And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,
The Lord's speech to Moses was given in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan near Jericho. It was spoken before Israel crossed the Jordan into the promised land. It opens the instructions of chapter 35 and, together with chapter 30 on the vows of a wife, daughter and others, belongs to the closing chapters and readings of the book of Numbers.
The instruction it introduces appoints cities of refuge for manslayers, for anyone who accidentally kills another person. A fugitive was to be admitted by the elders of the city and afterward to receive a regular trial before a higher court after witnesses and accusers could appear. The six cities sheltered the slayer from the avenger of blood until the death of the high priest, and leaving the city put the slayer in danger.
The cities of refuge picture refuge in Christ, and the avenger pictures God's law which demands the sinner's life. A sinner who flees to Christ and remains in him is safe because Christ lives forever and intercedes continually, so he saves completely and satisfies the law's demand. The chapter directs that instead of one portion of land for inheritance as given to the other tribes, the Levites receive forty-eight cities scattered among all the tribes as their portion, having no separate tribal division of the land and serving in priestly duties, so that their influence for good might be more widely felt throughout Israel. The measurement given for the Levitical cities assigned as homes for the Levites is about one thousand acres for each city.
The scattering of Levi fulfills being divided in Jacob and scattered in Israel, but the curse is turned into a blessing. This shows that God is unchanging and that when He pronounces evil against a nation or individual because of wickedness, if they turn from their evil He will turn from the evil He purposed and give blessing instead. The closing chapters also give the law concerning murder and the law concerning heiresses.
The Lord's speech to Moses was given in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan near Jericho. It was spoken before Israel crossed the Jordan into the promised land. It opens the instructions of chapter 35 and, together with chapter 30 on the vows of a wife, daughter and others, belongs to the closing chapters and readings of the book of Numbers.
The instruction it introduces appoints cities of refuge for manslayers, for anyone who accidentally kills another person. A fugitive was to be admitted by the elders of the city and afterward to receive a regular trial before a higher court after witnesses and accusers could appear. The six cities sheltered the slayer from the avenger of blood until the death of the high priest, and leaving the city put the slayer in danger.
The cities of refuge picture refuge in Christ, and the avenger pictures God's law which demands the sinner's life. A sinner who flees to Christ and remains in him is safe because Christ lives forever and intercedes continually, so he saves completely and satisfies the law's demand. The chapter directs that instead of one portion of land for inheritance as given to the other tribes, the Levites receive forty-eight cities scattered among all the tribes as their portion, having no separate tribal division of the land and serving in priestly duties, so that their influence for good might be more widely felt throughout Israel. The measurement given for the Levitical cities assigned as homes for the Levites is about one thousand acres for each city.
The scattering of Levi fulfills being divided in Jacob and scattered in Israel, but the curse is turned into a blessing. This shows that God is unchanging and that when He pronounces evil against a nation or individual because of wickedness, if they turn from their evil He will turn from the evil He purposed and give blessing instead. The closing chapters also give the law concerning murder and the law concerning heiresses.