And if he have smitten him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer the murderer shall certainly be put to death.
God has just appointed the cities of refuge. This verse opens the list of deaths that are no accident. It settles who may claim that shelter and who may not.
The chapter names three materials — iron, stone, wood. The ruling for each is the same.
If one struck another with an iron instrument, or stone or wooden weapon purposely, this was murder, and the murderer was to be sentenced to death. In fact, the avenger of blood was to put the murderer to death.
Not every case was clear. When intent was in doubt, someone had to weigh the evidence, and this verse was part of the test.
If a case was not fully clear about whether there was intent to cause harm, the manslayer came to the city of refuge. Then the congregation was to judge between him and the avenger of blood according to these judgments. "These judgments" involve the question of whether the case was one of murder, as seen in verses 16-21, or whether it was unintentional manslaughter, as in verses 22-23.
Mercy for the man who killed by accident was never meant to blunt justice for the man who killed on purpose.
The city of refuge was in no way designed to turn judgment away from someone who was in His sight a "manslayer." (Compare verses 16-18.) If it could be shown that the man meant to kill, the image of God in which He made man argued effectively against pity.
Reaching the city gates could not overturn the verdict.
The law demands the greatest care to prevent all abuse of the cities of refuge. The cities must give a murderer no chance of permanent shelter there. If a man shed blood intentionally and deliberately, the elders of his city had to send and fetch him from there and hand him over to the avenger of blood, so that he might die.
The rule rests on something older than Israel. The life taken was never the killer's to take.
The main thought behind the whole matter is that life belongs to the God who gave it. No man has any right to take it away. So the death penalty is plainly pronounced on anyone convicted of murder on the testimony of two or more witnesses. This repeats what God laid down long before in Genesis 9:6. Properly constituted authority is to carry out the death sentence on the murderer. The wilful shedding of man's blood pollutes and defiles the land, and only the shedding of the murderer's blood cleanses it.
The same law protects one man and gives up another.
In Numbers 35 we have a striking picture of the holiness and grace of God in His dealings with the slayer... His holiness shows in this: He would not shield the guilty. When the case was examined before competent judges and witnesses, the guilty man was to be given up. His grace shines brightly in keeping the unintentional slayer safe within the refuge, so that the avenger of blood could not lay hands on him.
Commentators read these two cases — the deliberate killer and the unintentional slayer — as a picture of how God has dealt with Israel over the death of Christ.
The unintentional murderer pictures Israel, murderers of Christ "in ignorance." It was of them that the Lord Jesus said on the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." ...But in another sense both the leaders of the Jews and the people were wilful murderers. They rejected God and His Christ deliberately and knowingly.
The refuge, then, is not a place of escape but a place of waiting, and the waiting ends with a death.
Israel was given the benefit of whatever doubt there might be, not considered as guilty of murder but of unintentional manslaughter. Certainly there were some who proved to be murderers, as Stephen testifies in Acts 7:52. However, for centuries now Israel has been allowed to remain in a refuge and will not be free until the time pictured by the death of the high priest.
- Intent decides. A blow struck on purpose with iron, stone or wood is murder. The same death caused unawares is judged another way.
- Refuge is not immunity. The cities never shielded a man who meant to kill. The elders had to fetch him out and hand him over.
- Life is God's. Man bears God's image. So proper authority carries out the sentence, on the word of two or more witnesses, never private revenge.
- Blood defiles land. Murder stains the ground itself. Only the blood of the one who shed it washes that stain away.
- Grace within holiness. God shelters the one who killed unawares and gives up the one who killed by design. On that same line He has so far treated Israel's part in the death of Christ as the slayer's case, not the murderer's.
And if he have smitten him with a stone from the hand, wherewith one may die, and he die, he is a murderer the murderer shall certainly be put to death.
Numbers 35 gives Israel six cities where a man who has killed someone can run for safety. Verses 16–21 set the tests that decide who may stay and who may not. Verse 17 puts a stone in the killer's hand, and that one detail settles the case.
The chapter lists the objects a man might strike with: iron, stone, wood. What settles each case is whether the blow was meant.
A deliberate murderer could not count on the protection of the city of refuge. If someone struck another person on purpose with an iron tool, or a stone or wooden weapon, this was murder, and the murderer was to receive the death sentence (vv.16-18). In fact, the avenger of blood was to put the murderer to death (v.19).
Behind the rule lies a principle older than Israel.
The main thought behind the whole matter is that life belongs to the God who gave it. No one has any right to take it away. So verse 30 clearly states the death penalty for anyone convicted of murder on the testimony of two or more witnesses. This restates the early law of Genesis 9:6. A properly appointed authority is to carry out the death sentence on the murderer. Deliberate shedding of human blood pollutes and defiles the land, and only the shedding of the murderer's blood cleanses it.
The cities of shelter were never meant to cover a man like this. One writer explains why.
