As the Israelites prepared to enter the promised land, allottments of land were given to the various tribes. The Levites didn’t have an inheritance in the land, because a unique relationship with God was their inheritance.
Nevertheless, the Levites needs somewhere to live.
In the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
*“Command the Israelites to give, from the inheritance that they possess, towns for the Levites to live in; you shall also give to the Levites pasturelands surrounding the towns” (Numbers 35:1-2).
The Levites were spread around the people of Israel and didn’t have a single place for their tribe. It is estimated that there are six thousand square miles of territory in the land of Canaan, but the Levites were allotted only 15 square miles.
The location of the Levites and the relatively small size of their property is a physical picture of their role as servants of God and the people.
In addition, the Levites were to provide cities of refuge for the people.
“The towns that you give to the Levites shall include the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit a slayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two towns” (Numbers 35:6).
A city of refuge was a place of asylum where a person who killed another unintentionally could seek refuge from someone seeking blood revenge.
In this era, a family member was expected to exact revenge against a person who killed one of their family members. The purpose of the city of refuge was to give someone who killed another unintentionally a place of safety from retribution.
Requirements for Murder
In the case of murder, another set of requirements was in play.
“If anyone kills another, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of a single witness.
Moreover you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer who is subject to the death penalty; a murderer must be put to death” (Numbers 35:30-31).
Rudy Ross frequently speaks about God’s provision of two witnesses to confirm His activity. This is one of the places in the Bible where Rudy gets the idea about two witnesses. In today’s YouTube video, Rudy explains the need for two witnesses and the seventh city of refuge, Jerusalem.
A person who causes the intentional death of another human is not afforded the opportunity to be protected in a city of refuge. They forfeit their life for the life they have taken.
The Impact of Shed Blood
It is August, and there have already been 132 homicides in Kansas City. From God’s vantage point, each of these wrongful deaths pollutes the land.
You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell, for I the Lord dwell among the Israelites” (Numbers 35:33-34).
I don’t know how to calculate the spiritual distress that wrongful death places on the world in which we live. Only God knows the answer.
Even though I don’t know the answer, I can work to reduce conflict among the people I know. I can pray for God’s peace to permeate the world. I can refrain from attitudes and actions that produce the kind of anger that kills.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 