Cities of Refuge
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there.
In the above passage we read about the institution of cities of refuge. In Moses’ day, many cultures had a blood vengeance practice. If someone killed a relative it was the family responsibility to avenge such a murder. But if the person accidentally killed someone they needed a place to go to seek shelter until the accidental aspect of the death was sorted out. You could call these cities sanctuary cities. However, they were not as we refer to them today. These were not were anyone could go to be released from judgment for a crime or crimes they committed. This was a city that a person could run to (a Levite city ... the priests) in the case of an accidental death. The blood vengeance in most cultures was a deterrent to murder and a form of public justice. But to make sure those wanting vengeance didn’t step over the line in the case of an accidental death, these cities served a great purpose. God set up for the nation a way to curb the heat of the moment retribution. The cities were the Levite cities. God put the Levites to first take care of the Tabernacle and eventually the Temple. They were to be the faith bearers of the day. It is implied that a person running to these cities would be afforded a fair trail to determine the events and motives surrounding the death of a fellow Israelite. God did not want vigilante justice. He wanted justice based upon His character and the Levites were best suited for that act. We can think of a time in the New Testament that Paul spoke about a similar thought. When a brother had a quarrel with another brother, Paul admonished them not to go to court before the unbeliever, but rather take it to the church to have the spiritual leaders assist in sorting it out.
1 Corinthians 6:1-4 (ESV)
Lawsuits Against Believers
When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?
God wants us to be just. He wants us to be different than the world. Israel was to put into practice these cities to make their nation different than the world around them. So, too, the church ought to be different in how we administrate justice. We, of course, must operate by the laws of man in criminal matters. But when possible, we ought to be comfortable allowing the spiritual leaders of our lives to assist in sorting out differences that have caused harm to one another.
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