Cities of Refuge; Manslaughter vs. Murder

Today's Reading:

• Numbers 33:40 - 35:34
• Proverbs 11:23

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Numbers 33:40 - 35:34
The Israelites made camp across from Jericho.  The Lord spoke to Moses, detailing how the land should be divided.  Each tribe, with the exception of the Levites, would be given a piece of land proportional to the amount of people in the tribe.  The largest tribes were given the most land and the smallest tribes were given the least amount of land.  The Levites were to be given 48 towns with pastures to live in and raise their livestock. 

Six of these towns were designed to be cities of refuge.  If someone were to accidentally kill another human being, they could flee to one of those towns and await trial.  Inside a town of refuge, a person was safe from blood vengeance if they had accidentally killed another person.  Should that person leave the town of refuge before the high priest died, they would not be subject to protection from the victim's relatives.  If they lived in the town until the high priest died, they would be allowed to return to their own property without fear of retaliation. 

The Lord makes a big distinction here between manslaughter and murder.  Manslaughter is the accidental killing of another person.  Manslaughter could only occur between people who were not enemies, and the actions could not be deliberate.  If two people were enemies, or a person deliberately struck them -- be it with a weapon or their own fist -- and that person died, then they are guilty of murder.

Chapter 35 states multiple times that a person must be put to death if they have murdered another person.  The exception here is that there must be more than one witness for this person to be put to death (35:30).  I love how this verse takes into account the deceitful, sometimes evil nature of humans.  Or, even if a person is not intentionally lying about what they saw, they could still be mistaken. 

The thing that I gain the most out of this chapter is that the Lord is telling us that human life is to be cherished.  To deliberately end another human being's life can only be redeemed by the murder of the person who did it.  Chapter 35 also tells us that no ransom is ever to be accepted for the life of another human being.  Even those people we deem least worthy of living are cherished.  Life, human life, is truly sacred.  I plan to make the most of this human life of mine that the Lord so cherishes.

Proverbs 11:23

The godly can look forward to a reward, while the wicked can expect only judgement.

I don't have much to add to this promise, except that I will always strive to be the godly and not the wicked.

What the Bible Says About the Death Penalty

Today’s Reading:
• Genesis 8:1-10:32
• Proverbs 1:20-23

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Genesis 8:1-10:32
It’s amazing how 3 short chapters can supply such a diverse range of topics – from the recession of the flood waters, to punishment of murderers, followed by the curse of Canaan, and finally ending with the re-population of all the nations and the people of the earth. It’s hard to imagine being stuck in a boat (even a large one) for over a year. I mean, they had faith, we know that. They were shown first hand. But it still has to be a bit testy to sit in that boat day after day; night after night. I know they had faith … but they also had to have doubts some of those times, don’t you think?

I no longer have any doubt of the righteousness of the death penalty after reading 9:5-6. God specifically told us that anyone who takes another person’s life will (and should) have their own life taken by human hands. He also says that any animals who kill a person must be killed. So for all those dogs, alligators, bears, whatever – if they kill a person, let the hunt begin. And for those of you who deliberately murder -- an eye for an eye. I don’t say I get enjoyment from finding this to be the case, and I’ve always kept a neutral opinion on the subject, until now. But wow! Two short verses can make my mind up on such a debated subject!

Isn’t the bible just chalked full of the most powerful information? Why haven’t I read it before? I love the lineage lines, and how everything is tracked, down to the nationality of the people. I think I need to be much more of a scholar to truly appreciate and track the lineage. I can certainly see how one can spend their entire life studying the bible, yet still learn new things all the time!

Proverbs 1:20-23
These verses refers to people who refuse wisdom and knowledge as simpleminded fools. Isn’t that the truth? There is an overflow of knowledge in this world, and unfortunately misinformation also runs rampant. I don’t care if a person has a strong opinion, as long as they base it on fact and knowledge, and not on what other people tell them. It kills me to see what people believe because they are too lazy to look up the information themselves and make an informed decision. Make up your own mind. Pursue wisdom. Don’t become a simpleminded fool.

Conclusion
I'm only a few days into my studies and already I’m so interested that I keep thinking about how I’m going to study the bible in a different way as soon as I'm done reading it through this way. I think I’ve discovered a new life passion, one that will never leave me -- and that is to study the bible. There are so many depths to it that I don’t think I can ever view it enough different ways. I think there will always be new, interesting angles to pursue.