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God knows the sinful tendencies of our hearts. He knows that the law of sin works powerfully within us to draw us away from the path of righteousness, quench the Spirit, and override the living and active Word of God in our souls. He knows also that sin is a part of every facet of our lives and can break in, even when we don’t intend it, to remind us of the sad legacy of our first parents’ disobedience.
This was true for ancient Israel, and it remains true for us. There will always be sin in our midst, always be death, and always be people against whom revenged should be enacted – at least, as the offended see it.
These cities of refuge were not quite prisons, but we can see an analogy in them, to a point. However, whereas prisons today are meant to protect the innocent from the guilty, the cities of refuge were meant to protect those guilty of a lesser transgression from those who might do them harm. Confinement to a city of refuge until the death of the high priest was a recognition that a wrong had been committed, whether through neglect or simple accident, and that some measures needed to be taken to restore a sense of justice. He who had, even unwillingly, taken the life of another had to “forfeit” after a fashion, his own life and freedom, if only for a time.
Such a measure of grace was designed to placate the survivors of the deceased, acknowledge the guilt, such as it was, of the offender, and keep peace and order within the society. To the extent that the American system of criminal justice strives for such ends, we may regard it as being not out of accord with the Law of God.
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.