This passage of direct instruction by God should be food for thought for everyone. It is especially useful in having a more sophisticated view of the death penalty, vengeance, and God's mercy.
"When the Lord, your God, removes the nations whose land he is giving you, and you have taken their place and are settled in their cities and houses, you shall set apart three cities in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you to occupy. You shall thereby divide into three regions the land which the Lord, your God, will give you as a heritage, and so arrange the routes that every homicide will be able to find a refuge.
"It is in the following case that a homicide may take refuge in such a place to save his life: when someone unwittingly kills his neighbor to whom he had previously borne no malice. For example, if he goes with his neighbor to a forest to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, its head flies off the handle and hits his neighbor a mortal blow, he may take refuge in one of these cities to save his life. Should the distance be too great, the avenger of blood may in the heat of his anger pursue the homicide and overtake him and strike him dead, even though he does not merit death since he had previously borne the slain man no malice. This is why I order you to set apart three cities.
"But if the Lord, your God, enlarges your territory, as he swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land he promised your fathers he would give, in the event that you carefully observe all these commandments which I enjoin on you today, loving the Lord, your God, and ever walking in his ways: then add three cities to these three. Thus, in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you as a heritage, innocent blood will not be shed and you will not become guilty of bloodshed.
"However, if someone lies in wait for his neighbor out of hatred for him, and rising up against him, strikes him mortally, and then takes refuge in one of these cities, the elders of his own city shall send for him and have him taken from there, and shall hand him over to be slain by the avenger of blood. Do not look upon him with pity, but purge from Israel the stain of shedding innocent blood, that you may prosper."
***
The Lord, in his wisdom and mercy, taught humans how to recognize the need for and designate refuge cities for correct situations of mercy. Notice, however, that the Lord says grace to prosper and have these cities only comes to those who love him and follow his word. (This is because the Lord is teaching that Israel will add lands to itself only in proportion to their obedience to God and goodness, and that a proportion of these lands shall be added with each acquisition to the number of refuge cities as a type of tithing, where a number is added as new lands are gained).
Further the Lord is very clear that those who stalk and harm neighbors shall receive no mercy and cannot use refuge cities to hide from the consequences of their deliberate and cynical hate and harm of neighbor. Cyberstalkers? Paying attention to this? Who says the Bible is not clear about modern day sins and crimes.
Showing posts with label Book of Deuteronomy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book of Deuteronomy. Show all posts
Friday, May 30, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 15:19-23
"You shall consecrate to the Lord, your God, all the male firstlings of your herd and of your flock. You shall not work the firstlings of your cattle, nor shear the firstlings of your flock. Year after year you and your family shall eat them before the Lord, your God, in the place he chooses. If, however, a firstling is lame or blind or has any other serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord, your God, but in your own communities you may eat it, the unclean and the clean eating it alike, as you would a gazelle or a deer. Only, you shall not partake of its blood, which must be poured out on the ground like water."
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Bible Reading
Deuteronomy 31:24-29
When Moses had finished writing out on a scroll the words of the law in their entirety, he gave the Levites who carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord this order: "Take this scroll of the law and put it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, your God, that there it may be a witness against you. for I already know how rebellious and stiff-necked you will be. Why, even now, while I am alive among you, you have been rebels against the Lord! How much more, then, after I am dead! Therefore, assemble all your tribal elders and your officials before me, that I may speak these words for them to hear, and so may call heaven and earth to witness against them. For I know that after my death you are sure to become corrupt and to turn aside from the way along which I directed you, so that evil will befall you in some future age because you have done evil in the Lord's sight, and provoked him by your deeds."
When Moses had finished writing out on a scroll the words of the law in their entirety, he gave the Levites who carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord this order: "Take this scroll of the law and put it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, your God, that there it may be a witness against you. for I already know how rebellious and stiff-necked you will be. Why, even now, while I am alive among you, you have been rebels against the Lord! How much more, then, after I am dead! Therefore, assemble all your tribal elders and your officials before me, that I may speak these words for them to hear, and so may call heaven and earth to witness against them. For I know that after my death you are sure to become corrupt and to turn aside from the way along which I directed you, so that evil will befall you in some future age because you have done evil in the Lord's sight, and provoked him by your deeds."
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
BIG Bible reading of God's predictions
Deuteronomy 28:58-62
If you are not careful to observe every word of the Law which is written in this book, and to revere the glorious and awesome name of the Lord, your God, he will smite you and your descendents with severe and constant blows, malignant and lasting maladies. He will again afflict you with all the diseases of Egypt which you dread, and they will persist among you. Should there be any kind of sickness or calamity not mentioned in this Book of the Law, that too the Lord will bring upon you until you are destroyed. Of you who were numerous as the stars in the sky, only a few will be left, because you would not hearken to the voice of the Lord, your God.
