Year 4, Day 150: Numbers 35

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness, Protection

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
• Protection: In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray that God might deliver us from evil – even the Evil One.  Sometimes we need God’s protection from the sin around us.  Sometimes we need protection from the sinful people around us.  Other times we need protection from the sin that lies within ourselves. In any case, Jesus’ point is clear.  We need protection from the Father to make it through each and every day.

This is a neat chapter with which to view these two issues.  The cities of refuge were places that people could flee.  If a murderer fled there they would be tried, condemned, and executed.  But if a person who did not intend to murder fled there, then the person would be tried, found guilty of the death, but rather than being executed they would be allowed to remain within the city and live.

This demonstrates forgiveness in that mistakes happen.  Consequences almost always occur because of those mistakes.  But that does not mean the mistake is always intentional.  Here we can see that those who make unintentional mistakes – even big ones – can find forgiveness amidst dealing with the consequences of the action.  It also allows the family of the one who was killed the time to find the ability to forgive before doing something drastic such as adding murder upon their own heads through an ill-advised act of vengeance.

This also displays protection.  Yes, it is easy to think of God protecting the small, weak, innocent, orphaned, and oppressed.  But what we see in this chapter is that God is even willing to protect the unfortunately guilty.  God doesn’t protect those who murder in cold blood; but He is willing to protect those who by mistake find themselves guilty of manslaughter.  God is willing to protect those who have killed unintentionally.  God is willing to protect them while hoping for such a point in time as they can repent and learn to forgive themselves.  God’s protection is far greater in scope than the typical human – myself included.

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