Chapter 35

They say that you learn something every day.

Now, sometimes it’s as simple as “Don’t put your trousers on inside-out”.

(It never happened again)

But every now and again, there’s something awesome you discover. And tonight I have made such a discovery.

Chapter 35 is the second last chapter of Numbers. It starts with a command to ensure that the Levites are given suitable towns to live in when the Israelites arrive in the Promised Land. So far, so good. Practically necessary. Dull.

But THEN we start talking about “Asylum Cities.” NOW you’re talking.

To understand this fully, though, we must first go through and pick up a little of Israelite law of the time. When a person was killed, either intentionally or by accident, a member of the family was appointed “go’el”. The go’el (the Bible translates it here as “Avenger of blood”) was expected to track down the person responsible for the family member’s death, and ensure that they are killed or otherwise brought to justice.

I knew very little about this enigmatic Avenge, so I checked it out in a Jewish site online.

This is where that thing was learned today – It turns out that the word “go-el has TWO meanings.

The other meaning is found throughout the book of Ruth – here it’s translated “Kinsman Redeemer”.

Do you get the significance? The Kinsman Redeemer and the Avenger of Blood are the same person!

Now, let’s make sure we know what’s going on. The Avenger is a legally recognized role; he’s not just a person coming in to take revenge willy-nilly. He is appointed by the leadership of the tribe to give justice.

He’s also the person who will inherit the estate of the dead person.

I think there’s a great deal of significance in this, but more about that later.

Anyway, the Avenger is to hunt you down if you are guilty of murder; but if the death you’re being chased for is in fact accidental, you still have a recourse. You are to head immediately to the nearest Asylum City (you may be more familiar with the term “City of refuge), and stay there until the death of the next High Priest. Then you’d be free to go.

This was advanced in the culture of the day – most people who were responsible for the death of another by accident in the ancient world were in severe trouble. So God provided havens for his people. So that’s settled.

But I want to think about the Avenger of Blood and the Kinsman Redeemer.

It’s significant to us that in our own scenario, we are being tracked down by the Avenger of Blood. We have committed crime after crime, and the Avenger has caught up with us.

We look down the barrel of the man’s gun. And then it is that we recognize our redeemer. He says “the crimes you have committed have been paid for.”
THAT’S the situation we’re in. Once again, we can see how the pictures from Israel’s History are divinely inspired!