Deuteronomy 19
Introduction
The
next chapters of Deuteronomy, chapters 19 through 26, continue God’s rules and
laws for living in community with other people. Earlier, He spoke on who the
leaders of Israel were, what the religious festivals were, what the religious laws
were, and which people God cared for in His chosen nation – every Israelite
including the orphans, widows, poor, and foreigners living in the Promised Land.
In Deuteronomy 19, God taught the Israelites how to live in community and what
to do about manslayers, property infringements, and reputation offenders. These
three relate to a person’s body, property, and integrity. In later chapters, God
taught the Israelites rules and laws about wars, deaths, wives, crimes, and other
daily concerns. Our study today deals with chapter 19 – manslaughter, places of
refuge, land boundaries, and witnesses.
Refuge Cities
Cities of Refugee
Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land,
God told them to set aside cities of refuge. Numbers 35 and Deuteronomy 19 of
the Pentateuch speak of this. The Numbers 35 passage gives much detail on the
purpose of the cities of refuge and in what way God wanted justice administered
in them. In Numbers 35, God told the Israelites to set aside six cities
throughout the Promised Land, east and west of the Jordan River, as places of
refuge for people who kill other people. Moses spoke of three cities in
Deuteronomy 19:2. In Joshua 20, we learn these cities were Kedesh in Galilee,
Shechem in Ephraim, Kiriath-arba (Hebron) in Judah, Bezer in Reuben, Ramoth in
Gilead, and Golan in Bashan. The cities of refuge were six of the forty-eight
cities the Israelites were to give the Levites for them to live in and pasture
their animals (Numbers 35:1-5). Remember, the Levites were God’s chosen people to
be His priests and to lead the Israelites. The Levites were His judges and
officers in matters of law. Hence, it makes sense that the cities of refuge would
be cities of Levites.
God knows the hearts of humankind. He knows
their desire for revenge when they feel wronged and when someone kills a family
member. God gives great weight to the sanctity of life. He prepared in advance
for the refuge of a manslayer until His judges rendered judgment. God told the
Israelites in Deuteronomy 19:3, “You shall prepare the roads for yourself, and
divide into three parts the territory of your land which the LORD your God will
give you as a possession, so that any manslayer may flee there.” The word
“prepare” in this verse comes from the Hebrew word kuwm. It means to set up and make ready. This passage is like the
road Isaiah spoke of in chapters 40 and 42 when he told the people to prepare
the road/way for the LORD. God knew people would kill one another accidentally
and intentionally. He wanted a smooth road leading to redemption made for
manslayers. He wanted godly justice meted out, not blood by the avenging family
member. Like God declared prepare a way for the LORD, the true Redeemer, He
said to prepare the road to refuge. He wanted to be the judge of people and not
allow angry humans to be judges.
Accidental Manslaughter
In Deuteronomy 19:4-10, God told the
Israelites what His judgment is of the person who accidentally killed another
person. In verse 4, God told them the accidental manslayer could flee to the refuge
and live. That summarizes the law about accidental/unintentional manslaughter.
To give more depth to His ruling, God gave an example of an unintentional
manslayer. When a man chops down a tree and the axe slips off the handle and
kills his friend, he is free from the judgment of death. God taught this same
thing in Numbers 35:22-25 using three examples, each of which speak of the
accident occurring without anger or enmity toward the one killed by the
manslayer. The important point of who is a premeditated killer deserving the
judgment of death and who is an accidental manslayer is made in these passages
– the manslayer’s intention. Accidental manslaughter is a reason God established
cities of refuge. Without the cities of refuge for a manslayer, the avenger of blood
could pursue and kill the innocent person in the heat of anger. God provided
redemption for the accidental manslayer.
