Word of Salvation – May 2014

 

Numbers 35 – A PLACE OF REFUGE

By John Westendorp

(Sermon 35 in a series on Numbers)

Scripture Reading: Numbers 35.

Singing: Book of Worship 374 / 191 / 103a & Psalter Hymnal 411

 

Introd: An 80-year-old woman was arrested for shop lifting.

In court the judge asks her, “What did you steal?” She replies: a can of peaches.
The judge asks her why she stole them and she replies that she was hungry.
The judge then asks her how many peaches were in the can. She replies “Six!”
The judge says, “Then I will give you 6 days in jail.”
The woman’s husband interrupts the judge and asks if he can say something.
The judge says, “Yes, what is it?”
The husband says, “Your honour, she also stole a can of peas.”

Punishment for crime is absolutely essential if we are to have an orderly and peaceful society.
That truth is widely recognised by virtually all societies and cultures.
Primitive societies had their own legal codes.
We today have our modern legal code to make sure that crime is punished.

However, the big question is whether the punishment always fits the crime.
Six days in jail for stealing a can of peaches is probably over the top.
OTOH today a murderer is sentenced to 20 years of free bed and breakfast.
With daily television thrown in as a luxury to be enjoyed.
(Or maybe the television watching is part of the punishment.)
In any case there’s every chance such a murderer will be out in about 12 years.

Crime needs to be punished. But punishment also has to fit the crime.

Here in Numbers 35 both truths are taught and applied to the crime of killing.

A] THE ROLE OF THE ‘GOĚL’.

1. Much of this chapter revolves around a man who is called “the avenger of blood.

He is God’s provision for justice in a world in which there were no police.
But this man is not only the policeman… he is also the executor.
He tracks down the killer… but he then also puts that killer to death.

The word used in the Hebrew text for avenger is the word ‘Goél’ – an interesting word.
A Goél is elsewhere called a redeemer kinsman. He’s a close relative.
His responsibility was to care for the family’s interests in time of need.

The most well-known example of a Goél comes from a story set in the time of Israel’s Judges.
One such redeemer-kinsman was Boaz in the story of Ruth.
Boaz is a close relative of Naomi’s.
As a redeemer he has to buy back the property of Naomi’s husband.
In addition he has to marry Ruth and so raise up descendants for Naomi’s family.

Here in Numbers 35 this man becomes the avenger of blood.
He’s a redeemer-kinsman who has to make sure that justice is done when someone is killed.
And so we see him on our mind’s eye setting off in pursuit of the killer.
That now becomes his all-consuming passion.
He’s the policeman assigned to this case.
And when he finds the killer he will put that killer to death.

2. We need to make sure that we understand this properly.

This is God’s provision to make sure that crime is punished and that punishment fits the crime.

So this Goél is not just free to kill the murderer… no, he is obligated to do so.

Historically we know that there have been many different ways of dealing with killers.
In the Wild West movies… some lynch mob would hang him from the nearest tree.
Amongst the gangsters a Mafia Godfather takes out a contract and rubs him out.
In primitive tribes a killing often triggered a long and sad chain of payback killings.

But none of that fits with what is happening here.
Here this retaliation is carefully regulated and put in the hands of this redeemer-kinsman.

The issue here is one of justice… God’s standard of justice.
And it’s based on this truth:
that only the shedding of blood can atone for blood that had been shed.
IOW: the life of the killer must pay for life of the one who has been killed.

The reason for that is given in verse 33:
Bloodshed not only robs someone of their life… and a family of one of their relatives.
Bloodshed also pollutes the land. And God then makes very clear:
  Atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed…
    except by the blood of the one who shed it.

It’s interesting that many years later this was a prime reason for Israel going into exile.
Over and over we read that the land had become polluted by bloodshed.
Especially King Manasseh is said to have filled Jerusalem with innocent blood.
God is particularly concerned that this crime be punished and punished appropriately.

3. All of that raises some questions for us. How relevant is this chapter of Numbers for us today?

This was part of OT civil law for Israel as a nation.
We have replaced all this by our modern justice system.
The state – with it’s system of police and law courts – they now act as our redeemer-kinsman.

The big question is whether our system does justice to the will of God revealed here.
And it raises some huge questions as to whether our punishments today still fit the crime.
And what do we do today with this idea of the land becoming polluted?

