afterward he could return to his own city and house.
Six cities were appointed:
- Kedesh in Galilee, in mount Naphtali.
- Shechem in mount Ephraim.
- Kirjath-arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.
- Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain, from the tribe of Reuben.
- Ramoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad.
- Golan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh.
Three stood on one side of Jordan and three on the other, providing designated places of refuge within Israel.
The chapter explicitly teaches God’s concern both for justice and for protection against wrongful vengeance. It does not teach that guilt is irrelevant; rather, the congregation was to judge the matter.
A devotional comparison between these cities and the believer’s refuge in the Lord may be helpful when supported from other Scriptures, but Joshua 20 itself does not explicitly identify the cities of refuge as a type of Christ. The safest interpretation begins with their stated purpose in Israel’s civil law.
Joshua 21 — Cities Given to the Levites
The heads of the fathers of the Levites approach Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the tribal leaders concerning the command of the LORD through Moses.
Joshua 21:2 says:
“The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle.”
The children of Israel therefore gave cities and their surrounding suburbs to the Levites from their own inheritances.
The cities were distributed among the three principal Levitical family divisions.
The children of Kohath received cities from Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, Ephraim, Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh. The descendants of Aaron were part of this Kohathite division and received thirteen cities.
The children of Gershon received cities from Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
The children of Merari received cities from Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
Joshua 21:41 gives the total:
“All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.”
The six cities of refuge named in Joshua 20 also appear among the Levitical cities in Joshua 21.
The chapter closes with one of the strongest statements concerning God’s faithfulness in the book of Joshua.
Joshua 21:43 says:
“And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.”
Verse 44 adds:
“And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers.”
Then comes the great conclusion:
“There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.”
— Joshua 21:45
This is an explicit declaration that God fulfilled what He had promised concerning Israel’s inheritance and victory.
This statement should be allowed to stand exactly as Scripture gives it. Earlier, Joshua 13:1 had also said, “there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.” These statements do not require us to force one verse against another. Joshua 21 declares the faithfulness of God in giving Israel the promised inheritance and victory; the book also records that further possession and obedience still remained before the nation.
The doctrinal lesson is clear: God did not fail Israel.
Joshua 22 — The Eastern Tribes, the Great Altar, and a Crisis Avoided
Joshua now dismisses the Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh.
These tribes had already received their inheritance through Moses on the other side of Jordan, but their armed men had crossed Jordan with the other tribes during the conquest.
Joshua commends their faithfulness:
“Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you.”
— Joshua 22:2
Joshua tells them that the LORD had now given rest to their brethren and therefore sends them back to their tents and possessions.
Before they leave, Joshua gives them a strong spiritual charge:
“But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
— Joshua 22:5
This is a central verse in these chapters. Military service was completed, but obedience to God was never finished.
Joshua blesses them, and they depart with considerable possessions, including cattle, silver, gold, brass, iron, and clothing.
When they come to the region of Jordan, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh build what Scripture calls:
“a great altar to see to.”
When the other tribes hear of the altar, they gather at Shiloh prepared to go to war.
Their concern was serious. An unauthorized sacrificial altar could represent rebellion against the LORD and His ordained worship.
Yet before fighting, Israel sends a delegation.
Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, goes with ten princes, one representing the chief house of each tribe.
Their warning refers directly to earlier judgments upon Israel.
They mention Peor, asking:
“Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us…?”
They also recall Achan, who “committed a trespass in the accursed thing.”
These examples show that the western tribes understood that rebellion by part of the nation could bring consequences upon the larger congregation.
Their concern about apostasy was therefore not casual or imaginary. What they had not yet established was the intended purpose of the altar.
The eastern tribes answer emphatically:
“The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know…”
They explain that the altar was not intended:
“for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice”
Instead, they had built it as a witness between themselves and the tribes west of Jordan. They feared that a future generation might say to their descendants:
“What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?”
