Fri, 26 May, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.
9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. 12 The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. 13 And the cities that you give shall be your six cities of refuge. 14 You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. 15 These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.
16 “But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 17 And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 18 Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 19 The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. 20 And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died, 21 or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
22 “But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him without lying in wait 23 or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm, 24 then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules. 25 And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. 26 But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled, 27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood. 28 For he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. 29 And these things shall be for a statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
A murderer must die. They only way to cleanse the land from the guilt of shed blood is by shedding the blood of the murderer. But what if a person unintentionally kills someone? What should happen then? How are they protected from the death penalty? God provides protection in the law by providing cities of refute where the manslayer can flee. The city of refuge will provide sanctuary for the manslayer, and if there is not sufficient evidence of the person’s guilt, they can live there in safety. If, however, they are found guilty of murder, the killer is handed over for execution to die for their crime.
What do we learn from this?
God provides a way for the manslayer to live. He provides the sanctuary to which the person can flee when they seek refuge from the avenger of blood.
Clearly, God is angry with sin and requires that it be punished. Life is precious to God, and murder is a serious sin with the ultimate punishment. God requires that the result of murder be capital punishment.
What does this mean to us today? If we are to follow God’s standard, capital punishment is appropriate for the crime of murder. Life is precious, and we must not let those who wrongfully take the life of another to continue to live. The murderer must die as a just consequence of their actions. If they are proved to be guilty of intentionally killing another, they have forfeited their right to live.
Where is Christ in this passage?
Even in the midst of this harsh teaching on the results of murder, God presents for us the picture of a refuge where we can flee from the avenger of blood. In this refuge we find safety and protection. Although the situation is not completely analogous to the refuge from the penalty for our sin that we find in Jesus Christ, nevertheless, this also points us to Jesus Christ.
We have all sinned, and we must bear the penalty for our sin, unless we flee to Jesus Christ for refuge. He offers us His righteousness and He takes the guilt of our sin upon Himself. We can be right with God if we come to Jesus Christ in faith. He is our refuge from the guilt of our sin.
