Tag Archives: Numbers 36

February 26, 2024 Bible Study — Giving People the Benefit of the Doubt

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Numbers 34-36.

I struggled with what to write about today’s passage until the second or third time I read this verse:

Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

It struck me that this represents an important principle that applies to how we look at others.  The principle here is that we should not believe something negative about someone unless those telling us saw them do it.  Even then, we should not believe it if there is only one person who saw it, even if we are that one person.  We need to remember that sometimes what we see is not what happened.  Our view may have been obscured, or something relevant to events may have happened before we started looking.  Or, maybe our own bias has caused us to interpret someone’s action incorrectly.   So, we need to give people the benefit of the doubt.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

February 26, 2023 Bible Study — The Tribes Divide The Land

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Numbers 34-36.

As part of his final instructions to the Israelites before his death, Moses laid out the borders of the land they would inherit in Canaan.  He, also, assigned Eleazar and Joshua to assign the portions of that land to the various clans and tribes of the Israelites.  Then, Moses assigned one leader from each of the tribes who had not already been given land east of the Jordan River to assist Eleazar and Joshua.  I find it interesting that this reads to me like the division would take place in the near future, yet Joshua did not undertake this process until well into his time of leadership.  Further, we learn in the Book of Judges that the tribe of Dan did not claim their land until well after Joshua’s death.  I am not quite sure why these two accounts of how the land was divided read so differently.  When I read the Joshua account carefully I am not sure it does not describe the same process as described here, just from a different perspective.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

February 26, 2022 Bible Study — The Israelites Divide The Land

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Numbers 34-36.

Here we have an example of the idea that leaders need to avoid the appearance of impropriety when making an important decision.  In this case, Eleazar and Joshua were to divide the land up among the remaining nine and a half tribes by lot.  However, they were to be assisted by someone from each of the tribes receiving land.  This allowed input from each of the tribes.  Perhaps as importantly, each tribe had a representative present to see that the division was done impartially.  There was one other aspect of the way in which the land was divided which I want to comment on.  The Levites were scattered among the other tribes.  They were to be given towns withing the inheritance given to the other tribes.  The number of towns given from each of the other tribes was to be in proportion to how much land was given to that tribe.  This spread those who were to dedicate their lives to learning and teaching God’s Law throughout the land.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

February 26, 2021 Bible Study The Appearance Of Impropriety Can Be As Bad As Impropriety

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Numbers 34-36.

Some see great significance in the borders of Israel as laid out here by Moses, and I will not say that they are mistaken.  However, I have never been able to see it that way.  On the other hand, I find significance in the way in which Moses instructed them to divide up the land.  Moses laid out a procedure to ensure that the division was fair, and was seen by everyone as fair.  The land was to be divided up by lot (I have always assumed that they used the Urim and Thummim) by Eleazar and Joshua with a witness from the leadership of each tribe.  I am sometimes surprised how often we see examples in the Bible which demonstrate that decisions must not only be seen to be made with integrity, but must be made so that everyone can tell that they were made with integrity.  I want to reiterate.  It is just as important that people perceive that leadership makes decisions with integrity as it is that leadership make those decisions with integrity.  If people perceive that leaders made a decision with impropriety it does not matter if the leaders had actually made the decision without any impropriety.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

February 26, 2020 Bible Study

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 34-36.

I have always found the idea of the Cities of Refuge interesting.  There are a couple of interesting points.  The Cities of Refuge were not an option for those who intentionally killed someone else.  In fact, there is no distinction between planning out and killing someone and killing someone in the heat of the moment.  Both were capital crimes.  Only when the death was an accident, and clearly an accident, did the one who killed another have the option of fleeing to a city of refuge to live.  Also of interest, not only was the family of the victim free to kill the person who killed another if they caught them outside of a City of Refuge, they were obligated to do so.  There was a price to be paid for taking a human life, even if it was done by accident.  Of course, there was also the requirement of more than one witness before taking that life.  In light of the passage’s encouragement of the family of the victim taking the life of the perpetrator that is worth some thought.  It was not enough that you had seen them commit the crime, you still needed a second witness.  We need to remember that what we see is not always what happened.  Interpreting events in light of what a witness with a different perspective saw may help us better understand the circumstances we wish to resolve.

February 26, 2019 Bible Study — Consequences For Killing Another Human Being

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 34-36.

Having resolved the issue of where the tribes of Reuben and Gad (and half of the tribe of Manasseh) would settle, Moses laid out the boundaries of the land which the rest would conquer when they crossed the Jordan River.  Then, Moses lays out an interesting idea, the cities of refuge.  There are actually two aspects to what Moses lays out here.  First, Moses declares that someone who murders anyone must be put to death by the victim’s nearest living relative.  However, he then specifies an “escape” for someone who accidentally kills someone.  They can flee to one of the cities of refuge.  Then the community will conduct a trial to determine if the death was truly accidental or not.  If the community agrees that the death was accidental, the slayer must remain in the city of refuge until the current high priest dies, after which they may return to their home.  If the “avenger” (the victim’s nearest kin) discovers them outside of the city of refuge in the meantime, the avenger may kill them.  As part of this Moses lays out circumstances which distinguish deliberate from accidental killing.  I want to note that Moses declares that if you hit someone with an object held in your hand and they die, that death counts as murder, not an accident, no matter what your intentions were. 

February 26, 2018 Bible Study — Accidental Death vs. Murder

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 34-36.

    This passage starts out by laying out the boundaries of the land which will be Israel’s. The land inside these boundaries was to be divided up among the remaining tribes, since the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh had already received land in the territory which Israel had conquered east of the Jordan River. The wording leaves some question as to whether the land controlled by Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh was permanently promised to Israel or not.

    This passage also discusses the cities of refuge which the people of Israel were to set up. The concept was that those who had accidentally killed someone could flee there for protection against the victim’s relatives. As part of those instructions it gives us some baseline things to determine if the killing was an accident or not. If the killer struck the victim with an object, the crime is not considered to have been in an accident. If the killer was known to hate the victim, the crime is not considered an accident. The passage then gives several examples of what would constitute an accidental killing. However, even if the community judges that the killing was accidental, the killer does not get off without any punishment. In the case of an accidental death, the killer must stay in the city of refuge to which he fled until the high priest in office when he was tried dies.