“Avenger of Blood”
Let us look closer at who this “avenger of blood”
from 19:6 is. The Hebrew word for “avenger” is ga’al. It means to redeem, avenge, revenge, or ransom. The Hebrew
word for “blood” is dam. So the title
of the person avenging a kinsman’s death was the “avenger of blood” or go’el ha-dam in Hebrew. The avenger was
the relative closest, by blood, to the one harmed in body, property, or
reputation. This avenger of the relative would confront the abuser of the
relative and demand reparation and justice. The avenger/ga’al also redeemed a kinsman’s land or self from a creditor to
whom the relative became indebted. The Hebrews called this person the avenger
or the redeemer. People called this avenger the kinsman redeemer. From this
idea of the kinsman-redeemer came the idea the Messiah as the redeemer of His
people from their woes.
Purpose of Refuge Cities
As we return to our Deuteronomy 19 text, we
must notice the Hebrew definition for the English word “manslayer.” The English
word “manslayer” is ratsach in Hebrew.
It means a killer, accidental or premeditated. God taught through Moses that
killings occur by accident and by purposeful intention. People easily anger
over the killing of a relative and in the heat of the moment seek revenge. God
wanted the people to stop and realize manslaughters occur by accident, too. For
this, He provided places of refuge for a set amount of time so that the
avenging family’s anger cooled. In Numbers 35:25-28, God said the accidental
manslayer has refuge from the avenger of blood within the walls of the refuge
city. He or she could leave the refugee and be safe when the high priest at the
time of the slaying died. The manslayer could then return to the land of his
possession. In Numbers 35:29, God said, “These things shall be for a statutory
ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.” He said this
exact law people must uphold for all manslayers without hedging, bribes, or any
corruption.
Connected to their Covenant with God
In Deuteronomy 19:7-9, God reiterated that the
Israelites set up three cities of refuge and that other cities (the remaining
three) be set aside as their borders grew. As an added incentive to do this,
God tied the establishment of cities of refuge and the administration of God’s statutory
laws to the Israelites’ covenant with Him. In verse 9, God said, “If you
carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the
LORD your God and to walk in His ways always, then you shall add three more
cities for yourself besides these three.” Notice the words “carefully observe”
in this verse. Moses used his most spoken word here that the Israelites would know
well, shamar, meaning hear, listen,
and obey. The covenant spoken of in verse nine is the same one they agreed to
in Deuteronomy 6:5. Moses reiterated it here for them as a reminder – to love
the LORD your God and walk in His ways always. The Israelites were to love the
LORD with all their being so it manifested itself in their lives – actions and
speech. God tied their covenant faithfulness to Him with the establishment of
His redemptive judgment of innocent manslayers. If the Israelites remained
faithful to their covenant with Him, He would give refuge and redemption to people
involved in accidental harm of others. God did this because of His love for them
so that innocent blood would not be shed and the guilt associated with it would
not stain them, God’s consecrated people.
Premeditated Manslaughter
In verses 11-13, God gave His laws about
premeditated manslaughter. He explained in verse eleven what determined if the slayer
premeditated the killing. God said if the manslayer hated his neighbor, laid in
wait for him, rose up against him, and struck him so he died, then he or she premeditated
the slaying. Notice God did not use these four verbs when He described an
innocent manslayer in verses four through ten. The premeditated manslayer harbored
hate in his heart for his neighbor. He waited to ambush, rise against, and kill
the person so that died. The intention of the heart is what determined an
innocent from a premeditated manslaughter. In the Sermon on the Mount in
Matthew 5-7, Jesus said what comes from the heart is what defiles a person. He
taught in Matthew 5:1-12 about what is in a person’s heart. Jesus told them
committing murder and being angry with a brother (kinsman, national
citizen/Israelite) are the same and makes the person guilty in court (Matthew 5:21-22).
What is in a person’s heart, one’s feelings toward a person and one’s plans,
cause the person to be guilty as much as one’s actions. When the premeditated
manslayer flees to the nearest city of refuge, the elders in the city (see
Deuteronomy 17-18) must hand him or her over to the avenger of blood
(Deuteronomy 19:11-12).
Results
God added one other teaching to this. The
Israelites must not show pity or compassion on the premeditated manslayer, but
must purge the guilt of the innocent blood from Israel. This means they avenged
the blood of the innocent victim by judging and handing the life of the
premeditated murderer to the avenger of blood for the judgment of death. It meant,
too, that the people in Israel would recognize God’s judgment and be afraid in the
positive and negative sense – fear of God’s judgment should they break His laws
and reverence for the omniscient and omnipotent God.