Their altar was therefore intended to testify that they also belonged among the people who worshipped the LORD.
This explanation satisfies Phinehas and the princes.
Phinehas responds:
“This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the LORD.”
The delegation returns, reports the matter, and the children of Israel no longer speak of going to war.
The chapter concludes:
“And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.”
The crisis was therefore resolved without bloodshed because Israel took doctrinal compromise seriously and investigated the accusation before acting upon it.
That balance is one of the strongest practical lessons of the chapter.
Key People and Places
- Joshua — Leader of Israel who appoints the cities of refuge, oversees the Levitical distribution, and dismisses the eastern tribes with a blessing and charge to obey the LORD.
- Eleazar the priest — Receives the request of the Levite leaders with Joshua in chapter 21.
- Phinehas — Son of Eleazar; leads the delegation sent to investigate the altar in chapter 22.
- Reubenites — One of the tribes whose inheritance lay beyond Jordan and who helped the other tribes during the conquest.
- Gadites — Likewise returned to their inheritance after fulfilling their military obligation.
- Half tribe of Manasseh — Shared in the eastern inheritance and in the events surrounding the altar.
- Ten princes — Tribal representatives who accompany Phinehas to investigate the suspected trespass.
- Moses — Though deceased by this point in Joshua, his commands concerning refuge cities, Levites, and the eastern tribes are repeatedly identified as authoritative instructions from the LORD.
- Achan — Mentioned in Joshua 22 as an earlier example of trespass affecting more than the individual offender.
- Kedesh — Refuge city in Galilee in mount Naphtali.
- Shechem — Refuge city in mount Ephraim.
- Hebron, or Kirjath-arba — Refuge city in the mountain of Judah.
- Bezer — Refuge city associated with Reuben.
- Ramoth in Gilead — Refuge city associated with Gad.
- Golan in Bashan — Refuge city associated with Manasseh.
- Shiloh — The place where the congregation gathers when the altar controversy arises.
- Jordan — The river forming an important geographic division between the tribes while all remained part of Israel.
- Gilead — Region associated especially with the inheritance of the eastern tribes.
- Canaan — The land of Israel’s inheritance west of Jordan and the broader setting of the completed conquest described in these chapters.
Main Doctrinal or Spiritual Themes
1. God combines justice with mercy
Joshua 20 does not abolish accountability. The accused slayer must face judgment. At the same time, God provides protection for the person who killed another “unawares and unwittingly.”
Biblical justice does not treat deliberate murder and accidental killing as morally identical.
The chapter also shows why personal vengeance cannot be permitted to replace righteous judgment.
2. God’s Word must be obeyed exactly
Repeatedly the text reaches back to what the LORD had commanded through Moses.
The cities of refuge were appointed because God had commanded them.
The Levitical cities were given because God had commanded them.
The eastern tribes had remained with their brethren because Moses had commanded them.
Joshua then commands them to continue keeping the law of God.
Biblical faith is never presented as permission to disregard what God has spoken.
3. God keeps His promises
Joshua 21:45 should govern the interpretation of the chapter:
“There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.”
God’s promises did not fail because of weakness, changing circumstances, or powerful enemies.
What God had spoken, God performed.
4. Israel and its land promises should be understood literally
Joshua 21 concerns literal tribes, literal cities, literal territory, and promises historically given to the fathers of Israel.
Nothing in these chapters identifies the Church as replacing Israel.
From a dispensational reading, these passages should therefore be received first according to their plain meaning concerning national Israel.
5. God’s servants were provided for among the tribes
The Levites received forty-eight cities with suburbs distributed throughout Israel.
They did not form an ordinary territorial tribe like the other tribes. Their cities were situated within tribal territories.
The chapter therefore shows Israel materially providing places of dwelling for those set apart for Levitical service according to God’s command.
6. True unity cannot be separated from truth
Joshua 22 does not present unity as indifference to doctrine.
