Daily Devotional for Monday, May 26, 2025

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Delivered to the City of Refuge: A Devotional on Numbers 35:25

Mercy, Justice, and the High Priest’s Role in the Sanctuary System

The book of Numbers, written during Israel’s wilderness period in the 15th century B.C.E., presents both historical narrative and legal statutes given to the nation as it prepared to enter the Promised Land. Chapter 35 focuses on laws concerning the cities of refuge, special Levitical towns designated to provide protection for individuals guilty of unintentional manslaughter. These laws preserved the sanctity of life while preventing cycles of blood vengeance common in the ancient world.

Numbers 35:25 stands at the heart of that legal framework, providing both judicial instruction and spiritual symbolism. It reads:
“And the assembly must rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the assembly must return him to his city of refuge to which he fled; and he must live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.”

This verse captures the balance of divine justice and mercy within Israel’s theocratic law. The manslayer is not excused, but he is protected. He is not released, but neither is he executed. His continued life depends on both lawful confinement and a future event beyond his control—the death of the high priest. This unique combination of legal provision and spiritual symbolism provides rich instruction for God’s people.

“The assembly must rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood…”

In ancient Israel, the “avenger of blood” (גֹּאֵל הַדָּם, go’el haddām) was typically a close relative of the deceased, tasked with executing justice on behalf of the family. While this concept may appear foreign to modern legal systems, it was part of the tribal responsibility structure in the ancient Near East. Without centralized enforcement, personal restitution maintained community order.

However, Jehovah instituted cities of refuge to curb vengeance in cases of unintentional death. If someone killed another accidentally—not from hatred or premeditation (Numbers 35:22–23)—he could flee to one of these cities and remain safe from the go’el haddām until due process was carried out.

The assembly, likely meaning the elders or leaders of the local community or possibly the Levites in the city of refuge, had the obligation to intervene and protect the manslayer from execution, provided the killing was indeed unintentional. This affirms that justice is not emotional retaliation, but a measured application of divine standards.

The legal process was essential. Guilt or innocence was not assumed by proximity to the crime but determined by testimony and evidence (Deuteronomy 19:5–6). Justice in Israel was not mob-driven but established by objective inquiry.

“The assembly must return him to his city of refuge…”

Once declared innocent of murder, the manslayer was not free to return to his former life. Instead, he was assigned to remain in the city of refuge, which now became both his shelter and his restriction. He had committed a serious act, even if unintentionally, and his ongoing safety depended on respecting the boundary Jehovah had assigned.

This requirement prevented bloodshed, maintained societal order, and preserved the family of the deceased from emotional breakdown through unlawful vengeance. But it also served a moral purpose: to impress upon the manslayer the weight of what had occurred. Life is sacred. Even accidental loss of life required acknowledgment, containment, and submission to divine authority.

The city of refuge became the manslayer’s new home—a place of safety, but also of limitation. He could not return to his land, inheritance, or former freedom until a specific, divinely appointed event occurred.

“He must live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil”

This concluding clause contains one of the most remarkable provisions in the entire Mosaic Law. The duration of the manslayer’s confinement was not a fixed number of years or based on restitution. His release was tied exclusively to the death of the high priest.

The high priest, anointed with the sacred oil (Exodus 30:25–30), was the spiritual head of the nation. His life symbolized the religious continuity and sanctity of the people before Jehovah. The requirement that the manslayer remain in the city until the high priest’s death affirms several key truths:

The high priest’s death serves as a release mechanism
The manslayer’s guilt was not judicially punishable by death, yet he could not resume full citizenship until someone else died. This is not because the high priest shared guilt, but because his death marked a transition in national accountability and spiritual standing.
The high priest bore symbolic national representation
As the intercessor for the people, his death concluded a spiritual cycle. When he died, it marked a type of atonement—not substitutionary atonement in the salvific sense, but a legal covering by which the manslayer was released from civil exile.
The provision emphasized the sanctity of life
Though the act was unintentional, the consequences were serious. No one could take life—even by accident—and go unmarked. Yet Jehovah, in mercy, provided a limit to the exile. The high priest’s death brought closure.

Foreshadowing the Work of Christ

While the text must be read first within its original covenantal framework, it undeniably points forward to the greater priesthood of Christ, who functions as both intercessor and liberator. The high priest in Israel was a type—a divinely appointed figure who mediated between God and man and whose death provided release to those awaiting freedom.

Jesus, as our high priest, fulfills and surpasses this role:

Hebrews 9:11–12: “But Christ came as high priest of the good things to come… not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and obtained everlasting redemption.”
Hebrews 7:23–25: His priesthood is eternal, and He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him.

But unlike the Levitical high priest, Christ did not merely die to mark a legal transition—He died to bear the penalty of our sin. The manslayer in Israel was innocent of murder yet still bound. We, guilty in sin, are also bound—until we come under the death of the one true High Priest, whose life and death alone secure our release.

Spiritual Lessons for the Believer Today

Sin always brings consequences
Even when unintentional, actions carry moral and relational weight. We live in a culture quick to excuse, minimize, or justify sin. But Scripture teaches us to treat all wrongdoing, even accidental harm, with sobriety.
God provides refuge for the penitent
The cities of refuge were not loopholes—they were institutions of mercy. They required the accused to act in faith, flee for safety, and submit to the law. Likewise, Christ is our refuge from judgment (Hebrews 6:18). But He must be sought, and His Word must be obeyed.
Deliverance is only found in God’s appointed provision
Just as the manslayer could not leave the city on his own terms, no one can escape judgment apart from Christ. Attempts to secure peace through human merit, religious tradition, or emotional sentiment are vain. Freedom comes only through the appointed high priest—Jesus Christ.

Conclusion: Awaiting the High Priest’s Final Victory

Numbers 35:25 reveals the tension between justice and mercy in God’s law. The manslayer is spared but confined, protected but not free—until the death of the high priest.

In Christ, we find the perfect fulfillment of that priestly work. He died not only to release us from legal exile but to bring us into full fellowship with God. He is both the refuge we flee to and the priest who dies to set us free.

Let every believer rejoice in this provision—and let every soul still burdened by guilt flee to the city of grace, where our High Priest reigns.

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About the Author

EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored over 220+ books. In addition, Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).