Deuteronomy 19-21

Thursday Evening Bible Study

December 2, 2010

Introduction

The name Deuteronomy means “second law”. It is Moses’ final address to the people. It covers the last 1½ months of Moses’ life. He’s 120 years old. It’s God’s “review” for the people to make sure they understand His ways before they go into the land.

Deuteronomy 19

19:1-13 Cities of Refuge

:1 “When the LORD your God has cut off the nations whose land the LORD your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses,

:2 you shall separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

:2 three cities

These are the cities of refuge.

They had already set up three cities of refuge on the eastern side of the Jordan River: Golan, Ramoth Gilead, and Bezer.

When they came across the Jordan and conquered the rest of the land, they were to set up three more cities: Kedesh, Shechem, and Kiraith Arba.

This was to stop the “blood feuds” that developed in these ancient times.

If you killed a relative of mine, even if it was an accident, I would be bound by my family’s honor to kill you. The killings went back and forth.

Instead, when a person was killed by accident, they were allowed to flee to the nearest city of refuge (never more than a good day’s run away). As long as it was truly an accident (determined by a trial), then you were allowed to stay there and be protected from the “blood avenger”, which was a member of the dead person’s family.

:3 You shall prepare roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, that any manslayer may flee there.

:4 “And this is the case of the manslayer who flees there, that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor unintentionally, not having hated him in time past—

:5 as when a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he shall flee to one of these cities and live;

:6 lest the avenger of blood, while his anger is hot, pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and kill him, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated the victim in time past.

:6 the avenger of the blood

This is the guy out for revenge for you accidentally killing a member of his family.

:6 while his anger is hot

If there weren’t any hot heads in the world, something like this wouldn’t be necessary. It’s our anger that gets us into trouble.

Lesson

Anger is a dangerous thing.

(Jas 1:19–20 NKJV) —19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Illustration

In his autobiography, Number 1, Billy Martin told about hunting in Texas with Mickey Mantle. Mickey had a friend who would let them hunt on his ranch. When they reached the ranch, Mickey told Billy to wait in the car while he checked in with his friend. Mantle’s friend quickly gave them permission to hunt, but he asked Mickey a favor. He had a pet mule in the barn who was going blind, and he didn’t have the heart to put him out of his misery. He asked Mickey to shoot the mule for him.

When Mickey came back to the car, he pretended to be angry. He scowled and slammed the door. Billy asked him what was wrong, and Mickey said his friend wouldn’t let them hunt. “I’m so mad at that guy,” Mantle said, “I’m going out to his barn and shoot one of his mules!” Mantle drove like a maniac to the barn. Martin protested, “We can’t do that!” But Mickey was firm. “Just watch me,” he shouted.

When they got to the barn, Mantle jumped out of the car with his rifle, ran inside, and shot the mule. As he was leaving, though, he heard two shots, and he ran back to the car. He saw that Martin had taken out his rifle, too. “What are you doing, Martin?” he yelled. Martin yelled back, face red with anger, “We’ll show that son of a gun! I just killed two of his cows!”

Anger can be dangerously contagious. As Proverbs puts it, “Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man ... or you may learn his ways” (Prov. 22:24-25).

What do we do with anger?

Illustration

Thomas Jefferson said “When angry, count to 10; when very angry count to 100.”

Mark Twain changed it and said, “When angry, count to 4; when very angry, swear.”

Paul wrote,

(Eph 4:31–32 NKJV) —31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

It’s not a matter of learning to count, swearing, or breaking things, it’s a matter of learning to put anger away and learning to do the kind things. It’s learning not to hold on to bitterness, but to deal with the anger.

Illustration

In 1958, Johnny Cash came out with a number one hit song:

Play “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town” clip.

Put the bitterness away. Leave your guns at home.

:7 Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall separate three cities for yourself.’

:8 “Now if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you the land which He promised to give to your fathers,

:9 and if you keep all these commandments and do them, which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and to walk always in His ways, then you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three,

:10 lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus guilt of bloodshed be upon you.

:11 “But if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities,

:12 then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.

:13 Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.

:11 if anyone hates his neighbor

This would be premeditated murder.

