Numbers 35:9-21 / He Bears with Us
📖 Scripture
9 Then the Lord said to Moses:
10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,
11 select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee.
12 They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that anyone accused of murder may not die before they stand trial before the assembly.
13 These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge.
14 Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge.
15 These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners residing among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.
16 “‘If anyone strikes someone a fatal blow with an iron object, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death.
17 Or if anyone is holding a stone and strikes someone a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death.
18 Or if anyone is holding a wooden object and strikes someone a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death.
19 The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death; when the avenger comes upon the murderer, the avenger shall put the murderer to death.
20 If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at them intentionally so that they die
21 or if out of enmity one person hits another with their fist so that the other dies, that person is to be put to death; that person is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when they meet.
✅ Scripture Summary
✅ Memory verse
– Psalm 73:26
✅ Reflection
Making Peace in a Fallen Community (35:9–15)
Even today, punishment for involuntary manslaughter is less severe than punishment for murder. For the Israelites, six cities are to be refuge cities specifically reserved for those accused of this type of manslaughter. God does not require the life of someone who has unintentionally taken another. In His grace, God prevents further shedding of blood for cases where the victim’s family might want to exact revenge on one who has unintentionally taken a life. God not only sees outward actions but knows the intentions of the heart. He knows that in this fallen world, there are not only intentional sins, but unintentional accidents as well. One way God demonstrates His grace is by making a way for sinful people to be able to live in community with other sinful people.
How does it comfort you to know that God is concerned about the intentions of the heart? On the other hand, how might this be a warning regarding our actions?
To Prevent Evil (35:16–21)
Though grace is given in a case of unintentional manslaughter, God will not tolerate the intentional taking of a human life. Some evidences to intentionality are listed. If a person strikes another using any tools or objects that could kill, that person is to be treated as a murderer. The avenger of blood, usually a near relative, has the right to exact vengeance. This may seem like a harsh right to condone, but it ultimately points to the seriousness of sin and the preciousness of life. Evil must be punished and uprooted from among the people of God. Our many sins against God were also deserving of righteous vengeance. A life was the payment, but instead of ours, the life of God’s Son was given. What an amazing grace!
Are there sins in your life that you are tolerating? What steps must be taken to uproot those sins from your life?
✅ Prayer
“The heart of the gospel is redemption, and the essence of redemption is the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ.” – Charles H. Spurgeon
✅ Essay
Forgiven to Forgive
Some regions in Albania still practice a code of “blood feud.” This term refers to a practice in which a clan personally takes vengeance over the murder of their kin. The code gives the victim’s family the right to kill any blood relation of the murderer. In their turn, however, the initial murderer’s family can then take another life for the one that was taken from them in vengeance. It doesn’t take long for both sides to simultaneously become victims and murderers. Blood feuds can only come to an end when and if the last victim of vengeance decides to forgive and stop the cycle of retaliation.
Blood feuds are the reality of the sinful heart when sinful ideas of justice become culturally acceptable. And we would not know how to end such feuds if we were not first shown what forgiveness is—the ultimate forgiveness. As Christians, we remember that we were in something worse than a blood feud, perpetually at enmity with God. Our constant rebellion toward the holy God rightfully marked us for death. But instead of slaying us, God sent His own Son, who took on flesh so that His body could bleed instead of ours. God ended the feud at His own cost.
We have been forgiven much. God’s forgiveness outweighs all the trespasses in the universe put together even though our sins were so grave that God the Son had to die for them. If we do not let our minds consider the insurmountable debt that we have been cleared of, we will lack the grace to forgive others who, as the parable tells us, could not pay us back a few dollars (Matt. 18:21–35). So, let us remember well.
Written by Joe Park