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Explore God's call for justice and righteousness in Numbers 35-36.
March 31, 2026 · 16 min
Explore God's call for justice and righteousness in Numbers 35-36. Discover the cities of refuge.
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The Foundation of Biblical Justice and Levites' Cities 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning as our journey takes us to numbers, chapters 35 and 36. And with these 2 chapters, we complete yet another leg0:21 of our journey through the Bible. Tomorrow, we're gonna begin the book of Deuteronomy. So this is a great0:38 Verse 34 of chapter 35. Therefore, chapter 35. Therefore, do not defile the land which you inhabit in the midst of which I dwell, for the Lord for I, the Lord, dwell among the children of Israel. Now 1 of the things0:50 we're gonna discover as we go through the Old Testament is the centrality of justice. God is very concerned about justice. Now today, there's a lot of clamoring from the left about1:02 social justice. Now it's interesting that some of those that are screaming the loudest are the very ones who have driven biblical justice, biblical truth from the public square,1:14 which is the foundation for justice. Alright? The the void created by driving God and his word out of the public space has created injustice. So don't dismiss1:26 what the left is saying when they they are saying that there's a lack of justice. There it is true. I mean, even a blind squirrel will occasionally find a nut. They're onto something. But here's the reality. It1:38 is God who sets the foundation for justice. It's not the ACLU. It's not even government. Look at the what the psalmist writes in Psalm 89 14. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of1:50 your throne. Mercy and truth go before your face. Did you did you hear that? The foundation of God's throne is righteousness and justice. That's the2:01 foundation. So God is very concerned about justice, and we're gonna see that in today's passage. So before crossing over into the promised land, the Lord has some final2:13 instructions for the allocation of the land, providing land for the Levites and 1 of the fundamental elements for justice, the cities of refuge. Let's begin verse 1 chapter2:25 35. And the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying, command the children of Israel that they give the Levites cities to dwell in from2:37 the inheritance of their possession, and you shall also give the Levites common land around the cities. They shall have the cities to dwell in, and their common land shall be for their cattle, for2:48 their herds, and for their animals. The common land of the cities which you will give the Levite shall extend from the wall of the city outward 1000 cubits all around. And you3:00 shall measure outside the city on the east side, 2000 cubits, on the south side, 2000 cubits, on the west side, 2000 cubits, and on the north side, 2000 cubits. The city3:12 shall be in the middle. This shall belong to them as common land for the cities. Now remember, the Levites, they were not given an inheritance among the tribes, and3:24 the reason was that god was to be their provider. He wanted them focused on him and on his work and leading the people in their worship of God. He did not want them to be distracted with3:36 the things of this world. Now does that sound somewhat familiar? Actually, it should. Look what Jesus prayed for us as his followers in John fourth in John chapter3:48 17. They are not of this world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent3:59 them into the world. Now these Levites were given cities or villages that were dispersed throughout the land, 48 in all, to be a a presence, to have a presence, to4:11 be a reminder of to to all of the people of the covenant that they had with God so that they would not forget during the kind of the routine times when they weren't traveling to the tabernacle for4:23 their feast. Verses 4 and 5, kind of interesting when you first read them at the surface levels. I was waiting about this. They look they appear to contradict. They don't. What what it says here is from the wall from the4:34 wall of the villages, 1000 cubits out, which is basically 500 yards. This would be for outbuildings, barns, maybe servants quarters. And then beyond that was another 2000 cubits of4:46 pasture land. In all, it was about a mile on each side of the village or the city outward that was given to the Levites. So a pretty good chunk of land. Now let's lookCities of Refuge: Distinguishing Murder from Manslaughter 4:58 at the issue of justice. Verse 6. Now among the cities which you will give to the Levites, you shall appoint 6 cities of refuge to which a manslayer may flee. And to these5:10 you shall add 42 cities. Notice these cities of refuge go come first. So all the cities that you will give the Levite shall be 48. These you shall give with their common land. So5:21 42 Levite cities plus these 6 additional cities identified as cities of refuge, or I should put that in reverse. 6 cities of refuge plus 42 cities for the Levites.5:33 Now you shall, verse 14. Excuse me. My my throat's a little dry. It's the allergy season. You shall you shall appoint 3 cities on5:45 this side of the Jordan, and 3 cities you shall appoint in the land of Canaan, which will be cities of refuge. These 6 cities shall be for refuge for the children of Israel, for the stranger,5:57 and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills a person accidentally may flee there. Just side note here, justice for all. Alright? Didn't matter whether they were a native, whether they were a6:09 sojourner. Everyone was treat to be treated the same. Now these cities of refuge and the presence of the Levites in these cities were there to be protectors of the6:21 alleged wrongdoer. Okay? From a a spiritual perspective, this is kind of a a shadow and a type of Jesus Christ who is a refuge for us as sinners. Now these6:33 cities were to be situated so that anyone seeking refuge from an avenger of blood could find shelter. They they were kind of spaced around so that6:44 within the day's time, you could make your way to 1 of these ref cities of refuge. But unlike what we hear today about city sanctuary cities, this was not a place for guilty6:56 lawbreakers to hide from justice. It was quite the opposite. This broke in part with the prevailing form of justice in that day that was known as7:08 goelism, where the nearest relative of another is responsible with the duty of restoring the rights of another and avenging his wrongs. You know, 1 duty of the goel was7:20 to redeem, purchase back a relative who had been sold into slavery or property. Another was to avenge the death of a relative who had been killed. But god now lays out7:31 guidelines for justice as a as he creates this new nation. Verse 16, but if he strikes him with an iron implement so that he dies, he is a murderer. The7:43 murderer shall be put to death. Now as we read through here here, it's very clear that to be guilty of murder, it