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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 When Jehovah thy God shall cut off the nations, whose land Jehovah thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses; |
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| 2 thou shalt set apart three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it. |
Three cities – Foreshadowing the refuge sinners may find in Christ. R4079:6
An advanced step, tempering justice with mercy. R3092:3
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| 3 Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the borders of thy land, which Jehovah thy God causeth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee thither. |
Prepare thee a way – Keep the roads to these cities well repaired and marked, to afford the guilty a full opportunity for a rapid flight to secure safety. R3092:3
Christ is easy of access to all who diligently seek him. R4080:4
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| 4 And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee thither and live: whoso killeth his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time past; |
Ignorantly – Cities of refuge were not for willful murder, but only for manslaughter. R3092:3
Christ is no shelter for obstinate, unrepentant sinners. R4079:6
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| 5 as when a man goeth into the forest with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbor, so that he dieth; he shall flee unto one of these cities and live: |
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| 6 lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and smite him mortally; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. |
Lest – Under Jewish custom, two scribes accompanied the fleer to persuade the avenger, if he should overtake, to permit the culprit to reach the city of refuge. R3092:3,5
Avenger – In the East it is considered the bounden duty of the next of kin of the slain one to avenge his death. R3092:2
Justice is the avenger, seeking our lives for being sinners. R4079:6
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| 7 Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt set apart three cities for thee. |
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| 8 And if Jehovah thy God enlarge thy border, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers; |
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| 9 if thou shalt keep all this commandment to do it, which I command thee this day, to love Jehovah thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, besides these three: |
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| 10 that innocent blood be not shed in the midst of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. |
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| 11 But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite his soul mortally so that he dieth, and he flee into one of these cities; |
Lie in wait – The fact that so many details are enumerated here and in Numbers 35 and Joshua 20 shows that the trial was to be a careful one. R3092:5
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| 12 then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. |
Elders – The culprit was not free, but must stand trial before the elders. R3092:5
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| 13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. |
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| 14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor’s landmark, which they of old time have set, in thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit, in the land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it. |
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| 15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established. |
Two witnesses – In Jesus' trial there were many false witnesses, but none agreed together. R1809:3
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| 16 If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, |
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| 17 then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Jehovah, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days; |
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| 18 and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and have testified falsely against his brother; |
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| 19 then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to do unto his brother: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee. |
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| 20 And those that remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in the midst of thee. |
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| 21 And thine eyes shall not pity; soul shall go for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. |
Life shall go for life – The Scriptural basis for viewing man's recovery from sin and death as a purchase--a redemption. R5872:3
Human life must be considered sacred and a slayer shown no pity. R3092:2
Divine justice required that a perfect human life must be given for a perfect human life. No fallen man could be a ransom, a corresponding price, for the perfect man Adam. R5429:6; SM660:1, R661:1
If a thousand perfect men had sinned it would have required a thousand perfect men to redeem them. R5429:6; SM661:1; R5141:4
The death of an angel or an arch-angel could not have redeemed man. R5429:6, R3174:5; SM660:1
A spirit being, veiled in flesh, "incarnate," could not have been the Redeemer. R5622:5
The righteousness of the Law (Matt. 3:15) was fulfilled by Jesus' o R1917:1
Eye for eye – If inclined to carry out the Law of Moses we must remember that it is not the time now for us to judge and discipline the world. R5644:5
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