The city of refuge was never meant to turn judgment away from a man God saw as a killer. (Compare vv. 16-18.) Where someone could show that the man meant to kill, the image of God in which He had made man ruled out all pity. God had already spoken on this case long ago (Gen. 9), and that word has never been and can never be taken back: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image." That ground still stands. This chapter states the guilt that rests on a land which does not avenge such blood, and people today who would abolish the death penalty should weigh it: "no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it."
Verse 17 stands beside the rule that protects the man who killed by accident. One writer sees two sides of God here.
God's holiness shows in this: He would not shield the guilty. Once competent judges and witnesses had examined the case, the guilty man had to be handed over. And God's grace shines out in keeping the unintentional slayer safe inside the refuge, so that the avenger of blood could not lay hands on him.
Writers also read the six cities as a picture of God's dealings with Israel.
Six of their cities were to be refuges for those who had unintentionally committed murder; a precious picture of God's dealings with Israel, who killed the Christ in ignorance. In this sense, God judges them to be innocent. They are guilty of blood which they could not bear, but guilty in their ignorance... Such a murderer, however, stays out of his inheritance until the death of the priest serving at that time.
Commentators differ on how far that ignorance covers the guilt:
But in another sense both the Jewish leaders and the people murdered on purpose — yes, they deliberately and knowingly rejected God and His Christ. "This is the heir," said they, "come, let us kill him and have his inheritance." (Matt. 21:38)... It also says that the deliberate murderer must be put to death. Along with several other prophecies about the Jews, this judgment was partly fulfilled in the fall of Jerusalem.
Readers often turn the city of refuge into a straight illustration of a sinner finding safety in Christ. One writer warns that the fit is poor.
If we read it as a picture of a sinner taking refuge in Christ, it would fit only in a very unusual way. We would find ourselves faced on every side with contrasts rather than likenesses. First, the man sheltering in the city of refuge was not free from judgement, as Joshua 20:6 shows. But for the believer in Jesus there is and can be no judgement, for the simplest of reasons: Christ has borne the judgement instead.
- Intent — a stone, iron or wooden weapon swung on purpose makes the act murder. The cities gave the deliberate killer no cover.
- Image — the reason goes back to Genesis 9. Man carries God's image, so pity has no place here, and God has never taken that word back.
- Authority — this is not private rage. It needs two or more witnesses, and a proper authority to carry out the sentence.
- Balance — holiness would not shield the guilty. In the same chapter, grace sheltered the man who killed by accident.
- Israel — as a picture, God treats the nation as killing in ignorance and keeps it out of its inheritance for a time. Commentators differ on how far that ignorance covers the rejection of Christ.
Or if he have smitten him with an instrument of wood, in the hand, wherewith one may die, and he die, he is a murderer the murderer shall certainly be put to death;
Numbers 35 gives Israel six cities of refuge. A man who killed another could run there for his life, out of reach of the relative avenging the death. Verse 18 sits in a short list of test cases — iron, stone, wood. Each one marks off the man who may not use that shelter. So how does God tell murder apart from an accident, and why does that line never move?
The tool in the hand shows the man meant to kill. The law moves straight from that to the sentence.
A deliberate murderer could not count on the protection of the city of refuge. If one struck another with an iron instrument, or stone or wooden weapon purposely, this was murder and the murderer was to be sentenced to death (vs.16-18). In fact, the avenger of blood was to put the murderer to death (v.19).
The severity rests on something older than Israel's law. Human life carries the mark of the One who gave it, and that mark pleads against pity.
The design of the city of refuge was in no way to turn away judgment from one who was in His sight a murderer. (Compare verses 16-18.) Where it could be shown that there was intent to kill, the image of God in which He had made man effectually pleaded against pity. God had already pronounced long before in this case (Genesis 9), and there has been, and can be, no revocation of it: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image."
The man who fled stated his case at the city gate. He gained shelter by a verdict, not by arriving.
In the gate of the city (the place of judgment) he could declare his case before the elders, and if it was established that he was not guilty of murder, he was to be welcomed into the city, where the avenger of blood was not permitted to touch him (v.4). Numbers 35:16-19 makes it clear, however, that he must be given no refuge in that city if his case was one of actual murder, and the avenger of blood could put him to death.
Where the facts were unclear, the avenger of blood did not decide. A hearing stood between the two men.
If a case was not fully clear as to whether there was intent to cause harm or not, when the manslayer came to the city of refuge, "then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood according to these judgments" (v.24). These judgments involve the question of whether the case was one of murder, as seen in verses 16-21, or whether it was unintentional manslaughter, as in verses 22-23.
The hand acts second. God's verdict does not wait for the weapon.
Cain was a murderer, and the murderous hatred of his brother was in his heart before he actually killed him. So it was with the leaders of Israel who, with wicked hands, crucified and killed the Son of God. Jesus convicted them of their hatred of Him before they actually killed Him... God can and does look into the heart, and judges the motives and feelings of the heart; and where there is the hatred of the one who shows the divine life, God calls it murder.
