Refuge and Justice

Deuteronomy Chapter 19

Soon, said Moses, the Lord will destroy the nations whose land he is giving to the people of Israel. These people in these nations will be displaced and you will settle in their towns and homes. Then you must set aside three cities of refuge in this land. Divide the land into three districts with one of these cities of refuge in each district. Keep the roads to these cities in good repair so that anyone who has killed someone can flee there for safety.

If someone accidentally killed a neighbor without harboring any previous hatred, the slayer may flee to any of these cities and be safe. Moses gave an example: suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor and the handle of his ax head flies off, killing the other person. In such cases, the slayer could flee to one of the cities of refuge. If the distance to the nearest refuge city was too far, an enraged avenger might be able to chase down and kill the person who caused the death. The slayer would die, even though there was no death sentence and the death was an accident.

The Lord may enlarge your territory, as he promised your ancestors and if so, you must designate these cities of refuge. That way you will prevent the death of innocent people in the land the Lord your God gave you as a special possession.

Suppose, Moses continued, someone hates a neighbor and deliberately ambushes and murders the neighbor and then escapes to a city of refuge. In that case, the leaders of the murderer’s hometown must have him brought back from the city of refuge and handed over to the dead person’s avenger to be killed. Do not feel sorry for that murderer! Purge the guilt of murder from Israel so all my go well with you.

When the people arrive in the promised land, never steal someone’s land by moving the boundary markers your ancestors set up to mark their territory. And never convict anyone of a crime on testimony of one witness. If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime, then both the accused and accuser must appear before the judges and priests. They will be closely questioned and if the accuser is found to be lying, he will receive the punishment intended for the accused. This will cleanse such evil among you. Those who hear about it will be afraid to do such a thing again.

You must never show pity! Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW the roads that lead to the cities of refuge needed to be in good repair because the people that came were literally running for their lives and a good road could mean the difference between life and death for them.

History shows that every society has to deal with the problem of murder or accidentally death. God’s refuge cities provided that answer and also the justice of the priests and judges and the questioning of witnesses. Often the avengers were the families of the one killed. The nearest male relative often acted as the family protector.

The verses 18-21 about eye for eye, tooth for tooth, were meant to be the principles for judges, not for personal revenge. This was a breakthrough for justice in those times because it ensured that those who violated the law were not punished more severely than their particular crime deserved. In other words, this was the first example of making the punishment fit the crime.

How does this chapter relate to us in today’s world? We do not have cities of refuge, but we do have churches of sanctuary, we have public defenders, we have juries of our peers. Our methods today of justice may not always be perfect, but we do recognize accidental death and manslaughter.

In addition, we don’t always make the punishment fit the crime. Gone are the days of an eye for an eye. Instead, we do have probation, counseling, and community service. Our society seems to think these things solve problems, but there are times when the Old Testament form of justice sure sounds a lot more civilized than ours. Because ours is not always based upon fear of the Lord our God and perhaps it should be.

Yours in Christ,
Mary