Num 35:16-27 | KingComments | STEP | Before the manslayer can be granted asylum, it must be established whether he has accidentally killed someone or deliberately done so. If it has been intentionally done, the avenger of blood will kill the murderer. Shed blood must be avenged. The guilt that has been placed on the land by the shedding of blood can only be erased by the blood of the guilty person. Intention is assumed when the manslayer has beaten the other with something in his hand. He had to know that he could kill the other and should never have used that object against the other. There is also deliberate intent in the case of hatred and enmity. Then a push or a blow comes from a murderous mind. The avenger of blood is someone who stands up for family rights. The term for “avenger of blood” – in Hebrew: goël – is also used for “nearest kinsman” in the case of the redemption of a lost family property ( ; ). He also acts in favor of family law.

‏ Numbers 35:16-27

When the Manslayer Must Die

Before the manslayer can be granted asylum, it must be established whether he has accidentally killed someone or deliberately done so. If it has been intentionally done, the avenger of blood will kill the murderer. Shed blood must be avenged. The guilt that has been placed on the land by the shedding of blood can only be erased by the blood of the guilty person.

Intention is assumed when the manslayer has beaten the other with something in his hand. He had to know that he could kill the other and should never have used that object against the other. There is also deliberate intent in the case of hatred and enmity. Then a push or a blow comes from a murderous mind.

The avenger of blood is someone who stands up for family rights. The term for “avenger of blood” – in Hebrew: goël – is also used for “nearest kinsman” in the case of the redemption of a lost family property (Lev 25:25-26; Rth 3:9). He also acts in favor of family law.

The City of Refuge as a Place of Residence

There are cases where the manslayer is allowed to live in the city of refuge. This is the case when the manslayer has accidentally pushed, hit or struck someone with a stone and killed the other person. This event then took place without the purpose of harming the other. Then there is death without intent. If that happens, the manslayer can stay in the city of refuge, he doesn’t have to die, the avenger of blood is not allowed to kill him.

Even though grace is given to him that he does not have to die, he is not allowed to return to his inheritance. Only after the death of the high priest who is there at the time of the manslaughter, the manslayer is free to return to his inheritance. This aspect is only covered in Numbers.

The death of the high priest represents in picture the end of the high priesthood of the Lord Jesus as He exercises it now. The priesthood of Christ now is a testimony that Israel is still rejected. It is a high priesthood in heaven in which He can “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Heb 4:15). We see this high priesthood in picture in Aaron.

When the Lord Jesus has taken us, the church, out of this world, we no longer need Him as such. Then He will appear for Israel as the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek to put His people back in the possession of their inheritance.

Only Safe in the City of Refuge

The manslayer is only safe in the city of refuge. When he leaves the city of refuge and falls into the hands of the blood avenger, he is still killed. The city of refuge is a place of separation, with the character of a Levite city. Believers who go outside the local church and no longer seek their protection and support there, will lose their lives. We can apply this to not attending the meetings to build up the faith. When there is no longer a need for spiritual food and education and when opportunities to visit God’s Word are no longer sought, spiritual death generally follows.