The law splits killers in two. One writer applies that split to the nation that put Christ to death.
The involuntary killer pictures Israel, murderers of Christ "through ignorance." It was of them that the Lord Jesus said on the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."... So with Paul: "I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief." (1 Timothy 1:13) But in another sense both the leaders of the Jews and the people were murderers wilfully — deliberately and knowingly rejecting God and His Christ. "This is the heir," they said, "Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance." (Matthew 21:38)... Moreover, it is said that the deliberate murderer must be put to death.
Another writer states the same distinction as a principle with lasting weight:
He who kills his neighbour without hating him is distinguished from the murderer: an important principle as to the fate of the Jewish nation, which makes a distinction between those who took a voluntary part in the death of the Lord, or who afterwards heartily approve the deed, and those who did it ignorantly.
- Weapon — iron, stone or wood in the hand shows the man meant to kill. Verse 18 calls him a murderer.
- Image — the sentence rests on Genesis 9. Man bears God's image, so pity cannot plead for a murderer.
- Gate — the city sheltered the innocent, never the guilty. The man stated his case at the gate, before the elders.
- Verdict — where intent was unclear, the congregation judged between the slayer and the avenger. Mercy came through a hearing.
- Heart — God reads the hatred before the hand moves. At the cross, ignorance found mercy; wilful rejection did not.
the avenger of blood, he shall put the murderer to death; when he meeteth him, he shall put him to death.
The cities of refuge sheltered a man who killed by accident, never a man who meant to kill. This verse names the one who carries out the sentence — the avenger of blood — and raises two questions: why a relative of the victim, and what does the picture teach?
The refuge cities were an act of mercy, but they were never a loophole. One writer traces the reason back to a word God spoke after the flood.
The design of the city of refuge was in no way to turn away judgment from one who was in His sight a murderer. Where there was proof of intent to kill, the image of God in which He had made man pleaded against pity. God had already spoken on this long before (Genesis 9). That word has never been taken back, and it never can be: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image."
Behind the whole chapter lies one question: who owns human life? The answer also settles who may carry out the sentence.
The main thought underlying the whole matter is that life belongs to the God who gave it. No man has any right to take it away. So verse 30 pronounces the death penalty on anyone convicted of murder on the word of two or more witnesses. This repeats what God first laid down in Genesis 9:6. Properly appointed authority must carry out the death sentence on the murderer. The deliberate shedding of man's blood pollutes and defiles the land, and nothing cleanses it but the shedding of the murderer's blood.
The duty fell on the dead man's relatives, and it did not end with Israel.
After the flood God gave Noah the law that "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed" (Genesis 9:6). To this day in the East, people hold it the solemn duty of a slain man's relatives to see that his blood is avenged. … God has given man governmental authority to carry out this universal command. It came long before the law of Moses, and God has never repealed or relaxed it. In the New Testament the magistrate does not bear the sword in vain, for he is God's servant for the punishment of evildoers. Romans 13.
The Hebrew word behind "avenger" does other work in the law too.
This appears in Leviticus 25 and Numbers 35, where (as the Englishman's Hebrew Concordance shows us) the word for "kinsman," "redeemer," and "avenger" is the same.
Commentators also read the refuge cities as a picture of Israel.
Six of their cities were to be refuges for those who had killed without meaning to. This is a precious picture of God's dealings with Israel, who in their ignorance killed the Christ. In this sense God judges them to be innocent. They are guilty of blood which they could not bear, but guilty in their ignorance. Saul himself is a striking figure of this same position, as one untimely born (1 Corinthians 15:8). Such a killer, however, stays out of his own land until the death of the priest living at that time.
Not every writer leaves it there. Another writer applies both halves of the chapter to Israel: the ignorant killer and the deliberate murderer of this verse.
The involuntary killer pictures Israel, murderers of Christ "in ignorance." It was of them that the Lord Jesus said on the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." … But in another sense both the leaders of the Jews and the people were murderers on purpose — yes, deliberate and knowing rejecters of God and of His Christ. "This is the heir," they said. "Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance." … The law also says that the deliberate murderer must be put to death, and the fall of Jerusalem partly fulfilled that judgment.
- Life — the chapter rests on one claim: life belongs to the God who gave it, so no man may take it away.
- Intent — the city of refuge covered accident, never intent. Where a man meant to kill, the image of God in his victim pleaded against pity.
- Avenger — the victim's near kinsman carried out the sentence, and the Hebrew word for him also means "redeemer." The same office continues wherever the magistrate bears the sword.
- Ignorance — Israel killed Christ, yet God counts the nation among those who killed without meaning to. It waits outside its inheritance until the priest of that day dies.
- Unsettled — commentators differ on how far that mercy reaches. Some see Israel treated wholly as an accidental killer. Others hold that deliberate rejection still met this verse's sentence when Jerusalem fell.