It seems we’re hard wired for revenge. Gang warfare erupts in our cities, as reprisals occur on a nightly basis. While we may think the Hatfield-McCoy feud is part of our frontier past, we only need to read the papers to hear of Serbs now fleeing Kosovar Albanians return to their burned out villages. NATO’s peace keeping efforts will be difficult. Revenge is a powerful emotion. The human character in the ancient world was no different than today. Revenge was the predominate form of justice of the day. In a time without police or prisons, justice was incumbent on family members. It was simple, quick, cheap. No messy protracted appeals, no plea bargains, but emotions often run amuck. Just as in one area of Italy over 600,000 vengeance killings took place over 400 years, so then retribution without justice was often the norm. Our passage this morning details how murder was to be handled, what should be done in the case of homicide and what should be done when manslaughter was the crime. God provides an answer to revenge in the form of the cities of refuge. Our passage this morning, Numbers 35, describes special places of safety, of refuge for the person who has inadvertently caused the death of another as well as a place to determine the guilt of one who murdered.While the regulations found here seem culturally distant to us, it shows the foundations of our own judicial system today. But more importantly, as much of the Old Testament is recorded for our benefit, it pictures what Christ has done in our behalf. The Purpose of the Cities Safe havens and sanctuaries have been commonplace throughout history. Le Chambon, a small village of 700 townspeople in the south of France, managed to save approximately 10,000 Jews from the clutches of the Holocaust. Following Numbers 35 these citizens turned Le Chambon into a 'city of refuge.' Because of their efforts every person risked arrest, imprisonment, and death. In the recent Serbian conflict, in the town of Decane in Kosovo, a 14th century monastery which protected some 150 Muslims from the rampaging Serbian forces now finds itself protecting remaining Serbs from the KLA. In the Bible the cities of refuge were designed for a specific purpose; they were to adjudicate wrongful death claims. Rather than allowing vengeance to rule the land, these specified cities acted as places of arbitration to determine whether the death was intentional (murder) or involuntary (manslaughter). Historically in that part of the world, if a man caused another’s death, it was incumbent on the next of kin to avenge that death no matter what the reason for the death was. The cities of refuge were provided so that the accused might flee to these cities, be tried in a fair setting and protected if the murder was unintended. If the man was tried and found to be a murder, he was to be executed by the avenger. In Numbers 35:16-21 the seriousness of murder is assumed. If the person used any object that could be construed as a weapon, he was to be put to death. If there was any malice or hostility between them, he was to be put to death. While many today may read this and think that such a response shows a complete disregard for life, the execution of a murderer flows from a high view of life, not a low view. Genesis 1 tells us that we are created in God’s image. God made it clear to Noah in Genesis 9:6 that whosoever sheds bleed, his blood must be shed because we are created in God’s image. Where wrong has been done restitution must be made; and, since the murderer cannot restore the life he has wrongfully taken away, his own must be exacted from him. Verse 25 says the decision of guilt or innocence was determined by the assembly, a form of a jury. It was their job to examine the crime and reach a decision, similar to our own system. But what is very different is that the execution of the criminal is not a matter for the state to impose, but is placed in the hands of what is called the "avenger of blood." The avenger of blood (go’el haddam) is best understood and often translated as ‘kinsman redeemer," the one whose job it was to keep his family safe from harm. He bought family out of slavery, purchased land lost to sale. The avenger does not engage in revenge, but in redemption of family loss, and thus comes to mean "redeemer." His mission was not vengeance, but equity and restoration. In Israelite society there was no police force to investigate crimes. It was the moral responsibility of the family member who was closest to the victim to investigate and avenge the murder. But this person's own emotional subjectivity, passion, and anger at the loss of his family member would cloud his judgment, and he might not want to go to the trouble to figure out whether it was an accidental killing or whether in fact it was premeditated murder. He might end up avenging the death by indiscriminately killing someone who wasn't guilty of a capital crime. That's why