Numbers 35:9-36:13

Numbers 35:9-36:13

The rest of Numbers 35 specifically deals with murder in light of the cities of refuge. God wanted the Israelites to create 6 of these cities where people who accidently killed another man could flee. There is a distinction made in this passage about killing, for some is considered murder, and some is not. Since the Israelites were previously commanded to not commit murder, that is once again prohibited in this passage and not condoned. But God takes into consideration the fact that some people might kill on accident, not having the attention to kill or using an instrument in such a way that it kills someone who may casually be walking by unknowingly. For these accidents, the cities of refuge were established, and the one who killed would flee there. They would not be sought out with vengeance, and they would be allowed to live their normal lives without the fear of someone trying to avenge the life that was lost. The only rule was that they had to remain in that city until the death of the high priest. Then they were free to go back to their home land.

But like every good rule, people try to take advantage of it and find loop holes. God did not allow them to do that with this command. He made it clear that murder would not be tolerated. If someone was murdered, then the city of refuge had not effect. In fact, the people closest to the murdered man could seek vengeance on the murderer. These two contrasting images show that God does not take sin lightly. He will always punish those who do evil, but He is also a compassionate God who looks out for others. Although killing is never good, He understood that there would be those accidents (verse 23 is an example of one of those). So God took this into consideration, showing that although He is a God of wrath, He is also a God of justice.

This book ends by concluding the discussion of Zelophehad’s daughters. In Numbers 27 they had acquired their father’s land, due to the fact that he had no male heirs. Now they are once again worried that they might lose that land. If they marry within another tribe of Israel, their inheritance would transfer to the other tribe and not their own. This led to a command for them to marry within their own tribe so that their inheritance would remain with them. Whereas in this story, Numbers 36 serves as a conclusion (a wrap-up of sorts), the closing verse still leaves the story open. This is not the end, for the Israelites have still not entered into the Promised Land. The only thing keeping them from going is Moses. God was continuing to use Moses in these last few matters (dealing with murder and Zelophehad’s daughters), but Moses’ days were about done. God is a God who keeps His promises, and that being true, Moses will soon die, which will usher in the Israelites inheriting the land (the land promised to them).

Matt