AM Bible Study Group; November 10, 2010
Numbers 35:1-34
Theme: In this chapter, we’re told some of the cities allocated to the Levites were to be set aside as “cities of refuge” for the people of Israel.
This chapter provided important instructions to the people of Israel as they were about to enter the promised land. It had to do with the allocation of the lands to the different tribes; and specifically the allocation, from those lands, of cities for the people of the tribe of Levi—whom we’re told in eighteenth chapter (vv. 20 and 24) would have no inheritance of land among the other tribes, but that the Lord Himself would be their portion.
It’s best to understand the things told us in this chapter in the light of verses 33-34—and with regard to the sacredness of blood in the land. The first hint that God values “blood” in relation to “land” is given to us in Genesis 4:10; where we’re told that after Cain murdered his brother Abel, Abel’s blood ‘cried out’ to God from the ground. The bloodshed of the innocent defiles the land before a holy God; and God commanded later that such a sin can only be atoned for by the shedding of the blood of the murderer by men (Genesis 9:6).
But as would be the case in a people entering a new land—engaging in building and construction—innocent blood may be shed accidentally. Thus, God promised to Moses in Exodus 21:12-13 that provision would be made for the cases of accidental manslaughter. In this chapter, we see that promised provision being made.
I.. THE CITIES AND COMMON-LANDS ALLOCATED TO THE LEVITES (vv. 1-8).
A. The provision of cities and common-land (vv. 1-3). Before the people of Israel went in to the land to conquer it and take possession of it, He established that provision must be made for the Levites. Along with the cities, common-land—for farming and livestock— were also to be set aside. Cities, in respect to this command, were probably little larger than hamlets; and together with the common-lands, one scholar estimates that they would have taken up 0.1% of the total land area of Canaan (see Gordon J. Wenham, Numbers [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981], p. 234).
B. The dimensions of the common-land (vv. 4-5). The dimensions of the common-land was not left up to guess-work, nor could it be bought-up and expanded. It was limited to specific dimensions—adequate for the need, but not subject to growth. The delineations of this land become important—as we see later in the chapter—in defining where the innocent man-slayer must remain in order to keep from being justly put to death by the avenger of blood (see verses 26-27).
C. The number of cities along with ‘cities of refuge’ (vv. 6-8). Here, it’s stated that the cities were to come from the other tribes—given according to each tribe’s size; that from these, cities of refuge were to be set aside (three for each side of the Jordan River); and that the total number—with cites of refuge—would be 48. These are described in greater detail in Joshua 21. (See also Deuteronomy 19:1-13.)
II. THE SETTING ASIDE OF SOME AS ‘CITIES OF REFUGE’ (vv. 9-34).
A. The establishment of cities of refuge (vv. 9-15). The purpose of these cities was to provide a place for a man to flee in the case of accidental manslaughter, until the case could be properly judged. This was necessary, because it was the legal responsibility of the “avenger of blood” (that is, the near kinsman of the slain man) to shed the blood of the man-slayer and thus atone for the bloodshed. (This concern for the shedding of blood was maintained even in a case in which the man-slayer was not known; see Deuteronomy 21:1-9).
B. The conditions under which refuge was provided to the man-slayer (vv. 16-28). If he strikes a man in such a way that was clearly premeditated—making him guilty of murder—he was not to be protected; but was to be handed over (by the city officials) to the avenger of blood (vv. 16-21). But if it was clearly a case in which premeditation was not involved, or in the case of an accident, he was to be given refuge until the death of the high priest (vv. 22-25). The death of the high priest, apparently, served as the atonement for the shedding of blood in such a case. If the innocent man-slayer ventured out of the city area before the death of the high priest, however, he may be killed (vv. 26-28).
C. The sacredness of blood that makes these conditions necessary (vv. 29-34). This was to be maintained throughout the generations of Israel. No ransom was to be allowed— either for a man who was guilty, or in order to release an innocent man-slayer from the city of refuge. This was for the reason given us in verses 33-34; “So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.” This would certainly have had the effect of ensuring the value of human life in the every-day work of the people of Israel; as well as underscoring the the precious value of human life in the sight of God.
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Dr. R.K. Harrison (Numbers [Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992], p. 423) sums-up the importance of this chapter very well when he writes:
The Israelites were prohibited from polluting the land by man-slaughter or murder. Spilling blood defiled the land because it had been shed outside the atoning context of the sacrificial system. A holy and just God could not dwell with His people in the land of promise if it was being defiled, because His holiness would be compromised as a result. God hates sin and defilement of all kinds and will punish the unrepentant offender. Forgiveness, however, can be obtained by true penitence and by bringing to the Lord the appropriate sacrificial offering.
The same principle also applies in the Christian dispensation. Anyone who resists divine grace throughout his or her lifetime will suffer the penal death awaiting the ungodly. But the sinner who is genuinely penitent and claims the cleansing efficacy of the blood shed by Christ for the forgiveness of sin will receive pardon and cleansing (Eph. 1:7; 1 John 1:7; etc.). The forgiven sinner must walk continually in faith and obedience, presenting his or her body as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, to constitute a model of spiritual worship (Rom. 12:1).