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| 1 When Jehovah thy God hath cut off the nations whose land Jehovah thy God giveth thee, and thou hast dispossessed them, and dwellest in their cities and in their houses, |
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| 2 thou shalt separate three cities for thyself in the midst of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess. |
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 territory of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, so that every slayer 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 slayer who shall flee thither that he may live: he that smiteth his neighbour unwittingly, whom he hated not previously; |
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 he goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron slippeth from the handle, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; such an one 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, since he hated him not previously. |
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 Therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thyself. |
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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 keep all this commandment to do it, which I command thee this day, to love Jehovah thy God, and to walk in his ways continually), then shalt thou add three cities more for thyself to 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 blood come not upon thee. |
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| 11 But if a man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, 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 spare him; and thou shalt put away innocent blood from Israel, that it may be well with thee. |
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| 14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have fixed in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess. |
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| 15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, and 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 an offence; |
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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 thorough inquiry; and if the witness be a false witness, and he have testified falsely against his brother, |
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| 19 then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother; and thou shalt put evil away from thy midst. |
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| 20 And those that remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in thy midst. |
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| 21 And thine eye shall not spare: life for life, 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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