Joshua 20:1–4

The LORD also spoke to Joshua, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, that the slayer who kills a person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there; and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. And when he flees to one of those cities, and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declares his case in the hearing of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city as one of them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.’ ”

Here the LORD sets up a unique judicial system. Why? What for? Why are these cities needed? And what is an avenger of blood anyway?

This all traces back to chapter 35 of Numbers. While accidental homicide is not a capital crime—that’s the point of this system—murder is a capital crime. The closest male relative of a murder victim is expected to hunt the murderer down.

The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him. — Numbers 35:21b

This system would work just fine if people weren’t sinful and didn’t make mistakes.

“However, if he pushes him suddenly without enmity, or throws anything at him without lying in wait, or uses a stone, by which a man could die, throwing it at him without seeing him, so that he dies, while he was not his enemy or seeking his harm, then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood according to these judgments.” — Numbers 35:22–24

These passages show something profound. Designating whole cities to this function is surprising. The nation of Israel is commanded to go to extraordinary lengths to handle one specific thing. Why is this so important?

When accidents happen, people don’t see things the same. They can disagree on who did what and why. Next thing you know, they’ll be feuding like the Hatfields and the McCoys. That nightmare must be avoided.

It would be anything but glorifying to God.

This is a part of Israel’s identity as God’s people. Now that they’re going to be a geographic nation, not just an ethnic nation, their representation as God’s chosen people will be more explicit and more visible.

So, the last thing they need is violent squabbles between families. Thus, they are commanded to set up this network of sanctuary cities, where cases will be heard and adjudicated carefully and openly.

This is a beautiful example of justice done right and a beacon of light to the world.

More on that tomorrow.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.