A murderer was not allowed refuge. The trial would take place in the city of refuge.

If a person was guilty of murder, then the avenger of blood would be allowed to put you to death.

19:14 Property Boundaries

:14 “You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

:14 neighbor’s landmark

Up to this point, the Israelites are just a bunch of wandering slaves. They haven’t dealt with owning property for hundreds of years.

This is not about moving your neighbor’s pink flamingo or lawn gnome.

It’s about changing property lines. Property lines were based on landmarks. Moving that pile of rocks was like changing the property lines, stealing your neighbor’s property.

19:15-21 Witnesses

:15 “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.

:16 If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing,

:17 then both men in the controversy shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days.

:17 before the priests

The priests would serve as judges.

:18 And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother,

:19 then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you.

:20 And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you.

:21 Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

:19 do to him as he thought to have done

If you testify that your neighbor killed someone, and it was found out that you lied, then you would receive the punishment that a guilty killer would receive.

It’s a good deterrent against false witnesses.

:21 eye for eye

These are civil laws. These laws are about how a society ought to govern itself.

These principles are what our civil laws ought to be based upon.

The whole principle of the cities of Refuge were to keep people from taking the law into their own hands.

This is known as the “law of retaliation”, lex talionis, provided for exact justice, not revenge, and concerned public justice, not private vengeance.

When it comes to how we as individuals should treat one another, Jesus gives us another law:

(Mt 5:38–42 NKJV) —38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

20:1-20 Laws for Warfare

:1 “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.

:2 So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people.

:3 And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them;

:4 for the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’

:4 the LORD your God is He who goes with you

The army was encouraged by the priests to trust in God, not their weapons.

Lesson

The size of your fear and the size of your God.

It’s not like we intentionally forget how big God is, but it seems that the more we focus on the size of our problems, the less we are aware of the size of our God.

When Jehoshaphat was surrounded by an overwhelming force of enemy armies, he was scared,

(2 Ch 20:3–6 NKJV) —3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6 and said: “O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?

Jehoshaphat’s prayer starts with talking about how powerful God is, not because God needs reminding, but because Jehoshaphat needs reminding.

Isaiah says that God measures the universe by the span of His hand.

Play “The Known Universe” clip.

:5 “Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying: ‘What man is there who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it.

:6 Also what man is there who has planted a vineyard and has not eaten of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man eat of it.

:7 And what man is there who is betrothed to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man marry her.’

:7 betrothed to a woman

:7 return to his house

These laws helped establish a good morale among the troops.

If your army is filled with men who would rather be home fixing up their new house, harvesting their vineyard, or marrying their girlfriend, you’re going to have a bunch of soldiers who don’t want to be there.

You may be larger than your enemy, but you might not win your battles.

:8 “The officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.’

:9 And so it shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.

:8 who is fearful

Before the battle, send home those who are afraid.

Again, this is a principle to ensure that you have a strong, courageous army.

I think you could make a case that fear is contagious.

Gideon did this before facing the Midianites. When he first began to gather an army to challenge the Midianites, he had 32,000 men respond.

When he asked all the fearful ones to go home, 22,000 left! (Judg. 7:2-3)

Lesson

Manipulation

Sometimes we try a little too hard to motivate people.

We can get quite good at twisting people’s arms into doing things. We can make them feel guilty and try to get them to do what we think they ought to do.

The danger is that you’ll fill your army with weak soldiers.

If you are going to war and there are not enough men in the army, either God’s going to do a Jonathan kind of work (saving by many or by few, 1Sam.14), or else perhaps you’re in the wrong battle.

:10 “When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it.

:11 And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you.

:12 Now if the city will not make peace with you, but war against you, then you shall besiege it.

:13 And when the LORD your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword.

:14 But the women, the little ones, the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall plunder for yourself; and you shall eat the enemies’ plunder which the LORD your God gives you.

:15 Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.

:15 cities which are very far

This was how they were to treat distant enemies, not those who are living in the land they would soon occupy.

These cities were to be offered a peace treaty first.

If the city declined the peace treaty, then only the men were to be killed, and the rest were spared.

:16 “But of the cities of these peoples which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive,

:17 but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the LORD your God has commanded you,

:18 lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God.

