https://esv.literalword.com/?q=Numbers+35
Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Monday, 21 April 2025:
Numbers 35:2, 3 – And you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities. The cities shall be theirs to dwell in, and their pasturelands shall be for their cattle and for their livestock and for all their beasts.
From the very beginning in the Garden of Eden, work has been an essential part of God’s will and intent for all people. The first thing God gave Adam was a work, then a helpmate. Work is intended to be our labor of love for God and others. All people who are involved in indirect labor (not directly tied to the production of tangible outcomes), such as ministers, vs. direct labor (producers), run the risk of contributing less than they earn and losing touch with those who provide material goods and services.
The Levites were provided with enough cattle, flocks, livestock, land, and crops to care for their needs. They had priestly duties, but they still had to work their land and cattle. Although the Levites (who included the priests) were supported by the tithes of the people (Numbers 18:21–24), God still gave them land—not for power or wealth—but to work and manage. This suggests a principle of responsibility, industry, and groundedness in the practical aspects of life, even for those in full-time ministry.
Vocational ministers are called to be faithful stewards—not just of spiritual gifts, but of the practical resources God provides. They are not to be passive recipients, but active managers of what is entrusted to them. God didn’t exempt the Levites from work; He gave them land so they would have a tangible connection to the people and their everyday concerns. This encourages ministers to stay connected to the real-life struggles, responsibilities, and rhythms of those they serve. While ministry is supported through giving (tithes, offerings), there is still a calling to diligence, productivity, and sustainability in all areas of life. This can apply to how ministers manage their homes, health, finances, and even their time. The Levites’ land wasn’t just a place to live—it was a place to contribute, cultivate, and care for what God had given. Likewise, vocational ministers today are called to cultivate—not just proclaim.
Paul believed in the right of ministers to be supported but chose to work bi-vocationally when necessary to maintain the integrity of the message and model servant leadership. Paul repeatedly emphasized that he worked with his own hands to avoid being a financial burden on those he ministered to:
- Acts 20:33–35 — I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
- 1 Thessalonians 2:9 — For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:7–9 — For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.
- 1 Corinthians 9:11–15 — If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting.
Numbers 35:12 – The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
God was concerned about protecting the accused from revenge and ensuring that they received a fair trial. Cities of refuge were not intended to protect people from justice but rather to ensure justice. Those who went to cities of refuge were still held accountable.
Numbers 35:16 — But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
Cities of refuge offered no refuge for murderers. Cities of refuge were intended to protect those who might be wrongly accused of murder, particularly those who accidently killed someone and might be subject to emotional revenge.
Numbers 35:17 – And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
God does not treat one murder different from another. Murder is murder and the same capital punishment applies.
Numbers 35:18 – The murderer shall be put to death.
In God’s eyes, there is just and unjust killing. Murderers are to be held accountable with the penalty of death.
Numbers 35:20, 21 – And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died, or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer.
God forbids someone punishing someone else out of emotion or for selfish purposes. The goal must be godly justice, not revenge. God used avengers of blood to represent the interests of the victim in order to protect the victim from acting out of vengeance. The avenger of blood was protected by the law and had the authority to put the criminal to death.
Numbers 35:28 — …after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession.
Numbers 35:28 says that the manslayer must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest, after which he may return to his land without fear. This provision foreshadows the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. In ancient Israel, the high priest’s death marked the end of the manslayer’s exile and the cancellation of his guilt, allowing him to go free. In the same way, Jesus, our great High Priest, died to release us from the guilt and penalty of sin. His sacrificial death didn’t just cover our sin temporarily but removed it entirely, allowing us to return to right relationship with God. Just as the high priest’s death brought freedom to the manslayer, Jesus’ death brings eternal freedom to all who seek refuge in Him.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 21 April 2025: Today, work hard and joyfully for God’s glory, the benefit of others, and for your spiritual development. Give all you have for others. Remember what Jesus taught us in John 15. If we are abiding in Him we will produce fruit. The branch gets nothing from the fruit it produces other than the satisfaction of fulfilling its purpose. What the branch produces is pure contribution intended to multiply. Give it all away today.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 