I confess to suspicious and/or cynical thoughts concerning the rules and regulations found in the Bible's book of Numbers. The laws listed seem to benefit priests, that is, members of the Tribe of Levi. They receive portions from the sacrifices of all the other tribes, as described elsewhere in Numbers. In Numbers, chapter 35, they are given cities to possess. To me the priests seem very highly benefited.
I understand they have special duties to perform, for examples, going through the rituals of sacrifice and making the judgments required of them in ruling on "clean" and "unclean." I accept that they need resources to support themselves and their families. (Why wouldn't I? I have served as a pastor of Christian churches for decades.) But do the benefits described in the Bible simply meet the needs of the priests, or do those benefits privilege the priests, exalting them socially and economically?
Perhaps the whole system is intended to be fair and just, to meet everyone's needs, and to exalt the LORD who leads. Like any system, it can be abused, and given its unique design, it may be more susceptible to abuse than its alternatives.
Let's see what develops as the migrant Hebrews live with the laws given through Moses...
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