God made
a definitive distinction between accidental and premeditated manslayers in this
chapter as He did in Numbers 35. What is in a person’s heart and acted upon is
the determining factor. Relating to people throughout each day involves this
same interplay of choice in the heart. Will a person act with integrity out of
respect for the person and in faithfulness to his or her covenant with God or
not? In this chapter of Deuteronomy, God spoke to the Israelites about two
other aspects of living within community.
Real Property
Inheritance and Law
Deuteronomy 19:14 speaks of real property - land.
God, in specific, spoke of stealing another person’s land. Each person of
Israel received an inheritance as an heir to God’s promise with Abraham.
Stealing another person’s land, even just a small part of it, shows discontent
and covetousness (see the 10th Commandment). God commanded His
leaders give each man of Israel an equal share of the Promised Land. Yet because
God knows the hearts of people, He repeated the basis of the land allotment
along with a related law. In verse 14, God stated, “You shall not move your
neighbor’s boundary mark, which the ancestors have set in your inheritance,
which you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess.”
People often want what is not theirs. They
sometimes believe others have a better portion in life. God reminded the
Israelites before they entered the Promised Land that they each were inheritors
of His promise with Abraham. They did not earn the land, nor was the promise
made to them. The Israelites inherited the land as a benefit of Abraham and
God’s faithfulness to their covenant with each other. So they were not to feel
they were due any more than they received because they deserved none of the land.
Connected to their Covenant with God
God
then reminded the Israelites that the way they would possess the land was to stay
faithful to their covenant with Him. In Deuteronomy 6, God said they would “possess”
the land, which means keep and not be disinherited, if they remained faithful to
their covenant with Him. This covenant Moses just reiterated to the Israelites
in Deuteronomy 19:9, “to love the LORD your God and to walk in His ways
always.” In loving God with all their heart, soul, and mind, their actions and
words would show their love for Him. The Israelites’ love meant they would obey
God’s laws, commands, statutes, and decrees, including the tenth commandment
and this current statute of not moving another person’s boundary mark. If they
did not obey God, they would disinherit – dispossess - the land as the
Canaanites did before them. Later in Deuteronomy 27:17, God added a curse to
this law. He said, “Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark. And all
the people shall say, ‘Amen’.” Just as the Israelites’ covenant with the LORD
contained a blessing for those who were faithful and curse for those who were unfaithful,
this law contained the same blessing and curse – possession of the land or
death, respectively.
Testimonies and Reputations
The Law
Another area of community life involves
testimonies of witnesses. Earlier, in Deuteronomy 17:6, Moses taught the Israelites
having two or three witnesses was better because of the hatred and evil that
could live in a person’s heart against another person. In both Numbers 35:30
and Deuteronomy 17:6, and our current passage, Deuteronomy 19:15-21, a single
witness cannot condemn a person. The first two passages deal with witnesses for
a murder, but the latter speaks of witnesses for any iniquity or sin. In each of
these passages, God recognizes the possibility of maliciousness and evil of a
person to give a false testimony against another person to gain something of that
person’s (Deut. 19:16). Because of this, God taught through Moses that the
voice of one witness would not condemn a person of sin or iniquity. So when a
person laid a charge against another person, God commanded the judges to
investigate the charge thoroughly (Deut. 19:18). The judges (see Deuteronomy
17:9 - the town priests and elders) studied and investigated the case
thoroughly and consulted with God as to His judgment so they would do well in
God’s sight and for the people. Moses then used and if - then statement. He
said, “If the witness is a false
witness and has accused his brother (kinsman and fellow Israelite), then you (the judges) shall do to him
just as he intended to do to his brother” (19:18-19).
