(17)
Scripture Reading: Num. 36:1-13
Before we consider chapter thirty-six of Numbers, I would like to say a further word on two matters concerning the refuge cities in chapter thirty-five.
First, according to 35:25b-29, the rescued killer was to remain in the city of refuge and live in it until the death of the high priest, who signifies Christ, who died for our sins. Since we, the believers in Christ, have God's direct salvation, how should we apply the type of remaining in the refuge city until the death of the high priest? In the Old Testament time, Christ had not yet died, and those who fled into Him as their refuge had to wait there until He came and died on the cross. For the Old Testament saints, therefore, the refuge was like the sheepfold in John 10:1, which signifies the law, or Judaism as the religion of the law, in which God's chosen people were kept and guarded in custody and ward until Christ came.
Since the Old Testament age is over, do we today still have a city of refuge, or do we only have God's direct salvation? I would like to answer this question in relation to the assurance of salvation. As far as the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of salvation are concerned, many believers are still in the Old Testament. They seem to be waiting for this assurance to be given some time in the future. For example, if you ask such a believer if his sins have been forgiven, he might say, "I do not know. I have fled into Christ and I am in Christ, but I am not sure that my sins are forgiven. I may not have this assurance until I die. Only then will I know for sure that I am going to heaven." Such a believer is taking Christ as his city of refuge. However, we who believe in Christ may have the assurance of salvation and the assurance that our sins have been forgiven. We should be able to say to those who have fled into Christ as their refuge city, "Since you have entered into Christ and are in Him, your sins have been forgiven. Christ has already died for you and for your sins. His redeeming death on your behalf has already been accomplished. Since Christ died for your sins, your sins have surely been forgiven." A believer who receives this word will no longer be like the Old Testament saints waiting in the city of refuge but will enjoy God's direct salvation.
The point we need to see here is that there is an important, dispensational difference in the significance of the refuge cities for the Old Testament saints and for us today. In the Old Testament age, the refuge cities were places in which to hide and to wait for the death of the high priest. Those who enter into Christ today may do so with the assurance that He has already died and that their sins have already been forgiven. Christ died for us even before we were born. Now we simply need to apply what He has done for us, saying, "O Lord Jesus, I love You. You died for me before I was born. Hallelujah, my sins have been forgiven, and I have been released!"
Second, God ordained that there were to be six refuge cities, three beyond the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan. This arrangement was according to God's creation and sovereignty. God created the river Jordan and the land on the east and on the west of the Jordan. In type, the two groups of three refuge cities testify and declare to the universe that the Triune God is living on earth among human beings to be their city of refuge.
Furthermore, the distribution of the six refuge cities in different places indicates that the Triune God is near and available. No matter where we may be, Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God, is near and available. Because He is everywhere, He is wherever we may be. The Triune God has spread among men to be a city of refuge for all those who make mistakes. We all have made mistakes and continue to make mistakes daily, but the Triune God has spread to the very place where we are. Now we simply need to turn to Him and come into Him.
Now, as the final matter pertaining to the prearrangement of the distribution of the good land, let us consider the statute in 36:1-13.
We might think that the book of Numbers should end with the cities of refuge in chapter thirty-five. However, the last matter to be covered in this book is a further statute concerning the females among Israel inheriting the good land. Because this matter had yet to be settled, God authorized Moses to add a portion to deal with it.
In 27:1-11 the five daughters of Zelophehad had requested land for their father's family. There is nothing wrong with this request.
The heads of the fathers' houses of the families of the sons of Joseph requested the same kind of land for their tribe. These heads of the fathers' houses were making a counterclaim, saying that if the daughters of Zelophehad married outside their tribe, the inheritance given to them might be given to another tribe. In such a case, their own tribe would have lost land.
