Numbers 35:34, commentary and pictures

Numbers 35:34 belongs to God's appointment of cities of refuge in Canaan among His own people Israel, as part of the chapter's directions concerning those cities. The provision gave asylum and escape from death to one who killed unintentionally or accidentally, who could flee to a refuge city and had to remain there until the death of the high priest, and who was in danger from the avenger of blood if he left beforehand. This provision illustrates God's gift of life to transgressors who repent and return to Him, not permission to continue in sin. Willful, premeditated murder was distinguished from accidental killing, for after a fair trial willful murderers were handed over for execution and could not be ransomed, with related laws against blood avenging, so that the death penalty applies to murder and not to accidental destruction of life.

Bloodshed defiles the land Israel inhabits, and Israel must not defile it because the Lord dwells there among the children of Israel. Land defiled by shed blood cannot be cleansed except by the blood of the one who shed it. The concern for cleansing the land connects to the everlasting covenant, in which Christ's blood given in humanity's place purchases salvation and the restoration of what was lost through Adam's sin.

The refuge city points to Christ as refuge for the sinner, and the avenger of blood points to God's law which demands the sinner's life. Sinners who take refuge in Christ and remain in Him are safe, eternally safe because Christ lives forever to intercede and the law's demand is satisfied, while those who leave Him face wrath, judgment and destruction. Unlike fortified cities of the world that claim to be safe yet fall, these were true cities of safety appointed by God. In the same spirit, cities today should be made places of refuge through urban mission that brings care and spiritual help to suffering people.