Context No. 2675 of 4322 · Numbers

Numbers 35:6-15: in context

6“The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the man slayer to flee to. Besides them you shall give forty-two cities. 7All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities together with their pasture lands. 8Concerning the cities which you shall give of the possession of the children of Israel, from the many you shall take many, and from the few you shall take few. Everyone according to his inheritance which he inherits shall give some of his cities to the Levites.” 9The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11then you shall appoint for yourselves cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the man slayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there. 12The cities shall be for your refuge from the avenger, that the man slayer not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. 13The cities which you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge. 14You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and you shall give three cities in the land of Canaan. They shall be cities of refuge. 15These six cities shall be refuge for the children of Israel, for the stranger, and for the foreigner living among them, that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

God commands Israel to set aside six cities of refuge, places a person who has killed someone unintentionally can flee to. There the accidental killer is safe from the avenger of blood, the family member who would otherwise take immediate vengeance, until he can stand trial before the congregation. The refuge is open to Israelite and foreigner alike, a sanctuary for anyone who kills without intent.

The cities of refuge hold mercy and justice together. They protect the one whose harm was accidental from being cut down in hot blood by a grieving avenger, but they do not simply excuse him; he must still stand for judgment. It is a provision of grace, a place to run, and of due process, a fair hearing rather than mob vengeance. There is a double lesson. God is himself a refuge for those who flee to him, a sanctuary from what pursues us. And his design of a place to run that is also a place of justice challenges us to offer the same to those who have erred, protection from vengeance and a fair hearing, rather than the avenger's speed.

Do I run to God as my refuge from what pursues me, and do I offer others who have erred a place of refuge and a fair hearing rather than swift vengeance?

Sources

Numbers 35:11: then you shall appoint for yourselves cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the man slayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.
Numbers 35:12: The cities shall be for your refuge from the avenger, that the man slayer not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
Hebrews 6:18: we, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us, might have strong encouragement.