Here we see a difference between the view of the sisters and the view of the brothers. Often the sisters are finer than the brothers in their concept and opinion; however, the sisters may be shortsighted. The daughters of Zelophehad were very fine in their concept, considering their father's house, but they were shortsighted, not considering the tribe as a whole. The heads of the fathers' houses had a view concerning the whole tribe and therefore requested the same kind of land for their tribe. They asked Moses to seek God for a way not only to provide an inheritance for the daughters of Zelophehad but also to keep the land in their tribe.
Jehovah had commanded Moses to give the inheritance of Zelophehad their brother to his daughters (36:2). This was God's ordination, His care for the five daughters, and it was, of course, absolutely right.
In verse 3 the heads of the fathers' houses of the families of the sons of Joseph said that if the daughters married any of the sons of the other tribes, then the daughters' inheritance would be taken from the inheritance of their tribe and added to the inheritance of the tribe to which the daughters belonged.
Verse 4 goes on to say that when the jubilee came, then the daughters' inheritance would be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belonged, and their inheritance would be taken from the inheritance of the tribe of their fathers. This word shows foresight into how the loss of the inheritance would affect the tribe as a whole.
In verses 5 through 9 a statute was given to the sons of Israel according to the word of Jehovah.
"Moses commanded the sons of Israel according to the word of Jehovah, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph has spoken rightly. This is what Jehovah commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry those who are good in their eyes; only, they shall marry within the family of the tribe of their father" (vv. 5-6). God allowed the daughters to marry according to their taste but only within the family of the tribe of their father. This indicates that although the Lord gives us freedom, this freedom must be exercised within the limit, the boundary, of God's regulation.
"The inheritance of the sons of Israel shall not pass from one tribe to another; for every one of the sons of Israel shall cleave to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers" (v. 7). This signifies that as our inheritance Christ is not transferable and that we should cleave to Him as this inheritance. Paul's word in 2 Corinthians 6:14 may help us to understand this: "Do not become unequally yoked with unbelievers." This word applies to all manner of intimate relationships between believers and unbelievers, including marriage. In principle, for a believer to marry an unbeliever is to make Christ as the inheritance transferable.
"Every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the sons of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the sons of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers. And no inheritance shall pass from one tribe to another; for each of the tribes of the sons of Israel shall cleave to its own inheritance" (Num. 36:8-9). This was the way to keep the God-ordained inheritance from becoming transferrable.
The daughters of Zelophehad did according to Jehovah's commandment to Moses, marrying the sons of their uncles (vv. 10-11). "They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father" (v. 12). Once again we see that the freedom we have from God is not unlimited. Rather, the freedom, the liberty, we have received in Christ must always be limited by God's regulation.
The case of Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, marrying Joseph was one that fulfilled this statute. Hence, such a statute concerns Christ in His incarnation.
If we compare the genealogies of the Lord Jesus in Matthew and Luke, we will see that Mary was a descendant of Nathan, a son of David, and that Joseph was a descendant of Solomon, another son of David. Joseph might have come from a poor family and Mary, from a rich family. In such a case, there would have been an inheritance on Mary's side but not on Joseph's side. However, when Joseph and Mary were married, her inheritance became his. The two, Mary and Joseph, became one for the bringing forth of Jesus. This indicates that even such a statute as that in Numbers 36:1-12 concerns Christ in His incarnation. This shows that all Scripture is a record concerning Christ, directly or indirectly.
The Bible reveals Christ, and the Bible is a record concerning Christ. The statute in chapter thirty-six was actually ordained by God for Christ's incarnation. The cities of refuge in Numbers 35 are a type of Christ, and the settlement of the problem regarding the inheritance in Numbers 36 is related to Christ. This means that even the last chapter of the book of Numbers is concerned with Christ, in particular Christ's incarnation. If Christ had not been incarnated, He could not have become the cities of refuge for the human race. Thus, in a very real sense, the refuge cities in chapter thirty-five depend upon the statute in chapter thirty-six. If we see this, we will appreciate the requests of the daughters of Zelophehad and of the heads of the fathers' houses of the families of the sons of Joseph, and we will appreciate the way this problem was solved according to the word of the Lord.
