Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Numbers 15:30-36
iii) Provision in Respect of Sin With a High Hand (Numbers 15:30).
“ But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he be homeborn or a resident alien, the same blasphemes Yahweh, and that person shall be cut off from among his people.”
Those, however, who sinned with a high hand, would not receive forgiveness. This refers to specific sins against the commandments which were premeditated and deliberately carried through in defiance of God. It applied specifically to sins which directly affected Yahweh's sovereignty and were against creation, and thus included murder, idolatry, adultery and Sabbath-breaking. Such a person was blaspheming Yahweh and despising His word. He was being ‘high handed'.
“ Because he has despised the word of Yahweh, and has broken his commandment, that person shall utterly be cut off. His iniquity shall be on him.”
And because he had despised Yahweh's word and deliberately with forethought broken His commandment in defiance of Yahweh, that person was to be cut off from among the people. The primary responsibility for carrying out the sentence was Yahweh's. The person would not escape. But where the congregation were aware of the sin they were to assist in the cutting off. The example that follows demonstrates that that meant the death sentence.
‘And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the sabbath day.'
The example is given of a man found gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. This was described as ‘while in the wilderness' demonstrating how much the writer is elsewhere projecting forward in his mind into the land. Such an act was deliberate, was against what he knew to be God's requirement, and was done in defiance of the Law and was, as he was aware, a sin against the very basis of creation. No one had ever yet been punished for it and he probably felt that he could get away with it. But it was in open defiance of Yahweh, and a challenge to His name and position. It was high treason. It was a sin against what all knew to be sacred, against what belonged to Yahweh. It could not be allowed to go unpunished, and the punishment had to be severe.
‘And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation.'
Those who found him committing his sin brought him to Moses and Aaron. They recognised that this was not a local matter but affected the whole camp, for it could bring down Yahweh's anger on the camp.
‘And they put him in ward, because it had not been declared what should be done to him.'
But because this was the first case of the kind and not strictly covered by the law they put him under guard so that Yahweh could be consulted. What was forbidden was daily work and lighting a fire on the Sabbath day (Exodus 35:2). He could have argued that he was not working, which might have been debatable, but it was quite clear that the man would not have gathered the sticks unless he intended to light a fire. Thus he was in their eyes intending to break the law.
‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.”
Yahweh's verdict was quickly given. He knew the whole truth about the man's motives. The man was to be put to death. He had openly flouted God. All the congregation were to take part for he had sinned against the congregation. They were to stone him with stones. Thus they would not touch him and render themselves unclean by their action. And it was to be done outside the camp so that the camp was not made unclean.
‘And all the congregation brought him outside the camp, and stoned him to death with stones, as Yahweh commanded Moses.'
And the whole congregation did as Yahweh commanded. They brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones as Yahweh had commanded Moses. This was the way in which all high handed sin was to be dealt with.
Further examples of high-handed sins appear in the next chapter, for Korah, Dathan and Abiram were guilty of high-handed sin. But there it would be Yahweh Who meted out the penalty.
This was not to say that no sin with a high hand could ever be forgiven, only that no provision was made for it through the sacrificial system (Psalms 51:16). Rarely a man could come back from such a sin and seek the grace of God, as David after his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah the Hittite (2 Samuel 11). But it was at great cost (see Psalms 51 and David's subsequent history).