351 And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan of Jericho, saying, 2 Command the children of Israel, that of the inheritance of their possession they give unto the Levites cities to dwell in; and a suburb for the cities round about them shall ye give unto the Levites. 3 And the cities shall they have to dwell in, and their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts. 4 And the suburbs of the cities that ye shall give unto the Levites shall be from the walls of the city outward, a thousand cubits round about. 5 And ye shall measure, without the city, the east side two thousand cubits, and the south side two thousand cubits, and the west side two thousand cubits, and the north side two thousand cubits, and the city shall be in the midst: they shall have this as suburbs of the cities. 6 And [among] the cities that ye shall give unto the Levites [shall be] the six cities of refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither,—and besides them ye shall give forty-two cities: 7 all the cities that ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, they and their suburbs. 8 And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have much ye shall take much, and from them that have little ye shall take little; each one according to his inheritance which he will inherit shall give of his cities to the Levites.
9 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 then ye shall appoint for yourselves cities: cities of refuge shall they be for you; that a manslayer may flee thither, who without intent smiteth a person mortally. 12 And ye shall have these cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he have stood before the assembly in judgment. 13 And the cities that ye shall give shall be six cities of refuge for you. 14 Three cities shall ye give on this side of the Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge. 15 For the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them shall these six cities be a refuge, that one who smiteth a person mortally without intent may flee thither. 16 And if he have smitten him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly be put to death. 17 And if he have smitten him with a stone from the hand, wherewith one may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly be put to death. 18 Or if he have smitten him with an instrument of wood, in the hand, wherewith one may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall certainly be put to death; 19 the avenger of blood, he shall put the murderer to death; when he meeteth him, he shall put him to death. 20 And if he thrust at him out of hatred, or hurl at him intentionally, so that he die, 21 or from enmity smite him with his hand, so that he die, he that smote him shall certainly be put to death; he is a murderer: the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meeteth him.— 22 But if he have thrust at him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him anything unintentionally, 23 or [have smitten him] with any stone wherewith one may die, without seeing him, and have cast it upon him so that he die, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: 24 then the assembly shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood according to these judgments; 25 and the assembly shall rescue the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the assembly shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he had fled; and he shall abide in it until the death of the high-priest, who was anointed with the holy oil. 26 But if the manslayer shall in any way come outside the limits of the city of his refuge whither he hath fled, 27 and the avenger of blood find him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kill the manslayer, there shall be no blood-guiltiness upon him; 28 for the manslayer should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high-priest; but after the death of the high-priest he may return into the land of his possession.
29 And this shall be unto you a statute of right throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 30 Whoever shall smite a person mortally, at the mouth of witnesses shall the murderer be put to death; but one witness shall not testify against a person to cause him to die. 31 And ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall certainly be put to death. 32 And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that hath fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. 33 And ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are; for blood, it polluteth the land; and there can be no atonement made for the land, for the blood that hath been shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. 34 And ye shall not defile the land that ye inhabit, in the midst whereof I dwell; for I am Jehovah who dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.
361 And the chief fathers of families of the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel: 2 and they said, Jehovah commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel; and my lord was commanded by Jehovah to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. 3 Now if they be married to any of the sons of the [other] tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong; and it shall be taken from the lot of our inheritance. 4 And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall come, then shall their inheritance be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong; and their inheritance shall be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of Jehovah, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well. 6 This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry whom they please; only they shall marry one of the tribe of their father, 7 that no inheritance of the children of Israel pass from tribe to tribe; for every one of the children of Israel shall keep to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 And every daughter that possesseth an inheritance among the tribes of the children of Israel, shall be married to one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may possess every one the inheritance of his fathers, 9 and the inheritance shall not pass from one tribe to another tribe; for each of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep to his inheritance. 10 Even as Jehovah had commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad; 11 and Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their uncles' sons. 12 To those that were of the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph were they married; and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father. 13 These are the commandments and the ordinances which Jehovah commanded through Moses to the children of Israel, in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan of Jericho.
101 And rising up thence he comes into the coasts of Judaea, and the other side of the Jordan. And again crowds come together to him, and, as he was accustomed, again he taught them. 2 And Pharisees coming to [him] asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away [his] wife? (tempting him). 3 But he answering said to them, What did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses allowed to write a bill of divorce, and to put away. 5 And Jesus answering said to them, In view of your hard-heartedness he wrote this commandment for you; 6 but from [the] beginning of [the] creation God made them male and female. 7 For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be united to his wife, 8 and the two shall be one flesh: so that they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. 10 And again in the house the disciples asked him concerning this. 11 And he says to them, Whosoever shall put away his wife and shall marry another, commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman put away her husband and shall marry another, she commits adultery.
13 And they brought little children to him that he might touch them. But the disciples rebuked those that brought [them]. 14 But Jesus seeing [it], was indignant, and said to them, Suffer the little children to come to me; forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say to you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no wise enter into it. 16 And having taken them in his arms, having laid his hands on them, he blessed them.
17 And as he went forth into the way, a person ran up to [him], and kneeling to him asked him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 But Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? no one is good but one, [that is] God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he answering said to him, Teacher, all these things have I kept from my youth. 21 And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, One thing lackest thou: go, sell whatever thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, [taking up the cross]. 22 But he, sad at the word, went away grieved, for he had large possessions. 23 And Jesus looking around says to his disciples, How difficultly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. And Jesus again answering says to them, Children, how difficult it is that those who trust in riches should enter into the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, saying to one another, And who can be saved? 27 But Jesus looking on them says, With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God. 28 Peter began to say to him, Behold, we have left all things and have followed thee. 29 Jesus answering said, Verily I say to you, There is no one who has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, [or wife], or children, or lands, for my sake and for the sake of the gospel, 30 that shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time: houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions, and in the coming age life eternal. 31 But many first shall be last, and the last first.
(Read Mark 10:1-12)
Wherever Jesus was, the people flocked after him in crowds, and he taught them. Preaching was Christ's constant practice. He here shows that the reason why Moses' law allowed divorce, was such that they ought not to use the permission; it was only for the hardness of their hearts. God himself joined man and wife together; he has fitted them to be comforts and helps for each other. The bond which God has tied, is not to be lightly untied. Let those who are for putting away their wives consider what would become of themselves, if God should deal with them in like manner.
(Read Mark 10:13-16)
Some parents or nurses brought little children to Christ, that he should touch them, in token of his blessing them. It does not appear that they needed bodily cures, nor were they capable of being taught: but those who had the care of them believed that Christ's blessing would do their souls good; therefore they brought them to him. Jesus ordered that they should be brought to him, and that nothing should be said or done to hinder it. Children should be directed to the Saviour as soon as they are able to understand his words. Also, we must receive the kingdom of God as little children; we must stand affected to Christ and his grace, as little children to their parents, nurses, and teachers.
(Read Mark 10:17-22)
This young ruler showed great earnestness. He asked what he should do now, that he might be happy for ever. Most ask for good to be had in this world; any good, Matthew 6:24, Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
(Read Mark 10:23-31)
Christ took this occasion to speak to his disciples about the difficulty of the salvation of those who have abundance of this world. Those who thus eagerly seek the wealth of the world, will never rightly prize Christ and his grace. Also, as to the greatness of the salvation of those who have but little of this world, and leave it for Christ. The greatest trial of a good man's constancy is, when love to Jesus calls him to give up love to friends and relatives. Even when gainers by Christ, let them still expect to suffer for him, till they reach heaven. Let us learn contentment in a low state, and to watch against the love of riches in a high one. Let us pray to be enabled to part with all, if required, in Christ's service, and to use all we are allowed to keep in his service.