:16 the cities of these peoples

The Hittites, Amorites, etc. are the people living in the land that would become the land of Israel.

God wants these people wiped out.

Israel’s war on them is an act of judgment by God upon their wickedness.

:18 lest they teach you

These people were not going to reform. God was concerned that the Israelites might end up learning their evil ways.

Lesson

Don’t learn the world’s ways.

God doesn’t want His people living like those in the world.

(1 Jn 2:15–16 NKJV) —15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.

Jesus said,

(Mt 5:27–30 NKJV) —27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Jesus isn’t trying to teach us to mutilate ourselves. He’s saying we ought to be willing to do whatever is necessary to stop our sin.

You can usually judge how serious a person is about their sin by seeing how far they are willing to go to correct things.

When a unmarried couple is living together and they begin to realize that this isn’t pleasing to God, I’m curious to hear how they respond to that information.

“Oh, we can’t afford to live in separate apartments”. Can you afford to keep in your present situation?

When a married couple is having difficulty, and I suggest that they get some professional counseling, it’s not uncommon for me to hear them say, “Oh, we can’t afford professional counseling.”

How much is your marriage worth?

Isn’t it worth a serious investment?

:19 “When you besiege a city for a long time, while making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; if you can eat of them, do not cut them down to use in the siege, for the tree of the field is man’s food.

:20 Only the trees which you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, to build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you, until it is subdued.

:19 its trees

This was a common practice among conquering powers, destroying the fruit trees so as to totally conquer a land. But Israel was to keep the fruit trees because they were going to live there.

21:1-9 Unsolved Murders

:1 “If anyone is found slain, lying in the field in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,

:2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance from the slain man to the surrounding cities.

:3 And it shall be that the elders of the city nearest to the slain man will take a heifer which has not been worked and which has not pulled with a yoke.

:4 The elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with flowing water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and they shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley.

:1 it is not known who killed him

Before the days of CSI, murder cases weren’t always solved.

There was still the unresolved issue of guilt.

The city closest to the dead body was responsible to take care of the guilt through a sacrifice.

:4 neither plowed nor sown

The Jews didn’t take this to mean a valley that had never been plowed before, but that it would be a valley that would never be plowed again. In fact, they were to take a plot of land that was currently being used for farmland and once the ritual was performed, the land was to never be used again. The rabbis taught that this was to help encourage the people to pay closer attention to goings on so that there would be no murderers running loose. If another unsolved murder took place, more land would have to be lost from usability.

:5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled.

:6 And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.

:7 Then they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it.

:6 wash their hands

A demonstration of their innocence in the matter

:8 Provide atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not lay innocent blood to the charge of Your people Israel.’ And atonement shall be provided on their behalf for the blood.

:9 So you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.

:9 put away the guilt

We don’t seem to be even aware of the fact that God has been offended and our land has been defiled.

Lesson

Sin pollutes the land

I tend to think that we as a nation have no concept of this.

For some reason, when a murderer is convicted and sentenced, there always seems to be a group of people who are trying to protect the murderer.

There’s a sense as with Abel’s blood, that the blood cries out for justice:

(Ge 4:8–10 NKJV) —8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.

With 40+ million abortions having been performed in America over the last forty years, could it be that our land is a bit “polluted” in God’s eyes? I believe so.

21:10-14 Female Captives

:10 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive,

:11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and desire her and would take her for your wife,

:11 a beautiful woman

This could not be a gal from one of the cities of Canaan, it would have to be one of the cities that were far away. It was against the Law for an Israelite to marry an Canaanite (Deut.7:1-4).

This was contrary to standard accepted practice for soldiers in ancient days. Typically, a soldier would pillage and rape. The Israelites were commanded to marry.

:12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails.

:12 she shall shave her head …

Ladies, aren’t you glad you didn’t have to prepare for your wedding like this?

Actually, the cutting of hair, nails, etc. was a way of her cutting herself from her old way of life, preparing her to become an Israelite.

:13 She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a full month; after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.

:13 mourn her father and her mother

The soldier had to wait a month before marrying her. He had to give her time to grieve over the loss of her family.

