Day 69: Numbers 35-36

Welcome to 5 -Minute Bible, your daily guide for your daily reading. Today's March the 10th and we'll be looking at Numbers 35 through 36.

Now imagine standing with Israel on the plains of Moab after 40 years of wandering.

The Jordan River lies just ahead of them and beyond it sits the land that God promised Abraham centuries before.

And the wilderness generation has passed away. All of them have died in the wilderness and now this new generation is filling the camp and the nation now is preparing to step into the inheritance that God had promised them long ago.

But before they cross the river, God is going to establish some final structures that are going to help shape their life as they live in the land.

And Numbers 35 through 36 closes the book of Numbers by addressing things like justice and refuge and inheritance.

And this is because the wandering years are ending and God is preparing Israel not just to possess the land but to live in it as a specific ordered people under his justice and mercy.

Now with that, Numbers 35 begins by assigning cities to the Levites.

Remember the Levites are the priestly clan. And unlike the other tribes, the Levites don't receive one large territorial inheritance.

They don't get a plot of land like the others. Instead they are given cities that are scattered throughout the entire land of Israel.

And this arrangement ensures that the priest and the teachers of the law are going to remain present among all the tribes.

And they're going to be able to continually instruct the people in God's ways. Now within these

Levitical cities, God also establishes something remarkable. He establishes things called cities of refuge.

Now these cities are things that serve as places where someone who accidentally causes the death of another can flee there for protection.

Because in a world where family vengeance could very easily spiral into endless bloodshed like ancient versions of Hatfield and McCoy's, the refuge cities ensures that justice is handled carefully.

And the accused person remains protected until a proper trial can determine whether the death was accidental or intentional.

If it was murder, then justice is carried out. But if it's accidental, then the person is protected from revenge.

Then Numbers 36 returns to the earlier case of the daughters of Zelophehad. Their father died without any sons, and God allowed them to inherit his own land.

Now another question arises. What if someone marries into another tribe? Would that inheritance transfer away from their own tribe, or would it go to the other tribe?

And in order to preserve the boundaries of the land, God instructs the people that they ought to marry within their own tribe so that the inheritance remains exactly where it belongs.

And then the book closes by showing that God's laws are carefully designed to preserve justice and stability and covenant order within the nation.

Now as you read today, I want you to ask the following question. What does a society that is shaped by God's justice and God's mercy actually look like?

And Numbers 35 through 36 is going to remind us that God cares deeply about how communities handle life and death and inheritance and fairness and how everyone works together in holiness.

And the pattern running through these chapters is that societal justice is balanced with mercy.

The cities of refuge prevent accidental tragedy from occurring and from turning into an uncontrolled event within the society.

And they still maintain a serious accountability for justice when it comes to murder.

Justice is not abandoned with the cities of refuge, but it is carefully administered so that truth and not vengeance can determine the outcome or the fate of the person.

Now at the same time, the laws surrounding inheritance protect the long -term stability of each of the individual tribes.

The land remains within the family to whom God assigned it, ensuring that the structure of the nation is going to remain intact for generations to come.

And these instructions reveal that God's law is not merely about private spirituality, but it actually shapes how a society protects its life and its fairness and it builds stability across generations to come.

Now as we close these chapters, it is important to remember that they point specifically to Jesus in a very powerful way, because the cities of refuge provide a striking picture of the gospel.

Someone pursued by an avenger could flee to the city of refuge to find safety there, and inside that city they were protected.

But outside of its boundaries, they remained vulnerable to judgment. In a similar way, the gospel presents

Christ as the ultimate refuge for sinners. He is our city of refuge that we flee to to find safety from judgment of sins that we deserve.

And unlike in ancient Israel where the innocent would flee to the city, we are not innocent. We have sinned and we've fallen short of the glory of God and we run to Christ who is the one.

He is the city of refuge that will provide protection for us in our sin.

And yet unlike the cities of refuge in the Old Testament where a trial occurred to see if the sinner should be punished, we know in the

New Testament that the trial did occur, but it wasn't us on the chopping block. It wasn't us being evaluated.

It was Jesus. Jesus died so that we could live inside of his refuge forever.

In him, justice is not ignored, but mercy is also provided. And at the cross,

God's justice against sin was satisfied by being poured out on him, and those who take refuge in him will find the mercy that we could never deserve.

The Levites scattered among the tribes also foreshadowing larger reality in the New Covenant because God's presence and instruction are no longer confined to a central location, but through Christ and the spread of the gospel, the knowledge of God now spreads throughout the entire world.

We are the cities scattered among the peoples, and it's our job to minister to them and to share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So as you read Numbers 35 through 36 today, remember that the wilderness journey is complete.

The book of Numbers has come to a close. Israel stands ready to cross into the Promised Land, and the long preparation of the past 40 years has finally brought them to the moment where they will inherit

God's promises. Now tomorrow we're gonna begin the book of Deuteronomy, where Moses gives a final speech, a final word, a final repetition of the law of God, where he reviews both the law and the journey and the covenant before this new generation, before they step into the

Promised Land. But until then, read your Bible carefully, devotionally, and joyfully today, and may the

Lord use his word to sanctify you completely, and we will continue our journey tomorrow. God bless you.