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Daily manna from the Torah by Dr Ketriel Blad

Massei 43-5

The journeys of

Numbers 35:1-8

Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns.... Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee. In addition, give them forty-two other towns.

Num. 35:2, 6 NIV

Who won't want to be generous?

The people of Israel were trained to be generous. When they gathered the manna in the desert everyone would share with those who didn't have enough. When the tabernacle had to be built, they would come with all their love to give costly objects. The Torah commands the people to give the first fruits, two types of tithe, to leave part of the crops in the fields for the poor and the animals, to give loans and supply for all the basic needs of a poor brother etc, etc.

The Eternal is very generous – He is never tired of giving. That's why He is so careful in teaching his sons to be like Him. Justice and generosity go together.

In this text the Eternal goes on with the people's training on generosity. Each tribe was commanded to give cities and lands to the Levites within their borders. It's interesting to note that HaShem didn't specify which would be all the 48 cities of the Levites, but He allowed His sons to decide which cities they wanted to give them. The Eternal gave each tribe an area of land and then each tribe had to give from what they received to the Levites.

From the 48 cities of the priests and Levites there were two kinds of cities of refuge. All of them gave refuge to involuntary murderers. But six of them also allowed in murderers that committed the crime intentionally until they received a sentence. Those who fled to the 42 cities had to pay for their housing and food while those who fled to the other six cities had rights to a bed and food at no cost, given by the Levites. In that way, also the Levites were trained to be generous, even with murderers.

Beloved disciple of Yeshua: Be generous and thus you'll reflect the character of your heavenly Father and will be very blessed.

Kol tuv,

Ketriel

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