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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“When the Lord your God has destroyed the nations whose land He is giving you,
and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses, then
set aside for yourselves three cities centrally located in the land the Lord
your God is giving you to possess. Build roads to them and divide into three
parts the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that
anyone who kills a man may flee there.”
“This is the rule concerning the man who kills another and flees there to save his life - one who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought. For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life. Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.”
“If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as He promised on oath to your forefathers, and gives you the whole land He promised them, because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today - to love the Lord your God and to walk always in His ways - then you are to set aside three more cities. Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.”
“But if a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him, assaults and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities, the elders of his town shall send for him, bring him back from the city, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die. Show him no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you.”
“Do not move your neighbor's boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.”
Deuteronomy 19:1-14
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
One thing that we see God make clear in the scriptures is that He commands and expects justice. He sets the standard for this and does so in a perfectly just way, and as we see in our scripture passage for today, this included protection for the innocent which is the chief premise behind establishing “cities of refuge”. Look again at the opening fourteen verses of Deuteronomy, chapter 19:
“When the Lord your God has destroyed the nations whose land He is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses, then set aside for yourselves three cities centrally located in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess. Build roads to them and divide into three parts the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that anyone who kills a man may flee there.”
“This is the rule concerning the man who kills another and flees there to save his life - one who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought. For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life. Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.”
“If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as He promised on oath to your forefathers, and gives you the whole land He promised them, because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today - to love the Lord your God and to walk always in His ways - then you are to set aside three more cities. Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.”
“But if a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him, assaults and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities, the elders of his town shall send for him, bring him back from the city, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die. Show him no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you.”
“Do not move your neighbor's boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.”
Deuteronomy 19:1-14
Here we find God commanding the Israelites to “set aside…three cities centrally located in the land” after entering Canaan. They were to “build roads to them and divide (the land) into three parts…so that anyone who kills a man may flee there”.
The reason this was important was that not all killings were intentional. Just as we see in present times, tragic accidents could and did happen but in biblical times, this unintentional killing of another would put a person at risk. They would face death themselves at the hands of an avenging family member of the deceased and this is the chief reason why God ordered for cities of refuge to be put in place for an innocent person who took a life by accident could there and be protected.
In our passage, we see an example given as to how someone might kill another unintentionally. We read a scenario where “a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him”. This man had no intent to murder his neighbor; the death happened by accident. Still, the scriptures tell us that danger loomed as an “avenger of blood might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death”. This is why the city of refuge was needed…so “innocent blood (would) not be shed in (Israel’s) land”.
So what would happen if someone fled into the city of refuge even though they had killed with intent?
God’s Word tells us “…if a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him, assaults and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities, the elders of his town shall send for him, bring him back from the city, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die”. The Lord makes it clear here that the cities of refuge were reserved for the innocent.
As I thought about the innocent and a place of refuge, I couldn’t help but think about our Savior, Jesus. We know He was innocent and yet was crucified on Calvary’s cross and on the surface, it would appear as if evil had won. But Christ’s death was necessary so God’s greatest miracle could be performed, raising His Son from the tomb, delivering Him from death to eternal life and back into the heavenly city of refuge from which He had come. From that point on, no one could ever pass a deadly judgment upon Him again for He ascended and was placed in honor at His father’s right hand, safe there until His glorious triumphant return when He would set creation straight and restore God’s order and justice to earth.
The good news for us is that Jesus opened the gates to God’s heavenly “city of refuge” for anyone who would believe and trust in Him as Savior. Christ’s victory over death was extended to us as well, not because we’re innocent like He was and deserve it, but because He has paid the penalty for us and purchased our pardon. He covered our sin debt with His shed blood, a blood that washed us clean and redeemed us while bringing the sure promise of abiding with our Savior and Father God forever. Further, in the holy city of refuge, the New Jerusalem, no enemy will ever be able to come after us ever again. We will be perfectly at peace because we are perfectly protected.
As we rejoice in this truth, let us give thanks to God for the gift of His Son Jesus, our precious Redeemer and Friend.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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