these cities of refuge were needed. But what if the death was unintentional? That is where the cities of refuge played their strongest part. Deuteronomy 19 gives an example of what might happen. A person is working in the field with an ax. Suddenly, while in mid-swing, the axe-head flies off, striking another and he dies. He runs to the nearest city, finds protection from the angry family of the slain person, is provided with a trial which examines the evidence and, if he is found innocent of murder, but guilty of manslaughter, he is to remain in that city. This makes a clear distinction between intentional murder and accidental, even though the person is liable to be punished for both. Accidents can happen. Our society always tries to find someone at fault. I read of an inline skater who tripped on some twigs on city property and received $600,000 in damages. Our culture would tell the person to sue the ax company for making a shoddy product. While innocent of homicide, he is still guilty of manslaughter. What we may call an accident does not leave him guiltless. A sin was committed, whether it was intended or not. The presence or absence of volition did not alter the objective situation. Sins done in "ignorance" were still sins and needed atonement. He had to remain in the city to be safe. He was a virtual prisoner. As an exile from his home, he could not cultivate his ancestral fields nor enjoy the fellowship of his family and friends. As a life was lost, God’s image is marred. Just as with the homicide blood had to be shed, so also a life had to be sacrificed for freedom to be found. The death of the High Priest was the means by which the one guilty of manslaughter could be freed. It was common in the ancient world and in certain cultures today, that freedom could be obtained for homicide or manslaughter by ransom. Numbers 35 forbade such a practice. Blood had to be shed. But the blood which secured his freedom was the High Priest’s. The importance of blood in the Old Testament is not that it connotes life, but death, or more accurately, life that is offered up in death. The primary teaching of the Old Testament about the blood is its role in the forgiveness of sins. God promises atonement for sin and cleansing by the blood of a guiltless substitute.The Place of the Cities Numbers 35 gives us some information about these cities. Verses 13-14 says they were to be on each side of the Jordan. Deuteronomy 19 and Joshua 20 gives more details, along with their specific names. They were to be spread throughout the nation, so that one could run to one within one day’s journey and roads (Deuteronomy 19:3) were to be built leading to the cities making the trip quicker. Extra-biblical sources give us more details about how important it was to maintain these highways so that nobody was ever hindered in getting to these cities. Bridges were to be built across every ravine that the highways came to, so that the person running for refuge wouldn't have to waste time climbing to the bottom of the ravine and then up the other side. The highways were supposed to be rebuilt every spring after the heavy winter rains so that the road surface would be smooth and easy to run on. At every crossroads or intersection on these highways, there were to be big, bold signs pointing the way with the word REFUGE in large letters. If someone was running flat-out, they wouldn't have to lose any time slowing down to read the sign. If the killer didn't flee to the city of refuge, there was no other place of guaranteed safety. If he went outside the city once he got there, the city could do nothing to protect him from the avenger of blood. Everybody was welcome in these cities, even non-Jews who were permanent residents of the land. The same justice, the same protection and provision, the same atoning grace were free to all. What God was doing in establishing these cities of refuge was setting the wheels in motion for what would ultimately be due process of law. Our western legal system finds its roots in this kind of biblical teaching that declares that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Until everything was investigated by the elders and justice was handed down in a full hearing before the entire congregation, he enjoyed the security of presumed innocence. But there is much more.The Picture of the Cities Beyond the legal and ethical implications for a society, there are also profound spiritual implications for each one of us personally. The similarities between the asylum found in these cities and our refuge in Jesus Christ is striking. You and I are, by nature, people on the run. Without God’s gracious intervention, we are in quick flight from God, never to Him. Just as the criminal never seeks the cop, we never go looking for Him, unless He draws us to Himself. Like Adam in the Garden, it is God who pursues us. The pursuing avenger in Numbers 35 is the frightening face of an angry