Today even many Christians are uncomfortable with the thought of capital punishment.
They immediately think of those in the past who were wrongly sentenced and executed.
And yet the Bible in both the OT and the NT approves of capital punishment.

Genesis 9:6 says “Whoever sheds man’s blood by man shall his blood be shed.”
And Romans 13 speaks of the government not bearing the sword for nothing.

But there is another way in which we ought to ask about the relevance of this chapter.

We believe that the whole Bible is really about Jesus… so where is Jesus in Numbers 35?

That becomes an important question when we think of crime and punishment on a spiritual level.
And on that spiritual level… in relation to God we are all guilty… we all deserve death.

So today we could see Jesus foreshadowed in that character of the Goél.
This picture of the ‘Goél’ is a picture of Christ.
He is the Redeemer-kinsman… the close relative who buys back what we have lost.

But He is also the Goél who is the avenger.
We are the criminals… we have sinned against our God… and Jesus deals with that.
Jesus is the Goél who now pursues us to make sure that justice is done.
There is a sense in which He is both policeman and executioner – all judgment is His.

B] THE CITIES OF REFUGE.

1. Numbers 35 does not begin of course with this avenger of blood.

The chapter opens with God giving Moses instructions for the care of the Levites.
You’ll recall that the Levites were not to inherit any part of the Promised Land.
They were provided for from the tithes and offerings of God’s people.

However, God does make here some additional provision for Levites.
They are to be given 48 ‘cities’ scattered throughout Israel.
(BTW – please don’t think of these “cities of refuge” in terms of our major cities today.
They were really little more than villages.)
But those towns gave them places to live as well as an additional modest source of income.
They could generate some trade in the towns and benefit from the surrounding pasture land.

It’s interesting to see how this fulfils a prophecy made by Jacob generations earlier.
In Gen.497 Jacob put God’s curse on the tribes of Reuben and Levi.
The reason for that was the deceptive way they had treated the Hivites.
Together these brothers had wiped out an entire town.
Therefore in Genesis 49 God says through Jacob:
  “I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.”

And here that is now fulfilled as God scatters the Levites across 48 town in Israel.
And yet the wonderful thing is that this curse becomes a blessing for the rest of Israel.
These Levites were to be the teachers of God’s law and the pastoral carers of the nation.
And they were readily accessible. No Israelite lived more than 15 km from a Levite city.

These 48 towns are identified in Joshua 21 and further details are mentioned in Deuteronomy.

So these cities were a blessing to the Levites and they in turn would be a blessing to Israel.

2. The wonderful thing about this chapter is that 6 out of those 48 Levitical towns are very special.

Three of them are on the east of the Jordan and three on the west.
Again they are distributed so as to be readily accessible.
No one had to travel for more than half a day to get to one of those towns.

In Deuteronomy we’re told that the gates of these towns were never to be shut.
And that the roads to these towns were to be kept open at all times.
All of this was to make them accessible at any time.

Those six towns are called ‘cities of refuge’ – they were place of shelter for the manslayer.
They acted as law court to asses guilt of the fugitive who was fleeing from the avenger of blood.
And they would judge the fugitive accordingly.
If the murder happened intentionally and was premeditated he was handed over.
If it happened without malice and was not planned then he was given asylum.

So it is the premeditation and intent that make the difference.
Regardless of the implement or the circumstances.
So they made a careful distinction between the crimes of murder and manslaughter.
Today our legal system still make that distinction.

These cities did not cancel out the demand for justice – they actually reinforced it.

For example – Numbers 35 makes very clear who is not to find asylum within the cities of refuge.
But what a blessing for those who were guilty of causing death unintentionally.
You’re chopping wood in the forest and the axe head flies off and kills your workmate.
His Goél… his kinsman-redeemer has now been pursuing you.
What a relief to find security with the walls of a city of refuge.

3. Numbers 35 also points out that the killer is safe only as long as he stays within that city of refuge.

He is sentenced to live there until the High Priest died.
If he leaves the city then he is fair game for the avenger of blood.
So in some sense that restriction is a punishment: he must stay in that city.
It’s a solemn reminder of the seriousness of taking another person’s life – even accidentally.

But as long as he stays in that city he is safe.

And when the high priest dies he’s free to go home.