required intent. Was it was the act willful?7:55 Did he intend to do this? Or, another category, was it reasonable to assume that these actions could result in death? Verse 22. However, if8:07 he pushes him suddenly without enmity or throws anything at him without lying in wait or uses a stone by which a man could die, throwing it at him without seeing him so that he dies while8:19 he was not his enemy or seeking his harm, then the congregation shall judge between the man slayer and the avenger of blood according to these judgments. So here's actually just8:31 a kind of a side note. We see, something that is in our judicial system today, somewhat, maybe a precursor of the jury to hear the facts of the case. Verse 25.8:43 So the congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the avenger blood. Alright. If if this was not intentional, they determined that the intent was not there. They would deliver the manslayer from the hand8:54 of the avenger blood, and the congregation shall return him to the city of refuge where he fled, and he shall remain there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. But if the manslayer at9:05 any time goes outside the limits of the city of refuge where he fled, and the avenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of9:16 blood because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death, the high priest, the manslayer, may return to the land of his possession.9:29 Drop down to verse 30. Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses, but 1 witness is not sufficient. A testimony against a person for9:40 the death penalty. Now there are several several things in this, short passage of scripture that biblical scholars point out. I'm I'm just gonna refer to a few of those. This is 1 of9:52 those places where it's very helpful to have a a good biblical commentary. Matthew Henry is a good 1. You can go kinda deeper into these topics. But but here's just a few things to point out. The death of the high priest10:03 allowed the manslayer to go free. That is, again, a type of Jesus Christ, a a picture of the redeemer. Alright. The manslayer had limits on him.10:15 Alright. He couldn't go out of the city of refuge. That was for his own good and for the benefit of society. Another element is 1 who fled to a city of refuge could only be condemned to death10:27 if there were 2 or more witnesses. That that's very important. Alright. Let's look at verse 33 because this is really where I wanna focus here for our last few minutes together. So you shall not pollute the landInnocent Blood Defiles the Land 10:39 where you are, for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on on it except by the blood of him who shed10:51 it. Right? So here's what it's saying, is that the the land is defiled by blood, innocent blood that shed. The only way to make atonement for it is for the person who shed the blood for his blood to be shed.11:03 Alright. Therefore, do not defile the land which you inhabit in the midst of which I dwell, for I, the lord, dwell among the children of Israel. Again, very important. The shedding11:15 of innocent blood pollutes and defiles the land. It is at the core. This issue of the shedding of blood is at the core of true justice. There can be11:27 no equality or stability of justice in a land that does not deal with the shedding of innocent blood. The blood itself cries out to God for justice.11:39 Recall what God told Cain after Cain killed Abel, verse 10 of Genesis 4. And he said, what have you done? This is God speaking. The voice of your brother11:51 cries your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Blood guilt must be atoned for by the 1 who criminally shed innocent blood or the12:03 land will become defiled. And here's the reason it must be dealt with. God says he dwells in the land of his people. The presence of God will not continue in a land that12:14 refuses to uphold justice. Alright. Very quickly, let's go to numbers 36 where we again encounter the daughters of Zelophehad. Verse 1Preserving Inheritance: Zelophehad's Daughters and Land Identity 12:26 chapter 36. Now the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph came near and spoke before Moses and before the elders12:38 at the chief fathers of the children of Israel. And they said, the Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel. And my lord was commanded by the lord to give the inheritance12:50 of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. Now if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from13:02 the inheritance of our fathers, and it will be added to the inheritance of the tribes to which they marry. So it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance. So the concern was that if the13:14 daughter is married outside the tribe, the tribal land, which was allocated to them, would be transferred to another tribe through inheritance. So here's the solution. They could13:26 marry whoever they wanted as long as they were within their own tribe. So why the restriction? I know these kind of things really tend to upset us in this Western culture of ours.13:38 Well, this understand understand underscores the importance of land and its inseparability to identity. You see, we we don't fully grasp this in our Western13:50 society today, but it is a key factor in what is unfolding in the Middle East even right now. Land is connected to identity. We see that all the way back into the Old14:02 Testament. Father, thank you for your word. And and, lord, as we know that you are concerned with justice, I pray that we would be too. And and I14:14 think to some degree, lord, because there are those that we disagree with politically saying there's a lack of justice, we are dismissive of that. But in fact, they are pointing to a symptom. Now we know what14:26 the cause is. It is a departure from your standard of justice because we have we have rejected your truth. I pray, father, that we would move back to a to a time and a place14:37 where we embrace your word so that there might be justice for all in our society. So, lord, use us, and I pray, lord, that we would address this issue of the shedding of innocent blood, which is taking place14:49 through abortion and other means in our country. Lord, our streets are filled with violence, the shedding of innocent blood. Lord, help us. Help us in our families, in our lives15:02 to to number 1, order ourselves according to your word, lord, but also to be a beacon of light and truth to the world around us. For we pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this15:13 morning. And remember, tomorrow, we begin the book of Deuteronomy. So until next time, keep standing on the word.15:22 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you15:34 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 The Foundation of Biblical Justice and Levites' Cities4:58 Cities of Refuge: Distinguishing Murder from Manslaughter10:32 Innocent Blood Defiles the Land12:18 Preserving Inheritance: Zelophehad's Daughters and Land Identity
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