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| 1 When Yahweh thy God, shall cut off, the nations, whose land Yahweh thy God is giving thee,–and thou shalt dispossess them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses, |
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| 2 three cities, shalt thou set apart for thee,–in the midst of thy land which Yahweh thy God is giving 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 for thee a way, and shalt divide into three parts the boundary of thy land which Yahweh thy God shall cause thee to inherit,–and it shall be, that every manslayer, shall 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, who shall flee thither and live,–Whoso shall smite his neighbour unwittingly, he, not having hated him aforetime; |
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 one entereth with his neighbour into a forest, to fell trees, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe, to cut down the tree, and the head flieth off from the handle, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die, he, shall flee into one of these cities, and live; |
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| 6 lest the blood redeemer pursue the manslayer, because his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and he smite him so as to take away his life,–he not being worthy of death, seeing that he had not been hating him, aforetime. |
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 For this cause, am I commanding thee, saying,–Three cities, shalt thou set apart for thee. |
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| 8 But, if Yahweh thy God should enlarge thy bounds, as he aware unto thy fathers,–and should give thee all the land, which he spake of giving unto thy fathers; |
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| 9 because thou dost observe all this commandment, to do it, which I am commanding thee today, to love Yahweh thy God, and to walk in his paths all the days, then shalt thou add unto thee yet three cities, unto these three; |
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| 10 that innocent blood may not be shed, in the midst of thy land, which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee, as an inheritance,–and so shed-blood be upon thee. |
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| 11 But, when any man shall be hating his neighbour, and shall lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him so as to take away his life, that he dieth,–and shall then 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 shall the elders of his city send and fetch him from thence,–and deliver him into the hand of the blood redeemer, that he 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 look with pity upon him,–so shall thou consume the shedding of innocent blood out of Israel and it shall go well with thee. |
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| 14 Thou shalt not move back the boundary of thy neighbour, by which they set bounds at first,–in thine inheritance which thou shall receive, in the land which Yahweh thy God is giving thee to possess. |
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| 15 One witness, shall not rise up, against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, with regard to any sin that he may commit,–at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, must a matter be establish. |
Two witnesses – In Jesus' trial there were many false witnesses, but none agreed together. R1809:3
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| 16 When there shall rise up a wrongful witness against a man,–to answer against him, perversely, |
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| 17 then shall the two men who are at variance, stand before Yahweh,–before the priests and the judges, who shall be in those days; |
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| 18 and the judges shall make diligent inquisition,–and lo! if the witness be, a false witness and, falsely, have answered against his brother, |
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| 19 then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to de unto his brother,–so shalt thou consume the wicked thing out of thy midst; |
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| 20 and, they who remain, shall hear and fear,–and not go on to do again according to this wicked thing, in thy midst: |
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| 21 neither shall thine eye pity,–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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