Oops! There are no do-overs where death is concerned. When you’re dead, you’re dead. We hear often of people cleaning their guns and accidentally killing themselves or others. Or hunting accidents with some mishap where a friend is killed instead of the coveted deer. In times like those, there is not only guilt and anguish, but often times jail time or a tarnished record to deal with. Today’s passage has a solution for those situations where no malice or evil intent is present.
God wanted three cities in a “district” or region to be set aside as safe havens for those types of offenders. God did not see these people as guilty of murder, and he wanted to provide the a refuge of safety. You can imagine the loved ones of those killed would not be so full of grace and mercy. By protecting the “not guilty” one, he was also protecting others from acting in a fury of revenge which would make them guilty of murder.
Continue reading “Deuteronomy 19:1-13 – Safe Haven”
