“However, if someone hates his fellow member of the community, lies in wait for him, attacks him, strikes him a death blow, and then flees into one of these cities; then the leaders of his own town are to send and bring him back from there and hand him over to the next-of-kin avenger, to be put to death. You are not to pity him. Rather, you must put an end to the shedding of innocent blood in Israel. Then things will go well with you.”-Deuteronomy 19:11-13
We are continuing on with our discussion of the three cities of refuge (otherwise known as the sanctuary cities).
From verse 11, we are introduced to an example of an intentional or unjust killing.
We’re told if the killing was premeditated, then the killer has no right to seek safe haven in one of the cities of refuge.
Let’s say a killer who killed intentionally lied about his circumstances and was able to successfully seek refuge in a sanctuary city.
In this case, the elders of the town the killer belongs to are to travel to the sanctuary city the killer is in, arrest the killer (really a murderer), and turn him over to the blood avenger (the family GOEL) who would then execute the killer in accordance with the traditions and customs of the time.
Although it’s not clear from the written Torah (for some things, you really need to go to the oral Torah folks), the reason the town elders are able to arrest the killer is because they are actually officials who have been granted the authority to investigate and try such cases.
If their investigations uncover that the killing was indeed intentional, the murderer will be turned over to the blood avenger.
On the other hand, if it is revealed that the killing was accidental, the killer will be allowed to return to the city of refuge unharmed.
This part of Scripture actually hearkens back to two key principles we already studied in Leviticus.
The first principle is that the Levitical sacrificial system did NOT cover intentional sins.
The second principle is that any sin not covered by the sacrificial system required the blood (meaning the life) of the criminal as payment.
Again, this is something no gentile Christian really understands because they have zero foundational training in Torah.
Let’s get a couple of points clear for all all time and forever.
If a sin can be atoned for by means of an animal sacrifice, then outside of the perpetrator having to pay the victim reparations for any damage that resulted from his crime, the sinner will be forgiven by the Lord and by the community.
And I’m talking about real forgiveness here, not some kind of artificial forgiveness.
And let’s not forget that the Torah defines precisely what kind of trespasses can and cannot be atoned for by means of an animal sacrifice.
Now, on the other hand of the equation, if a crime is committed that cannot be atoned for by an animal sacrifice which is another way of saying the crime requires the execution of the perpetrator, then in this case, there is NO SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT available.
This high-handed trespass literally falls outside of the ability (and purpose) of the Levitical sacrificial system to provide atonement.
What would be some examples of crimes that the Levitical sacrificial system could NOT atone for?
Well, just think of all the crimes that require the execution of the criminal.
Idolatry is one of the big ones and murder and adultery are the two others.
If a person was to commit any of these crimes, it would be impossible to be forgiven of these crimes via the Levitical sacrificial system nor would the trespasser be allowed to run off to a city of refuge.
Instead, the price he would have to pay for his crime would be his own life.
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