We can imagine that, in a community where such laws as this were read over and over – in homes, at gatherings for worship, and once each seven years as part of a national feast – people would be inclined to think carefully about what they were considering when they took a club or stone or hammer in hand with anger in their hearts toward their neighbor.

This text further details facts in a case involving the death of a neighbor which judges would have to consider and prove: the instrument of death, the motive, and the intent to murder (lying in wait) would all have to be proved before the offender could be sentenced to death. Those conditions being satisfied, the convicted party would be turned over to the avenger of death and the rest of the community to carry out the punishment. The avenger would throw the first stone, then be joined by all his neighbors.

In our day the death penalty is carried out by professional executioners and witnessed by only a handful of people. We can imagine how this community-wide involvement in carrying out the death penalty must have further served to deter murder.

T. M. Moore

The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.