So these six Levitical towns are a wonderful provision of God’s grace.

But they also portray for us another aspect of the saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I mentioned before that in a way Jesus is the great Divine Avenger.
And there is a sense in which He pursues all of us as guilty sinners.
Everyone will have to give account to Him as judge.
But for those who trust in Him this Jesus is also our place of Refuge.

There’s a lovely verse in Hebrews 6 that uses the language of Numbers 35.
It speaks of those who have fled to Jesus for refuge.
He our Redeemer-kinsman… but He is also our city of refuge. (v.18).
We sing of that in one of our hymns: to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled.

And the blessing is that just as the gates of the city were always open and the way always clear…
so too the way to the Lord Jesus Christ is always open.
And just as these cities were readily accessible so too is our wonderful saviour and Lord.

So where are you at today? Are you still running from Jesus as the Goél who is the avenger…
or have you found safety and security in Him as your refuge?
Jesus invites you to come to Him and to remain with Him.

C] THE PLACE OF GRACE.

1. Today I’ve mentioned several times the word ‘grace’.

Grace was something that was rediscovered at the Reformation.

Grace is that we get what we don’t deserve… what we haven’t earned… what we can’t earn.

And we see grace so powerfully in this chapter.

Remember… these cities of refuge are Levitical cities.
Levi’s curse was to be scattered in Israel… not a cohesive tribe living together like other tribes.
But that scattering is an act of God’s grace.
It’s to provide asylum… place of refuge for those in trouble.

Levi should have been put to death for his wicked betrayal and slaughter of the Hivite city.
Instead he experienced grace and lived… even though he would be scattered as a tribe.
But now Levi, who experienced grace, becomes the instrument of grace.|
And then not just for Israelites who are in trouble… but also for strangers and travellers.

Doesn’t that present us with an important lesson for us today?
Those who have experienced grace are called to show grace.
We are a church community to whom God has shown amazing grace.
He has taken us, who deserved only eternal condemnation, and has brought us to Himself.

Now we who have experienced grace are called to show it to others.
Shouldn’t we, as the church of Jesus Christ, to be a caring and welcoming community?
Shouldn’t we be a place of asylum and shelter for those in trouble?
Nothing is sadder than when needy people do not find grace within our community.

2. There is another way in which grace is shown in this chapter.

You may have wondered why the fugitive had to stay in the city of refuge until the High Priest died.

It’s because the death of the High Priest was considered adequate atonement for the manslaughter.
In this case it was not the death of the killer that made atonement for the land.
But it was the death of the high priest that made the atonement.

The Mishna – a Jewish Bible commentary – gives some interesting angles on this.
For one thing it relates how these fugitives were usually cared for by the priest’s wife.
Or if the High Priest lived there then by the High Priest’s wife.
The reasoning was that this would make the fugitives less anxious to see the High Priest die.

But the Mishna also points out that the High Priest was the leading Levite.
He was the head of the tribe.
So in some ways the manslayer was the High Priest’s prisoner.
And so with his death the prisoner was free to go.

However the important point to note is that the High Priest’s life was considered a suitable substitute.
In a sense the High Priests took the place of the forfeited life of the killer.
And again we see God’s grace in that, don’t we?

This man was not condemned to be in that city of refuge for ever and ever.
There was always that possibility of going home one day.
But it would take the death of the High Priest to make that a reality.

3. That brings us one more time to our Lord Jesus Christ.

The book of Hebrews makes abundantly clear that Jesus came to be our great High priest.

And now the good news for us is that our great High Priest has died.
And as the Son of God His life had infinite value.
His death was sufficient as a substitute for all those who flee to Him.

His death atones for us.
It atoned not only for the accidental sins that we never intended to do but that we did anyway.
It atoned also for those deliberate sins that we planned and did intentionally.
His death has set us free… that’s amazing grace.

But that also faces with one great difference.
In Israel when the High Priest died the fugitive was free to leave the city of refuge.
For us – the death of our Saviour for us only makes us more determined to stay with Him.
And it guarantees that our place of refuge in Christ is an even more secure place.

I wonder… today are you still be on the run?
You’re not yet in that place of peace and security… you’re searching but haven’t found it.
I invite you today to find in Jesus your everlasting place of peace and security.
Come to Him… He is your city of refuge.

Amen