Because the promised land was to be a holy land it was paramount that it not be polluted by the blood of murder. Those who shed blood had to pay with their own blood. Furthermore, the land was not to be polluted by bloodshed in vengeance. The cities of refuge protected people who were in danger of vengeance killing. Vengeance killing was a common feature of the ancient world, but it was not to be so in the ‘holy land’. Justice had to reign supreme. What we see here in the final few chapters of Numbers is the establishment of ‘inalienable rights’ in the constitution of Israel. Each person had a right to a share of the land and a right to justice. These rights were not always well protected in the ancient world, but Israel was to be an example of something better. Injustice pollutes an environment. And it is often the small injustices, not the big obvious ones, that do the most damage because they are likely to remain unacknowledged. They become like small germs that create a great sickness. There may be an injustice in how you treat your spouse. There may be small injustices in the way you treat employees or workmates. There may be injustice in the way you speak about others. All these things, when tolerated, defile the environments in which we live. Maintain justice in great and small things and you will contribute to making your environment more peaceful and fruitful.
Ask God to show you if you have not treated and spoken of other justly.
Read Numbers 35 and 36