***
This is a passage of CRUCIAL importance for the world today, for both individual and collective salvation. Christians miss the importance of this verse because they think, “Well, this is a passage about the Law, which has been fulfilled in Christ, so we don’t follow the Law.” Yes, that’s true about the Jewish Law, but not about the commandments, who remain obligatory to obey for eternity. But more important, how can readers not notice that God is telling you, through Moses, the author of this book, what will happen in the future? Oh great fortune tellers, and societal prognosticators, how can you miss this information?
God says that continual sin in the future will return the “diseases” of Egypt (in other words, the various plagues) but that “they will persist among you.” In other words, they won’t be temporary warnings as they were in Egypt. These calamities will persist, living among the populace. They are illnesses and environmental misfortunes that will persist, and not be “waited out.” And God warns that calamities previously never seen by humankind will happen in the future… sound familiar? God warns that “sickness and calamity” will be of a type not known by humans by saying “not mentioned in this Book of the Law.” People wonder why God sometimes bangs into people’s heads the many ways that calamity can come; well, now you see why. He is educating and warning, and then he spells out that if sin continues things will happen that haven’t even been described in the scriptures. Even more worrisome is that the future, unknown calamities will persist until populations “are destroyed.” Again, God is teaching that future calamities will not be of the severe, temporary chastising that the Israelites endured when they sinned, or the Egyptians when the oppressed God’s people. Future calamities will persist and result in destruction, because of the severity of the sins of humankind. While Moses writes that God says that “the Lord will bring upon you” these calamities, remember that Biblically that is how it is expressed that all that results is allowed under God’s will. This does not mean that God “sends” a specific calamity, but he won’t step in and will allow it to happen, due to human’s sins. There is an ominous hint about abortion, the break up of families, and plunging birth rate and lack of respect for life, expressed in the last line of this passage:
Of you who were numerous as the stars in the sky, only a few will be left, because you would not hearken to the voice of the Lord, your God.
And sure enough, those who still glorify God or Allah and live in his way are still having children and preserving the family. Those who do not are already diminishing to the “few will be left.”
If you are not careful to observe every word of the Law which is written in this book, and to revere the glorious and awesome name of the Lord, your God, he will smite you and your descendents with severe and constant blows, malignant and lasting maladies. He will again afflict you with all the diseases of Egypt which you dread, and they will persist among you. Should there be any kind of sickness or calamity not mentioned in this Book of the Law, that too the Lord will bring upon you until you are destroyed. Of you who were numerous as the stars in the sky, only a few will be left, because you would not hearken to the voice of the Lord, your God.
***
This is a passage of CRUCIAL importance for the world today, for both individual and collective salvation. Christians miss the importance of this verse because they think, “Well, this is a passage about the Law, which has been fulfilled in Christ, so we don’t follow the Law.” Yes, that’s true about the Jewish Law, but not about the commandments, who remain obligatory to obey for eternity. But more important, how can readers not notice that God is telling you, through Moses, the author of this book, what will happen in the future? Oh great fortune tellers, and societal prognosticators, how can you miss this information?
God says that continual sin in the future will return the “diseases” of Egypt (in other words, the various plagues) but that “they will persist among you.” In other words, they won’t be temporary warnings as they were in Egypt. These calamities will persist, living among the populace. They are illnesses and environmental misfortunes that will persist, and not be “waited out.” And God warns that calamities previously never seen by humankind will happen in the future… sound familiar? God warns that “sickness and calamity” will be of a type not known by humans by saying “not mentioned in this Book of the Law.” People wonder why God sometimes bangs into people’s heads the many ways that calamity can come; well, now you see why. He is educating and warning, and then he spells out that if sin continues things will happen that haven’t even been described in the scriptures. Even more worrisome is that the future, unknown calamities will persist until populations “are destroyed.” Again, God is teaching that future calamities will not be of the severe, temporary chastising that the Israelites endured when they sinned, or the Egyptians when the oppressed God’s people. Future calamities will persist and result in destruction, because of the severity of the sins of humankind. While Moses writes that God says that “the Lord will bring upon you” these calamities, remember that Biblically that is how it is expressed that all that results is allowed under God’s will. This does not mean that God “sends” a specific calamity, but he won’t step in and will allow it to happen, due to human’s sins. There is an ominous hint about abortion, the break up of families, and plunging birth rate and lack of respect for life, expressed in the last line of this passage:
Of you who were numerous as the stars in the sky, only a few will be left, because you would not hearken to the voice of the Lord, your God.
And sure enough, those who still glorify God or Allah and live in his way are still having children and preserving the family. Those who do not are already diminishing to the “few will be left.”
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