Numbers 35:30-34
"If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on
the evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony
of one witness. (31) Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the
life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. (32)
And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of
refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high
priest. (33) You shall not pollute the land in which you
live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land
for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. (34)
You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I
dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel."
As Israel
prepare to enter the Promised Land and take up their allotted inheritances, the
Levites will have no land to take as their own. Thus, in this chapter we see
how God makes provision for the tribe of Levi. The other 11 tribes are
commanded to set aside cities in their territories for the Levites, these
cities are to also include a suitable amount of grazing land for their
livestock. A total of 48 cities were to be set aside for the Levites, and six
of these cities were to function as cities of refuge. These cities of refuge
were to be a place of safety for those who had innocently caused the death of
another. They could flee to one of these cities, where their case would be
heard and if they were found innocent of murder, they would be spared from the
penalty of murder.
This means of
dealing with such tragic deaths is a demonstration and means of God’s grace. A
fact that we know well, is that accidents happen and sometimes they can have
deadly consequences. In certain circumstances a person can cause the death of
another and yet be completely innocent of murder, having no malice, plan or
desire to kill them, or knowledge that what they were doing would result in
that person’s death. God wants the law to be used lawfully and for the good of
the nation and the individual. Therefore, He provides a means through which the
innocent can be protected from receiving a punishment they are not truly
deserving of.
However, as the
end of this chapter makes clear, this law is not to be abused, nor should it
pervert the course of justice. Those who are clearly guilty of murder must
receive the due penalty and punishment. The principle that is being laid down
here is that when the law is clearly transgressed, the guilty person must
receive the stipulated penalty and there can be no exceptions, free passes, lesser
penalties or alternative means of paying for the crime. In the case of
deliberate murder, or accidental death the point is that life is precious, it
is to be upheld, cherished and protected. Life is so precious and valuable,
that no man can buy his way out of murder, whether it be deliberate or
accidental. When a person loses their life at the hand of another, there is a
consequence, a cost, it cannot be ignored and dismissed. The consequence, the
punishment is to be determined in a manner that is just, fair and pleasing in
God’s sight.
The design of
these commandments is to firstly prevent injustice, secondly to prevent
needless and unjust acts of revenge, thirdly to uphold the value of life. Fourthly
it serves to protect the poor and oppressed from those who are wealthy or in
authority, lest they abuse their power or wealth as a means of escaping
justice.
The fifth, and
most important design of these commandments is seen in the last two verses.
Injustice, needless and unjust acts of revenge and the abuse of power or
wealth, leads to oppression, injustice and the shedding of much blood without
consequence. When this takes place, it will not be long before that country
descends into anarchy. The land would indeed be polluted with much blood, a
place where a person’s life could be bought and the guilty escape justice. Such
a way of life and society could not be further from being the way of God, the
way of life, justice, truth and blessing. It would be the way of evil, sin and
selfishness, for these are the breeding grounds of bloodshed and injustice.
Thousands of
years have passed since Numbers 25, but God’s commands and designs still apply
to us. Life is life no matter where you are in the world. Life is to be valued,
cherished, protected and upheld no matter who you may be. There is never a
suitable reason or excuse for the deliberate murder of another, just as there
is to be a means of justice for those who accidentally take the life of
another. We are to love justice and should prize the truth, to the point that
justice cannot be bought nor should the truth have a price tag. Our way of life,
should be the way set out for us by God, for that leads to life, justice, truth
and blessing.
We may not be in
positions of power and authority, at times we may feel a sense of helplessness
and frustration when injustice is done, when wicked men escape justice. But as
far as we are concerned we should seek to walk after God’s way and design,
loving, protecting life, prizing the truth and upholding justice in our own
lives, whilst praying the God would cause life, justice and truth to be upheld
in our land and world.
Finally, for
those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ, this chapter gives us cause to
rejoice greatly. We as sinners stand guilty before a righteous and holy God, we
are guilty of crimes, evil, acts of sinfulness and offences against God, that are
so many in number and so grievous that we could never pay for them all. We are
already condemned; such is the extent of our guilt. Yet we who are such condemned
sinners, have been set free from the penalty, the punishment of our sins, and
have been set free, restored to life, by Christ. We should be deeply humbled by
the fact that Christ, God the Son, was willing to become sin, our sin, to stand
condemned in our place, so that we might be declared righteous, innocent,
blameless and free. We should rejoice and fall to our knees in adoration that
Christ, though innocent, surrendered His life into the hands of evil men, so
that we who were dead in our trespasses and sins, might receive His perfect
life. We should rejoice and offer up constant thanks to God because we who once
had polluted our lives and the lives of many others through our sinfulness,
have now been cleansed, made completely new by Christ.
God of holiness, truth, justice and life, we bow
humbly before Your throne. We recognise that there is none higher than You, and
it is before You that all mankind shall have to stand and be judged. Though we
may escape justice on earth, we shall never escape Your justice. Help us to
love truth, justice and life as much as You do, so that we may walk in the path
You have set in place for us. Thank You most of all for Jesus Christ, who bore
our sins, who suffered such great injustices, so that we who deserved to be condemned
have now been set free. May we rejoice in the knowledge and reality of Christ’s
work for us, and declare to others how they too might be saved. Amen.
