CHAPTER 35

(1451 B.C.)

CITIES OF THE LEVITES

¹And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,

²Command the Children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and you shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them. (Concerning the Levites, Williams says, The tender love that portioned out a goodly heritage to each Tribe to the weakest as well as to the strongest did not fail to provide a fitting maintenance for Levi. Forty-eight cities were given to him in all Israel. Thus, the prediction of Gen. 49:7 was fulfilled and, at the same time, turned into honor and blessing because of the faithfulness expressed in Ex. 32:26.

Jehovah became Levis inheritance, they were His personal servants and, therefore, wholly cast upon Him for their daily bread. They were to concern themselves about His Service, He having undertaken to concern Himself about their maintenance.)

³And the cities (48) shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs (surrounding land) of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.

⁴And the suburbs of the cities, which you shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits (1,500 feet) round about (a little over a quarter of a mile around the city was portioned off for the Levites, that they might graze their stock on this particular land).

⁵And you shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits (3,000 feet), 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. (Along with the 1,500 feet surrounding these cities, a further measure of 3,000 feet was granted beside that. Buildings on the inner grant might be sold by the Levites, but none of the land outside of that.)

⁶And among the cities which you shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which you shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them you shall add forty and two cities. (This refers to an individual who kills someone by accident. These cities were not for murderers. If the manslayer could reach one of these cities, the relatives of the victim could not touch him. He was to stay in this City of Refuge until the death of the High Priest. When the High Priest died, the man was free and, by Law, the victims relatives must not bother him.

The Avenger of Blood symbolized the Law. It demanded the death of the manslayer. The death of the High Priest satisfied this claim and liberated the manslayer. Christs Death, not His Life, rent the Veil, and frees the sinner from the curse of the broken Law. Similarly, the death of the Lamb, not its spotlessness, redeemed the Law-breaker of Lev., Chpt. 4. The manslayer was then at liberty to return to his possession.

When Israel shall look upon Him Whom they have pierced, it will be then revealed to them that His Death restores them to the land and Family of God.)

⁷So all the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall you give with their suburbs.

⁸And the cities which you shall give shall be of the possession of the Children of Israel: from them who have many you shall give many; but from them who have few you shall give few: every one shall give of his cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inherits.

CITIES OF REFUGE

⁹And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

¹⁰Speak unto the Children of Israel, and say unto them, When you be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan;

¹¹Then you shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which kills any person at unawares (accidentally).

¹²And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment (after the High Priest died, if it was felt by the authorities that a trial was necessary, one could then be conducted).

¹³And of these cities which you shall give six cities shall you have for refuge.

¹⁴You shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall you give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge (three cities were to be on the east side of the Jordan River, and three cities on the west side).

¹⁵These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the Children of Israel, and for the stranger (Gentile), and for the sojourner among them: that everyone who kills any person unawares (accidentally) may flee thither. (Those six cities were: Kadesh, Golan, Shechem, Ramoth, Hebron, and Bezer.)

WILLFUL MURDER

¹⁶And 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 (in other words, there were no cities of refuge for murderers).

¹⁷And 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.

¹⁸Or 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.

¹⁹The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meets him, he shall slay him (the relatives or friends of the one murdered).

²⁰But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die;

²¹Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he who smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meets him.

INVOLUNTARY KILLING

²²But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait,

²³Or 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 (was done accidentally).

²⁴Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments (a trial was to be conducted):

²⁵And 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 (Jesus was our High Priest; His death satisfied all claims against us, and gave us our freedom).

²⁶But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled;

²⁷And 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 (if the individual leaves the city of refuge before the death of the High Priest, and is killed by friends or relatives of the victim, they will not be charged with any crime):

²⁸Because 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 (and there be protected by the Law).

²⁹So these things shall be for a Statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. (Rather until Christ would come, Who, as our High Priest, would fulfill all obligations, thereby making moot and invalid these particular Laws. Christ satisfied all the requirements of the Law in every respect, and did so by His Perfect Life. As well, He satisfied the demands of the broken Law, of which all were guilty, except Christ, and did so by dying on the Cross [Gal. 3:13-14]. So when a person accepts and receives Christ as ones personal Saviour, all the claims of the Law are satisfied in that acceptance.)

MURDERERS

³⁰Whoso kills 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 (under the Law of Moses, there had to be two or more eye witnesses to the crime before the person could be put to death; one eye witness was not enough; such shows the high value that God placed upon life).

³¹Moreover you shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death (if there are two or more personal witnesses to the crime, the guilty person is to be put to death).

³²And you shall take no satisfaction for him who is fled to the city of his refuge (he cannot claim safety and protection in one of the cities of refuge, as could one who had accidentally killed another), that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the Priest (the Cities of Refuge were to never be a haven for murderers).

³³So you shall not pollute the land wherein you are: for blood it defiles the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him who shed it (if a person commits cold-blooded murder, and there are two or more eye witnesses, such a person must be executed; to not take proper steps in such situations pollutes the land; so that means, regarding the untold thousands of abortions performed each year in the United States, that the land is polluted with blood; one day God will demand payment).

³⁴Defile not therefore the land which you shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the Children of Israel. (This was under the old Law; however, it applies presently to the nations of the world which consider themselves to be predominantly Christian. God does not change, even as God cannot change.)