Introduction
‘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 in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess. Determine the distances involved and divide into three parts the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that a person who kills someone may flee for refuge to one of these cities. This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety—anyone who kills a neighbour unintentionally, without malice aforethought. For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbour to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbour 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 neighbour 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 ancestors, 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 obedience to him—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 out of hate someone lies in wait, assaults and kills a neighbour, and then flees to one of these cities, the killer shall be sent for by the town elders, be brought back from the city, and be handed over to the avenger of blood to die. Show 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 neighbour’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
Cities Of Refuge
In this chapter, Moses deals with three important matters.
1. God is giving the land of Canaan to Israel due to His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Genesis 12:1-3. Israel will dwell in houses that they had not built.
2. Moses gives instructions to Israel regarding things into the future, that is, when Israel possesses Canaan. Moses is so sure that God will fulfil His promise to Israel, that he begins giving ordinances for a time when they would possess Canaan.
3. Israel were to divide Canaan into three large sections and set aside a city in each that would provide a safe haven for someone who had killed another either by accident or purposeful until that man or woman may be given a trial, Numbers 35:9-34 / Deuteronomy 4:41-43 / Joshua 20:1-9.
Moses describes a situation where two people may be working together and an accident happens where one of them accidentally dies. He says that the city of refuge is to be a safe place for the person who accidentally killed something that they had no feelings of animosity toward.
However, there might be a family member of the deceased, ‘the avenger of blood’, who didn’t witness the accident and so, they might chase the killer with ‘rage’ in their hearts. In order to keep the innocent person from dying, they are commanded to flee to the nearest city of refuge.
The enlargement of the borders of the Promised Land was conditional upon Israel’s continued obedience to God’s will, Genesis 15:18 / Exodus 23:31. The enlarged land would demand more cities of refuge which the Lord was willing to give in turn for the people’s obedience.
The person who pursues the one who unintentionally killed the avenger of blood’s family member, into the city of refuge to take vengeance, will themselves be guilty and subject to the penalty of death without pity, Exodus 21:13 / Numbers 35:9-29.
There were three refuge cities on the east side of the Jordan and three on the west side, Deuteronomy 4:41-43. The purpose of the refuge city law was to prevent unjust revenge on one who accidentally killed another person.
If someone murdered another person, simply because they hated them, then the law of the refuge cities didn’t apply. The person was to be judged by the elders of their own city.
Some people point to the fact that there are some similarities between Jesus and the cities of refuge. Christ is easy to reach and Christ is open to all. Christ never locks His gates and Christ is a totally sufficient refuge. If we do not flee to Christ, there is no help for us.
The land was a source of survival and it was a family’s inheritance for the future and so to move or remove a landmark was the equivalent of stealing land. These landmarks were usually written on stone, and once the ownership of the land was marked out no one was to move them.
Witnesses
‘One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you. The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.’ Deuteronomy 19:15-21
Back in Deuteronomy 17:6, we read that those who were charged with capital offences had to be found guilty at the mouth of no less than two witnesses.
Here Moses deals with accusations concerning any iniquity or sin. He says that one person’s word against another person’s word isn’t enough to establish someone was guilty.
Moses says, if there were more than one witness to a crime then the matter must be established, Jeremiah 9:23-24. Moses tells us that there may be false witnesses who come forward to complain against another, that is, they are lying about the situation at hand to do someone harm.
These would be classed as difficult cases and as Moses told Israel earlier, these cases should be presented to the elders and the priests, Deuteronomy 17:8-13 / Matthew 18:15-20.
If after investigation a person was found to be a false witness, they suffered the punishment they wished to be inflicted on the person against whom they bore false witness. This law made accusers think twice before slanderously accusing someone of a deed for which he had no evidence.
Once again, the Lord commands, that must ‘must purge the evil from among you’, Deuteronomy 17:7 / Deuteronomy 17:12, in other words, God won’t tolerate this kind of evilness.
In the days of Christ, the Jews had twisted the teaching of the Old Testament law on this matter, of an ‘eye for eye and tooth for tooth’. They basically took these principles and applied them to their everyday relationships.
The ‘eye for an eye’ was a civil law of the Old Testament where the people had the authority to punish offenders, but the punishment must fit the crime, Exodus 21:23-24.
The retaliation law that was given to Israel was more compassionate than the law that existed previous to the giving of the law to Israel. In reference to this law, Jesus stated that love should succeed over the will to retaliate against our neighbour, Matthew 5:38-42.
The principle of the law would be that the death penalty would be given to those who voluntarily murdered another person. If someone voluntarily took the life of another, he had his right to life taken from him, Leviticus 24:19-20.
This law made accusers think twice before slanderously accusing one of a deed for which he had no evidence, Deuteronomy 19:21. We have to remember that the law of the land before God gave his instructions was really bad.
If you kill my child, I will kill all your children, your wife, your brothers, your whole generation! If you knock out my tooth or eye, I will knock out all of yours and kill you also.
In Matthew 5:38-42, Jesus is teaching against the concept of retaliation. What Jesus was condemning was the Pharisees’ misapplication of the principle of this law. They were using the principle as a justification for personal revenge. They misunderstood the principle of the law.
That principle is that there is a punishment for the violation of law, and the punishment must match the crime. In other words, the death penalty wouldn’t be given to one who told a lie.
Wrongdoing that is committed against Christians originates from Satan, Christians must resist the temptations of Satan, James 4:7. However, retaliation against those whom Satan uses to promote his work isn’t a Christian principle.
The slap here is an insulting blow or what we would call an insulting blow and anyone willing to slap a Christian is allowing Satan to use them to persecute Christians.
It’s better to suffer ill-treatment than to resist or retaliate against those who would persecute us, 1 Peter 2:18-20. It was a Roman law that a government official could command into service any person or thing that was needed to carry a soldier’s armour.
Jesus’ disciples are here commanded to willingly comply with those who would compel their services. The disciples shouldn’t retaliate by withholding from those who would ask of them, Deuteronomy 15:8-10 / Galatians 6:10 / James 2:14-17. The disciples must willingly give when compelled by those who would demand of them according to law, Luke 6:29-30.
The whole point is that instead of retaliating against those who would insult us or demand things from us, the Christian can overcome evil by doing good. Hence why Jesus goes on to speak about how to love our enemies, Luke 7:27-36.
The cross doesn’t make forgiveness easy, but it does make it possible. Love your enemies, do good to them, feed them when they are hungry, give them clothes when they are cold, and visit them when they are sick.
