This week the Garland Church staff was gathered for our usual Wednesday meeting and, as is our custom, we read the Reading-O-Day from Numbers 35 and then discussed it for awhile. It was quite an interaction as we considered God’s directions to the Hebrews regarding murder: What it is, how to deal with those who have murdered and the like. We also noticed that the text made a clear distinction from murderers as to how to handle those who have killed someone unintentionally (manslaughter) and how these unintended killers should be handled. These people, God said, are to flee to the “City of Refuge,” and they are to stay there until “the death of the high priest.”
It sounds like a bummer to be stuck in the City of Refuge for who-knows-how-long. I mean what if the high priest happened to be rather young when all this happened, and so the individual would be looking at a long stay in this city? That sure seems like poor timing! And remember, these people couldn’t leave the city without risking themselves to being killed by family members of the deceased who would be on the look-out to “avenge” the killer. They would be welcome to leave the city’s protective walls, but it would be at the risk of their lives.
On this matter of unintentional killing, a City of Refuge seems like our modern prison. Isn’t our prison a place that we can put offenders not only to remove them from society, but also in many cases, to protect those unintentional killers from someone out to avenge the death of their friend or family? We’ve seen in the history of our own nation that when people get really angry with what they perceive to be a criminal, who knows what actions they might take. Before “society” caught up with our land, “vigilante justice” was very common. It was you, them, and your revolver.
But interestingly, God had a much more civil plan. If you have accidentally killed someone and you need protection, flee to the City of Refuge. There, you are protected from “frontier justice,” at least as long as you were patient enough to live in the protection behind its walls.
Has it ever occurred to you that our relationship with Jesus Christ is much the same? You and I have committed all kinds of terrible sins against God and society, many of them completely unintended. For these violations, we deserve punishments ranging from death to paying remuneration, to simply offering apology and asking forgiveness. But for those who walk the journey with Christ, we have been placed under his protection. Christ himself is our City of Refuge, and those who choose to stay within his Fortress are safe. On the other hand, those who choose to venture out on their own to take their chances place themselves at great risk. Interesting, eh?
Lookin’ Up, Pastarod
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
.jpg)
1 comment:
As I have been reading I have found that I see new/different or not yet discovered things that stick in my head for days. One you mentioned in your blog - how God dealt with different kinds of sin. Another is the "controling" nature - God was/is very precise about what He wants us to do. We are made in His image and have this controling nature as well. As I see it, we get ourselves in trouble when we are trying to control the wrong things - we try to control others when God wants us to be in control of our own behavior. Over and over in this first few books of the Bible God is telling how He wants them to behave and to see to it that they follow what they have been told.
Another subject: My dad told me that once you hit 50 it's all down hill. I once thought that meant that I could coast a bit on the latter part of life, but you have tainted that easy picture with your talk of asending the mountain and how it can be just as hard on the way down as it was on the way up. Part of me wants to give you a good punch and the other part says thank you for reminding me that we are never to be off guard.
Post a Comment