Josué 20

Josué 20

Barber adds this note - Some years ago my wife and I visited the “Big Island” of Hawaii. We found that whatever sightseeing we did had to be done before 11:00 A.M. for torrential rains then swept over the island every morning about that time. One place close to our hotel was Pu ‘uhonua, the City of Refuge. In ancient times Hawaiians lived under strict laws. Commoners could not get too close to their chief, nor were they allowed to touch any of his possessions, walk in his footsteps or even let their shadow touch the royal grounds. The penalty for violating a sacred kapu (taboo) was death. Breaking a kapu was believed to incur the wrath of the gods. Hawaiians often chased down an offender and swiftly put him to death unless he could reach a pu ‘uhonua or place of refuge. There he could be absolved by a kahuna (priest) in a purification ceremony before returning home with his transgression forgiven. (Joshua: A Devotional Exposition:) Today in the Word - Moody Bible - of its bliss; the Center of its love; the innermost Soul of its life. Through his character Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tells us that courage is more than brashly ignoring danger. He writes, “It is stupidity rather than courage to refuse to recognize danger when it is close upon you.” That bit of wisdom applies quite well to the crux of today's reading in a couple of different ways. For the nation as a whole, it would have been foolish to deny the possibility of tragic deaths, either accidental or malicious, especially now that the people were spread out across a wide array of settlements. Without a plan to handle such a situation, the Promised Land could have closely resembled the chaos of the American Old West. God in His foresight provided Israel with a justice system that would apply to the whole land and could help see to it that patience and truth would prevail over irrational rage. The quote also applies to the person who causes a death—it would be doubly foolish to think that no punishment would come as a result of costing a man his life. A man in that position no longer needs courage; he needs protection. The passage in Numbers gives us a more detailed account of the philosophy of justice for murder, and it's much different than what we're used to today. When evaluating the incident, at least two witnesses needed to testify about the death (v. 30); in our society, one eyewitness can be evidence for conviction. If the accused was convicted of murder, a relative of the victim was permitted to avenge the murder by taking the life of the guilty person (v. 19). Even if he was deemed innocent of malicious, intentional murder, causing a death was still a serious offense, and the offender couldn't leave the city of refuge until the death of the high priest without fearing for his life (vv. 26-28). We may wonder at this, but God wanted to stress that all life is valuable, and there is punishment for murder and consequences even for accidents. Yet God still demonstrates His mercy by instituting protections in the legal system and by providing cities of refuge. TODAY ALONG THE WAY - Hopefully the specifics of today's reading don't come into play in your life any time soon, but there's an important truth in the text that applies to all of us. God places tremendous value on human life. He would do anything to save a life, but He can't ignore justice to do it. Jesus died on the cross to save us, suffering the penalty that sin imposed on all mankind. We need to value human life in the same way; tell someone the good news today. Introduce them to the refuge of grace. Joshua 20:3 that the manslayer who kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood. Joshua 20 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Avenger of Blood KILLING UNINTENTIONALLY that the manslayer who kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge (miqlat; Lxx = phugadeuterion - place of refuge) from the avenger of blood