:14 And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have humbled her.

:14 set her free

The assumption is that they would divorce.

This again would be a little different from what other cultures of the day would do. Other cultures wouldn’t think twice of selling the woman into slavery. In Israel, she was to be a freed woman.

21:15-17 Firstborn Rights

:15 “If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved,

:16 then it shall be, on the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, that he must not bestow firstborn status on the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, the true firstborn.

:17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

:17 the son of the unloved wife

Don’t take this as an excuse to have two wives. It took Israel awhile to figure out that one was enough.

When asked about the issue of divorce, Jesus went back to Adam and Eve as the primary example of marriage (Matt. 19).

Two become one. Not three become one.

Lesson

Playing favorites

You weren’t supposed to play favorites with the kids according to who their mother was.

Jacob brought a lot of trouble to his family for playing favorites.

(Ge 37:3–4 NKJV) —3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

It was this hatred of Joseph that led to them selling Joseph into slavery into Egypt.

I know that we can get a little carried away with this. There were times when one of our kids would complain that we only spent $5.55 on him while we spent $5.95 on his brother. I think that a good way to handle this is to explain to your children that sometimes life is going to be unfair. Period.

But when one child is constantly being favored over another, there’s going to be major problems in the family.

One of today’s typical setups for disaster is that of the “blended family”. This is where you are living with step kids and your own kids. The tendency I’ve seen is that your own kids can tend to be the favorites. It doesn’t have to be that way.

21:18-21 Rebellious Son

:18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them,

:19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city.

:20 And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’

:21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.

:21 stone him to death

Note that this was to take place after the parents had already “chastened” the son, they had already been disciplining him.

Some people don’t discipline their children and expect everyone else to discipline them. This is only what happens after you tried to discipline them and they wouldn’t respond.

Jewish tradition has it that this punishment was never actually carried out. I guess the threat of it was enough. I wonder if this is why there is a commandment with a promise:

(Ex 20:12 NKJV) “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

Lesson

Parents, take control.

There are too many parents who are letting their children call the shots. God has entrusted THEM to YOU. You are to be the one in charge.

Play “Tantrum at Market” clip. It’s actually a commercial for condoms.

Illustration

As the crowded airliner is about to take off, the peace is shattered by a five-year-old boy who picks that moment to throw a wild temper tantrum. No matter what his frustrated, embarrassed mother does to try to calm him down, the boy continues to scream furiously and kick the seats around him. Suddenly, from the rear of the plane, an elderly man in a Marine uniform is seen slowly walking forward up the aisle. Stopping the flustered mother with an upraised hand, the white-haired, courtly, soft-spoken Marine leans down and, motioning toward his chest, whispers something into the boy’s ear. Instantly, the boy calms down, gently takes his mother’s hand, and quietly fastens his seat belt. All the other passengers burst into spontaneous applause. As the Marine slowly makes his way back to his seat, one of the cabin attendants touches his sleeve. “Excuse me, sir,” she asks quietly, “but could I ask you what magic words you used on that little boy?” The Marine smiles serenely and gently confides, “I showed him my pilot’s wings, service stars, and battle ribbons, and explained that they entitle me to throw one passenger out the plane door, on any flight I choose.”

They may have learned how to manipulate you, berate you, calling you names, making you feel insecure, but YOU are still THEIR parent.

For those of you with younger children, respect for parents is nothing to take lightly. I know that it’s hard to be the one disciplining your children when they’ve called you a name or yelled at you. You feel selfish. You feel like a jerk. But it’s far worse to let your child go through life thinking that it’s okay to rebel against authority and to mock it. It’s far better for your child to learn NOW that they need to respect authority, rather than have to face harder consequences later.

21:22-23 Hung on a tree

:22 “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,

:23 his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.

:22 hang him on a tree

This was not the mode of punishment, as in death by hanging. This was after the criminal was put to death, the body was to be hung on a tree as a way of making a public statement that this was what would happen to those who committed a similar crime.

Remember the whole deal with sacrificing a heifer if the crime went unsolved?

Sin brings a curse.

Paul applies this verse to Jesus:

(Ga 3:13 NKJV) Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),

Jesus became a curse for us so we could be made right with God.

