Numbers 35:1-34
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them.
3 And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.
4 And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.
5 And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.
6 And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities.
7 So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with their suburbs.
8 And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have many ye shall give many; but from them that have few ye shall give few: every one shall give of his cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inheriteth.
9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
11 Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares.
12 And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment.
13 And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge.
14 Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge.
15 These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.
16 And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
17 And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
18 Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
19 The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.
20 But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die;
21 Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him.
22 But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait,
23 Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm:
24 Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments:
25 And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil.
26 But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled;
27 And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood:
28 Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.
29 So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
30 Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.
31 Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guiltya of death: but he shall be surely put to death.
32 And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.
33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.
34 Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.
Numbers 35:4. A thousand cubits on the east side two thousand cubits. A line of one thousand cubits extending from the centre of the city, east, west, north, and south, would make each side of the square two thousand cubits. This would make the levites happy in gardens, and convenient retreats. God would have his ministers easy in domestic cares, that they may care for the church alone; and from the care he takes of his ministers, they may learn what care they ought to take of his flock.
Numbers 35:24. The congreg ation shall judge; that is, the elders surrounded by the people, as appears from Deuteronomy 19:12.
Numbers 35:25. He shall abide in it to the death of the highpriest, who was regarded as the spiritual father of all Israel; and while a man was mourning for the death of a father, he could not think of avenging a case of manslaughter with the blood of a brother.
Numbers 35:33. Blood defileth the land. Therefore it must be purged by the blood of him that shed it. This principle seems fully to justify the war against Amalek and Moab. By consequence every man-slayer was tried by the elders in the gate, before he could be admitted to the asylum.
REFLECTIONS.
The Lord having made the levites comfortable by the tithe, and by forty eight cities, next made them protectors of the man who might have the calamity to kill his neighbour without design. Three cities of refuge lay to the east, and three to the west of the Jordan, and almost parallel with its stream. It was the business of the sanhedrim, says Maimonides, as quoted by Dr. Lightfoot, to keep the roads of those cities in good repair, and thirty two cubits wide. No hillock, or river destitute of a bridge was allowed; and at every cross or parting road, the word Refuge, Refuge, was inscribed on a finger post in large letters. Maccoth, as quoted above, says, that the mother of the highpriest used to feed and clothe the manslayers, that they might not pray for the death of her son. It is also added, that if a man slew the highpriest, he was never more to return to his place. And surely this law has been awfully enforced against the Jews for slaying the Lord of glory. We may farther observe, that the refuge provided for men guilty of homicide, was highly expressive of the refuge which God has provided in Christ and the church, for poor sinners. See that soul awakened and alarmed by the terrors of the law. A life of folly and sin stands unveiled to his view. He grieves for having grieved the Lord, but he can no more undo his sin than the man-slayer could restore his neighbour to life, though he would give all the world to do it. See, on the other hand, justice, as the avenger of blood, brandishing her sword against the offender, and menacing his soul with death. What shall the sinner do? Whether can he flee; where can he find a refuge, when heaven is the assailant? Let him now turn his eyes, hopeless and desponding as he is, to Christ crucified for sinners. He has died the death for man, he has disarmed the terrors of justice, and now opens the refuge of his wounded side to receive the penitent and believing soul. In him we have redemption, mercy, and love. In him we have the new covenant, branching forth with a thousand promises; a covenant confirmed by an oath to Abraham, that by virtue of two immutable things, the promise and oath of God, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us. Hebrews 6:18. See not only the Saviour, but likewise the church, with her arms and her gates extended to receive the poor and afflicted sinner. Here is a sanctuary, not in Hebron, not in Shechem, or Kadesh, but in “Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and God is known in her palaces for a refuge.”
The way to the city was plain, and the distance short. When a man is not in a proper frame to be blest, conversion seems difficult, or impossible. But when the mind is deeply impressed, God is easy of access. The sinner has but to ask, and he shall receive; but to seek, and he shall find. He may come with all his misery to obtain mercy, with all his wants to be supplied. The way is so plain, that he who runs may read; and the wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err therein.
It was a consciousness of the sure approach of danger, which drove the manslayer to the sanctuary. The case is parallel with the sinner. While a man fancies himself safe in his sins; while he believes that the evil day is distant, or shall never come; while health and affluence smile around, he glides with the stream, and despises fear. But let him remember, that heaven is already armed against the guilty; that the tempest sometimes bursts at noon; for the Son of man cometh at an hour when we are not aware. No man could take refuge in those cities in his sins, no murderer could find a sanctuary there; and even in a case of chancemedley, when a man fell by an accidental blow, his case was cautiously heard. Here the superior glory and liberty of the gospel appear over the law. Sinners of the foulest class may find life and refuge in Christ, provided they hate and renounce their sins; provided their repentance is accompanied with all the fruits of restitution and reparation in their power, and with the purest purposes of piety for the future. Oh how happy is the sinner, sheltered in the arms and protected with the covenant of God. Let him for ever abide in his refuge, for his Highpriest having once died, liveth for ever in glory with the Father. If he leave this city, the divine justice is ready to punish his apostasy, and all his former sins.