A Dwelling For Priests And Those In Need Of Protection (35:1-34)
Neal Pollard
We remind ourselves that the Levites did not have a tribal territory in which to live, like the other tribes. They were the priestly tribe, and they were to live among all the children of Israel throughout the land. Moses gives some specific instructions here for the places they would inhabit in the conquest.
They were allotted cities and pastures (1-5,7-8). Just because their duties and expectations were different did not mean they were excluded from having homes and herds like their brethren. God also set it up so that the individual tribes would give in proportion to their size and the size of their inheritance–the bigger they were, the more they were to give.
They were appointed cities of refuge to oversee (6, 9-34). The bulk of the chapter is devoted to describing and defining what a city of refuge is and how it functions. These cities (read Joshua 20 for the fulfillment) are said to be theirs, though the elders of the city were to judge the case of a “manslayer” who would flee there for refuge. It is not clear what direct part the Levites had to play in these cities (for more information, read Deuteronomy 19:1-13 and 1 Chronicles 6). But here are the “rules” for those cities. They were for the purpose of sheltering a person who unintentionally killed another person and sought refuge from that person’s avenger (Exo. 21:12-14). These cities would be spread throughout the land, so as to be accessible to those in every tribe. In the city of refuge, the manslayer would stand trial (12). Moses gives several specific examples to distinguish between murder (16-21) and unintentional killing (22-23). Which it was would be determined by the assessment of the people who judged between the manslayer and the avenger (24-25) based upon evidence from multiple witnesses (30). Even if he was innocent, the manslayer had to remain in the city of refuge until his own death or the death of the high priest or the avenger could kill him without reprisal (25-28). The whole system depended upon justice, fairness, and integrity in the people (31-34).
The concept of fleeing for refuge was, of course, used in a spiritual sense in the matter of sin or the need of protection throughout the Old Testament. God is the shelter and hiding place for those who see their need of Him (Ps. 118:8; Prov. 30:5; Isa. 14:32; Joel 3:16; Nah. 1:7; Zeph. 3:12). “Refuge” is used once in the New Testament, in Hebrews 6:18, to speak of how “we who have taken refuge (in God) would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”
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