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.
CITIES GIVEN TO THE LEVITES
(vs.1-8)
The Levites had no tribal possession, but were to be scattered among the tribes so as to serve and teach the ways of the Lord (Deuteronomy 33:10). Therefore the tribes were required to give cities to the Levites where they might have tribes were required to give cities to the Levites where they might have land around the cities where they could care for their livestock (vs.1-3). Among these cities six were to be appointed as cities of refuge (v.6), and 42 were to be added to these, making 48 in all. The number of cities in each tribe depended on the size of the tribe, some having more, some having less to give to the Levites (vs.7-8). The Levites being present in all the tribes ought to have served to maintain unity in Israel, through their presence did not preserve the tribes from division in the time of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:1). In fact, sad to say, there seemed to be little realization among the Levites themselves of the great dignity conferred on them in being chosen by God for the work given them, and rather than being drawn together in unity, we see in the book of judges an independent spirit in Levites that only sought their own will (Judges 17:7; Judges 19:1).
SIX CITIES OF REFUGE
(vs.9-34)
Verse 6 has told us these six cities belonged to the Levites. The name of these cities are found inJoshua 20:1. A refuge was in this way provided for one who had accidentally killed a person, for it might well be that a relative or friend of the victim would seek retaliation by killing the person responsible. In that city that person would be safe until such time as there was an investigation into the case. If it proved to be a case of actual murder, he must be delivered up to the avenger (vs..9-12).
Three of the cities were to be appointed on the east of the Jordan River and three on the west (v.14). But a deliberate murderer could not count on the protection of the city of refuge. If one struck another with an iron instrument, or stone or wooden weapon purposely, this was murder and the murderer was to be sentenced to death (vs.16-18). In fact, the avenger of blood was to put the murderer to death (v.19).
If a case was not fully clear as to whether there was intent to cause harm or not, when the manslayer came to the city of refuge, "then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood according to these judgments" (v.24). "There judgments" involve the question of whether the case was one of murder, as seen in verses 16-21, or whether it was unintentional manslaughter, as in verses 22-23.
The slayer was safe inside the city until this judgment took place. Then, if the person was found guilty of murder he was to be delivered to the avenger of blood, who was to put him to death. If not found guilty, he was to be allowed to remain in the city of refuge without fear of death. Then he must remain there until the death of the high priest, for if found outside the city, the avenger of blood was allowed to kill him.
After the death of the high priest he could return to his own home, and would be safe from any reprisal by the avenger of blood (vs.25-28).
All of this emphasizes God's care for the life of mankind. But there is here also a typical lesson as regards Israel's guilt in the death of the Lord Jesus. While on the cross He pled, "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34). Thus, Israel was given the benefit of whatever doubt there might be, not considered as guilty of murder but of unintentional manslaughter. Certainly there were some who proved to be murderers, as Stephen witnesses inActs 7:52. However, for centuries now Israel has been allowed to remain in a refuge and will not be free until the time typified by the death of the high priest.
In the Numerical Bible (Numbers -- Page 519) F.W.Grant writes, "Through shut out from their inheritance in the meantime, the time will come in which they (Israel) shall be restored to it. And that time will be when the priesthood of the Lord as now exercised in heaven shall be at an end, and He shall come forth, Priest and King in one, to bring in the times of the restitution of which the prophets speak. This, then, would seem to answer to the death of the high priest, while it may be none the less true that His being 'anointed with the holy oil' here points Him out as the One whose work has been to make atonement. The special high priestly work of 'the day of atonement' would seem referred to, with its ordinance of the scapegoat and its blessing for Israel, when He who went into the holy place comes forth. It is on the day of atonement that the trumpet of jubilee sounds, and every man returns to his possession."
In the New Testament the willful murderer, even today, is indicated inHebrews 10:26: "If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation." Verse 29 shows this refers to one who "has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace." One therefore who has a malicious attitude toward the Lord Jesus, after having been intellectually enlightened as to Christ's own character, shows himself guilty of the murder of the Son of God.