Murder Pollutes

        [33] You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. [34] You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.”
(Numbers 35:33-34 ESV)

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It’s very clear here that murder is something that pollutes; it’s a poison to the land and society. Wherever there is murder, you have people living in fear, people seeking justice and revenge, people apathetic and numb to the pollution. Murder is something that not only affects the victims and the immediate area; one of the reasons God wanted his people free from bloodshed within is that the surrounding nations were supposed to see Israel as a light to the world. They were supposed to see that God was with them in power and blessing. God himself said repeatedly that he would physically dwell with them, in their presence, in their midst; a holy king. If God is living among you, and you poison everything by unleashing the pollution of murder, it is a huge act of disrespect to the holy God who dwells among you.

Sin is not just about abstaining from what’s wrong. It’s about living in a way that is worthy of a holy king who mercifully chooses to live with you. It’s a response of love toward God because he has chosen to dwell among us; not a response of fear because there’s an angry deity who lives next door.

We know that God is loving because he states in v.33 that no atonement can be made for bloodshed except by the blood of the one who murdered. God is loving because even though the blood of mankind was required for sin, he willfully chose to become a man and pay it himself through Jesus.