Results
God
knows the heart of each person. He established laws of justice to discern truth
in consultation with Him so that the people of Israel would stay clean from
guilt and sin. Moses stated this in the last part of verse nineteen and
continued God’s reasoning in verse twenty. He said following Him, His laws, and
His judges would bring the purging of evil from them. It would make those who
hear of the judgments, too, afraid ever to do such evil. Moses said this same
thing in Deuteronomy 17:17 and 21:21. The Hebrew word for the English word
“afraid” used in this verse is yare’.
It means both fear of another person and reverence. When humankind follows God’s
judgments people revere Him as almighty and omnipotent God. They fear His judgment
on them for their sin and iniquity, too. Moses concluded this section on witnesses
in the same way he did regarding laws about manslaughter. He said in verse
twenty-one, “Thus you shall not show pity.” By showing pity, it would weaken
the effect of God’s judgment on the sin of the false witness. Other people might
question the rightness of God’s divine law and judgment on the malicious person
and, as a side effect, not revere God. So Moses said, “Thus you shall not show
pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for
foot.” In the same way the malicious person contrived to hurt the innocent one,
so he or she must be hurt so he or she will be afraid to harm another person and
so he or she will fear the omnipotent, omniscient LORD.
God’s Plan
Not For Judgment
Many times people quote the retribution passage
of an eye for an eye spoken in this part of Scripture. Often they forget or do
not recognize the intent. The purpose is multi-fold: to teach the malicious person
not to do evil, to teach those who hear about it not to do evil, and to teach every
person about God’s greatness and power. The judgment is not to be vindictive,
but enlightening and educating, reminding them of God’s omniscience and
omnipotence and His purpose for human life.
For Relationship
God’s purpose for each person is to live in a
love relationship/covenant with Him. He did not allow each of us to be born then
just to sin, receive punishment, and die. God brought each of us into life to be
in a relationship with Him so He can share His love and humankind can spread it.
How do we share His love? We share His love by obediently following Him, which
means living in harmony with all people and telling them of God’s intentional
and planned redemption of each of us. God did not bring us in to the world to
fail and receive punishment. His love was so large He provided a way for us to
be redeemed from our sin.
Kinsman-Redeemer
Just
as the kinsman redeemer paid the price for his kinsman to have his land
returned to him or to be set free from slavery, Jesus paid the price for each
of us to be set free from the judgment due us for our wrongdoings/sin. Because
God cannot be in the presence of sin – the result of our wrongdoings – we cannot
be in the presence of holy God. God provided a way for us, though, to be with
Him and receive His love. Because the judgment of sin is separation from God, (God
being life and separation from God being death) a substitution for our penalty
had to be made. God provided the substitution. He sent His Son, Jesus, to earth
to be born as a human baby. Jesus was still fully God, but He experienced the
weight of humankind’s sin, too. You see, He took our penalty of death for us.
Jesus died the death we for the judgment of our wrongdoings/sins. He did not
have to, but He did because of His love for us. Jesus wanted us to have an
eternal relationship with holy God, which we could not have otherwise because
our sin kept us from the presence of God. Jesus redeemed us from our death
penalty. In addition, His power over death, and, therewith, Satan, makes Him
our Redeemer from slavery to sin. Jesus is the Kinsman-Redeemer for humankind because
of God’s love for us. Men crucified Jesus - He died as a human - but His Father
brought Him back to life and restored Him to His rightful place in heaven at
the right-hand side of the Father. Jesus is 100% God. He was 100% man, too,
while He lived on earth. God loves us so much that He created us. He loves us. He
provided a substitute for our sin judgment. He welcomes us to Himself with open
arms and says, “Welcome home!”
Conclusion
God
is not vindictive; He is just. His justness comes from His righteousness. God
is omniscient and omnipotent. God means for His judgments to be more than punishment
of malicious and evil people. He gave them to bring our hearts and minds back to
Him, to revere Him. God’s creating, calling, providing, guiding, and redeeming
us proves His greatness and love for us. Who can deny God and His Son, Jesus
Christ, when you look at His eternal purpose for humankind – to be in a love
relationship with us?
“For God so loved the world that He gave
His one and only Son,
that whoever believes in Him will not
perish, but will have eternal life.” [John 3:16]