Introduction

Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision

The name Deuteronomy means “second law”. It is Moses’ final address to the people. It covers the last 1½ months of Moses’ life. He’s 120 years old. It’s God’s “review” for the people to make sure they understand His ways before they go into the land.

Deuteronomy 19

19:1-13 Cities of Refuge

:1 “When the LORD your God has cut off the nations whose land the LORD your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses,

:2 you shall separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

:2 three cities

These are the cities of refuge.

They had already set up three cities of refuge on the eastern side of the Jordan River: Golan, Ramoth Gilead, and Bezer.

When they came across the Jordan and conquered the rest of the land, they were to set up three more cities: Kedesh, Shechem, and Kiraith Arba.

This was to stop the “blood feuds” that developed in these ancient times.

If you killed a relative of mine, even if it was an accident, I would be bound by my family’s honor to kill you. The killings went back and forth.

:3 You shall prepare roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, that any manslayer may flee there.

:4 “And this is the case of the manslayer who flees there, that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor unintentionally, not having hated him in time past—

:5 as when a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he shall flee to one of these cities and live;

:6 lest the avenger of blood, while his anger is hot, pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and kill him, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated the victim in time past.

:6 the avenger of the blood

This is the guy out for revenge for you accidentally killing a member of his family.

:6 while his anger is hot

If there weren’t any hot heads in the world, something like this wouldn’t be necessary. It’s our anger that gets us into trouble.

Lesson

Anger is a dangerous thing.

(Jas 1:19–20 NKJV) —19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Illustration

Anger can be dangerously contagious. As Proverbs puts it, “Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man ... or you may learn his ways” (Prov. 22:24-25).

What do we do with anger?

Illustration

Paul wrote,

Illustration

:7 Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall separate three cities for yourself.’

:8 “Now if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you the land which He promised to give to your fathers,

:9 and if you keep all these commandments and do them, which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and to walk always in His ways, then you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three,

:10 lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus guilt of bloodshed be upon you.

:11 “But if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities,

:12 then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.

:13 Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.

:11 if anyone hates his neighbor

This would be premeditated murder.

A murderer was not allowed refuge. The trial would take place in the city of refuge.

If a person was guilty of murder, then the avenger of blood would be allowed to put you to death.

19:14 Property Boundaries

:14 “You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

:14 neighbor’s landmark

Up to this point, the Israelites are just a bunch of wandering slaves. They haven’t dealt with owning property for hundreds of years.

This is not about moving your neighbor’s pink flamingo or lawn gnome.

It’s about changing property lines. Property lines were based on landmarks. Moving that pile of rocks was like changing the property lines, stealing your neighbor’s property.

19:15-21 Witnesses

:15 “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.

:16 If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing,

:17 then both men in the controversy shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days.

:17 before the priests

The priests would serve as judges.

:18 And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother,

:19 then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you.

:20 And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you.

:21 Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

:19 do to him as he thought to have done

If you testify that your neighbor killed someone, and it was found out that you lied, then you would receive the punishment that a guilty killer would receive.

It’s a good deterrent against false witnesses.

:21 eye for eye

These are civil laws. These laws are about how a society ought to govern itself.

These principles are what our civil laws ought to be based upon.

The whole principle of the cities of Refuge were to keep people from taking the law into their own hands.

This is known as the “law of retaliation”, lex talionis, provided for exact justice, not revenge, and concerned public justice, not private vengeance.

When it comes to how we as individuals should treat one another, Jesus gives us another law:

20:1-20 Laws for Warfare

:1 “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.

:2 So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people.

:3 And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them;

:4 for the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’

:4 the LORD your God is He who goes with you

The army was encouraged by the priests to trust in God, not their weapons.

Lesson

The size of your fear and the size of your God.

It’s not like we intentionally forget how big God is, but it seems that the more we focus on the size of our problems, the less we are aware of the size of our God.

When Jehoshaphat was surrounded by an overwhelming force of enemy armies, he was scared,

Isaiah says that God measures the universe by the span of His hand.

Play “The Known Universe” clip.

:5 “Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying: ‘What man is there who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it.