When Israel believed an altar of rebellion had been constructed, they treated the matter as extremely serious.
Neither does the chapter commend hasty condemnation.
Before war began, representatives were sent to investigate.
Biblical unity requires both fidelity to God and truth about the brethren.
7. Past judgments should produce present caution
Phinehas and the princes remember Peor and Achan.
They do not treat past chastening as irrelevant history. They allow previous judgment to warn them against renewed rebellion.
Romans 15:4 later expresses the general principle:
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning…”
Believers should learn from God’s recorded dealings rather than repeating known sins.
8. Future generations must be taught their relationship to the LORD
The eastern tribes were deeply concerned that their descendants might eventually be told:
“Ye have no part in the LORD.”
Their proposed solution belonged specifically to their circumstances and should not be turned into a command for churches to build memorial altars.
The principle that may be drawn from their stated concern, however, is that one generation should care whether the next generation knows its spiritual heritage and understands the truth about the LORD.
Practical Applications or Lessons
Take God’s commands seriously. Joshua repeatedly carried out what the LORD had already spoken through Moses. Godly leadership does not invent a new standard when God has already revealed His will.
Distinguish facts from appearances. The altar certainly existed, and its appearance alarmed Israel. But its purpose was misunderstood. What looked like rebellion was explained by those who built it as a witness rather than a sacrificial altar.
A believer should therefore be careful about making accusations based solely upon appearances.
Investigate before condemning. Israel was prepared to confront what they believed was apostasy, but they sent Phinehas and the princes before beginning war. Proverbs 18:13 says:
“He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.”
Joshua 22 provides a practical example consistent with that principle.
Do not confuse patience with doctrinal compromise. The delegation did not say that false worship would have been acceptable. They confronted the matter directly. Their restraint consisted in establishing the truth before taking irreversible action.
Churches likewise should neither ignore genuine doctrinal rebellion nor condemn brethren without evidence.
Remember what sin has already cost. Peor and Achan remained powerful warnings. A Christian who remembers the consequences of past sin has reason to walk more carefully, not less carefully.
Serve the Lord after the crisis has passed. The eastern tribes had completed years of military responsibility. Joshua did not tell them that their spiritual duty had ended. Instead he commanded them to:
“love the LORD your God,”
“walk in all his ways,”
“keep his commandments,”
“cleave unto him,”
and “serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Spiritual faithfulness is not limited to extraordinary seasons of service.
Believe God’s promises. Israel’s enemies, battles, and difficulties did not invalidate God’s Word.
Joshua 21:45 remains the proper conclusion:
“There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.”
Provide for God’s work according to biblical order. Israel did not merely profess appreciation for the Levites; cities and suburbs were actually provided according to God’s command. Genuine support for ministry should be practical rather than merely verbal.
Care about the faith of the next generation. The eastern tribes explicitly feared a future separation between their children and the worship of the LORD. Scripture does not command believers today to reproduce their altar, but their stated concern may properly remind parents and churches that biblical truth must be deliberately taught to succeeding generations.
Stand for truth without creating unnecessary division. Joshua 22 ends peacefully because the tribes were willing to speak, listen, investigate, and accept a truthful explanation. Separation from genuine apostasy is biblical; division based on an unverified accusation is not something this passage commends.
Overall Message
Joshua 20–22 presents a nation being ordered according to the Word of God after major military conquest. Refuge is provided without destroying justice. The Levites receive what God commanded. Israel receives what God promised. Faithful soldiers return home with a charge to continue serving the LORD. Finally, a potentially disastrous conflict is resolved because Israel combines zeal for holiness with a willingness to investigate the facts.
The three chapters therefore move naturally around three great truths:
- God provides according to His wisdom.
- God performs what He promises.
- God’s people must obey Him carefully and deal truthfully with one another.
The final testimony of Joshua 21 summarizes the theological foundation beneath all three chapters:
“There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.”
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