cities of refuge

Week 10  Deuteronomy 19

There’s quite a bit of death & dying going on and it’s hard to figure out how all the pieces – murder & guilt & revenge & punishment & like that – fit together. But the Cities of Refuge (CoR) are a small part of that whole mix.
Before Israel ever got to the Promised Land Moses was making plans for three CoR. CoR were necessary because people killed other people. And these CoR catered specifically to people who killed someone unintentionally.
Moses gives the example of a couple of friends chopping down trees. Guy #1 swings his axe. The axe head flies off the handle…sails through the air…strikes and kills Guy #2. A tragic fluke. But Guy #2 is dead. So now his brother will be looking for revenge. Guy #1’s only option is to run to the closest City of Refuge – a safe haven from Guy #2’s brother.
But even though he’s safe Guy #1 is also stuck. The city really doubles as a kind of spacious & livable penitentiary. Guy #1 – even with his freedom – can never leave.
Moses admits that the death of Guy #2: had been an accident.  Guy #1 was not guilty. But the CoR were created to prevent revenge killings: that way you will prevent the death of innocent people in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
There’s lots of death & dying going on. And this is one of the mechanisms to manage and contain them.

Note: quotes from Deuteronomy 19:6 10 (NLT)