God. The term "kinsman-redeemer," the go’el, in this passage chases the murderer not with criminal intent, but for the sake of justice. We love the image of Jesus meek and mild, but quickly forget that if we do not bow before Him as Savior, we will kneel before Him as Judge. But it is in that frightening pursuit that we run to Christ to find safety in Him. We flee to Christ, rest in Him, and only then are we protected from the Father’s wrath, from the curse of the Law we have broken. It is by God’s grace that we sense our guilt in breaking God’s Law, for then, we flee from God to God. Yet it is not that God changes depending on how we come to Him, but in the change He brings about in us. Unlike Numbers 35, you and I are guilty of not just incidental sin, not accidental transgression. We rightly deserve the punishing death, the eternal execution. Christ pursues us as a judge and executioner. Our only hope is to flee to the one who would judge us guilty and claim His death for our own. It is only then that we can know that there is now no condemnation to those who are in the city of refuge, who are in Christ Jesus. At the foot of the cross a sure place of refuge is found, for those guilty, not of one form of sin, but of every form of transgression and fault. The only place to find protection from the avenger of blood was in the city of refuge. You could be as repentant as you wanted to be, but if you were any place else besides the city of refuge, it wouldn't matter. And if we don't flee to the refuge that God has provided us in Christ Jesus, there is no spiritual asylum for us, no salvation apart from Him. It is for this reason Hebrews 10:28-29 reminds us how severe our judgment will be if we neglect the city of refuge we have available for us in Christ. "Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" How does someone end up insulting God's saving activity, profaning the blood of Christ? It's by ultimate rejection, by saying, "I don't need it, I'll find another way of salvation. I'm not entering the city of refuge." Any one of us who hears the truth of the Gospel and chooses to walk away from it will end up in the same place of isolation, and we will face death, eternal separation from God and His people. It sounds harsh because it is harsh. We often have to hear bad news before we can hear good news. Whereas the city of refuge was available only for those convicted of manslaughter, those innocent of a capital crime, with Christ we find hope for willful sinners such as you and me. We find the payment has been made for those of us who have murdered in our heart by hatred, who through premeditation have followed our sinful choices, have given into our lusts. We find hope, for our High Priest, Jesus Christ, has secured our life by the sacrifice of His own. Just as the death of the High Priest meant the man-slayer was set free, so Christ’s death sets us free now to serve Him. Christ pursues us as the avenger of blood, but also makes certain our acceptance as the great High Priest who offered His own body as the ultimate sacrifice for our sin. But the problem we so often face is that we so rarely think we’ve offended God. We justify ourselves; we convince ourselves that we are indeed good, worthy of acceptance. In our contemporary culture, the one who has caused the death of another may resort to self-justifying techniques. He could blame the car manufacturer for malfunctioning brakes; she could point a finger at the weather conditions which left the ice she neglected to clear. In the same way, we far too often try to excuse our sin, claiming a lack of intention, a desire to do differently. We certainly would never imagine flagrantly offending God. But we do, in ways we may scarcely imagine. But rather than making excuses for what I said, for how I respond, for the thoughts which pervade my mind - there is a simple solution - RUN. Run to Christ, for there you will find safety and shelter. Run for the refuge He provides. In a condemning world with all the reminders of your sinful failure and premeditated rebellion against God, are you tired of running and hiding? The consequences of sin can be dealt with once and for all. You can experience safety, refuge, security, and protection in the arms of Jesus. You don't have to fear the avenger of blood anymore. You don't have to live with the gnawing uncertainty about death itself and what will happen when it confronts you. During the War for Independence, Major John Andre was captured by the British and sentenced to death as a spy. Unable to run for safety, unable to find refuge from his enemy, he could have become bitter. But his relationship with Christ was where he found his hope. Major Andre was indeed executed in his pursuit of freedom from tyranny, but after he died there was found in his pocket a poem he had written while awaiting his death. His dying words remind us of the need to run for refuge in Christ. |
