And this is the case of the slayer who shall flee thither that he may live he that smiteth his neighbour unwittingly, whom he hated not previously;
Deuteronomy 19:4 names who may claim the shelter of the cities of refuge. It is the man who kills by accident, with no record of hatred toward the one who died — and that one fact decides whether he lives or dies.
The law separates two kinds of killing. A manslayer kills by accident, and the example given is an everyday one — a tool slipping at work.
God carefully repeats the proper terms under which someone could claim the shelter of the city of refuge. It was a provision for a manslayer, not for a murderer. He might kill another unintentionally. Here is an example of this too. One might swing his axe to cut down a tree, and the axe head slip off the handle, accidentally killing another person (vs. 4-5). In such a case he could flee to the city of refuge. There he would be safe from "the avenger of blood." This person would be a close relative or friend of the victim. He might feel he had the right to take vengeance on the manslayer.
The law did not only name who may flee. It also cleared the way for him to run.
See the gracious care of our God to make the city of refuge as available as possible for the slayer. The three cities were to be "in the midst of your land." It would not do to have them in remote corners, or in places hard to reach. And more than that, "you shall prepare the roads." And again, "you shall divide into three parts the area of the land." Everything was to be done to make the slayer's escape easier. The gracious Lord thought of the feelings of the distressed one fleeing for refuge to take hold of the hope set before him. The city of refuge was to be brought near, just as "the righteousness of God" is brought near to the poor broken-hearted helpless sinner — so near that it is "to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly."
The verse looks back: were the two men enemies before the blow fell? One writer takes that same test and applies it to the nation that put Christ to death.
Three cities of refuge are appointed. The man who kills his neighbour without hating him is distinguished from the murderer. This is an important principle about the fate of the Jewish nation. It makes a distinction between those who took a voluntary part in the death of the Lord, or who afterwards gladly approve the deed, and those who did it in ignorance.
At first glance the nation seems shut out, since its leaders planned the arrest of Jesus.
If we apply these statutes to the action of the Jewish nation against Christ, it might seem as if there were no possible escape for them. Remember how they did "lie in wait," and how in the end they succeeded by bribery and scheming in securing His arrest and condemnation. But our Lord Himself prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). So God in grace, if they repent, will count them as having acted in ignorance, on the ground of this prayer, and will appoint them a city of refuge for escape and safety.
The city walls gave no cover to a man who killed on purpose.
On the other hand, a murderer could not be allowed to take advantage of this provision. Suppose someone was guilty of hateful motives, or of murdering another on purpose, and he fled to the city of refuge. Then the elders of his own city had to send to that city. The guilty person must be handed over. He would return to his own city and face the retribution of the avenger of blood (vs. 11-13).
Once inside, the fugitive's certainty rested on something outside his own emotions.
The moment he found himself inside the gates, he was safe, and he knew it. How did he know it? By his feelings? By his evidences? By experiences? No; simply by the word of God. No doubt he had the feeling, the evidence and the experience. These would be very precious to him after his tremendous struggle and conflict to get in. But these things were in no way the ground of his certainty or the basis of his peace. He knew he was safe because God told him so. The grace of God had made him safe, and the word of God made him sure.
- Cause — the verse tests intent, not outcome. An axe head slipping off its handle is not a planned killing, and the proof is that no hatred came before.
- Gift — God did not just grant refuge. He brought it near: central cities, prepared roads, a divided land.
- Reach — the same test reaches those who crucified Christ. If they repent, grace counts their act as done in ignorance, on the ground of His own prayer from the cross.
- Limit — refuge shelters the slayer, never the murderer. The elders had to hand over the man who killed out of hatred.
- Result — inside the gates the fugitive's peace rested on God's word, not on his feelings. Grace made him safe; the word made him sure.
as when he goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron slippeth from the handle, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; such an one shall flee unto one of these cities, and live;
A man goes out with a friend to cut timber, the axe head flies off the handle, and his friend is dead. Israel's law had to decide what such a man deserves, and God's answer was a road, a city, and a life spared.
The law separates two kinds of killing. It also names the danger the accidental killer faced.
Now God carefully repeats the proper terms under which one could claim the shelter of the city of refuge. It was a provision for a manslayer, not for a murderer. He might kill another person without meaning to, as the example here shows. In that case he could flee to the city of refuge. There he would be safe from "the avenger of blood." That avenger would be a close relative or friend of the victim, and he might feel he had every right to take vengeance on the manslayer.
The law does not shrug at a death simply because nobody meant it. God weighs both the blood spilled and the intention behind it.
Deuteronomy 19 sets out in detail the order for the three cities of refuge, and then for three more. On the one hand God would mark how serious it is to shed blood. On the other, He would not treat a death that happened by accident as the same thing as deliberate murder. Yet God never let His people forget that the land was His. So bloodshed there defiled it.
The law gives a detailed portrait of this man, and everything depends on whether it fits him.
Here we have a very exact description of the man God provided the city of refuge for. If he did not match it, the city was not for him. But if he did, he could be completely sure that a gracious God had thought of him, and had found him a refuge where he would be as safe as the hand of God could make him.
God did not just name a refuge. He took pains to put it within reach.
See the gracious pains our God takes to make the city of refuge as available as possible for the slayer. The three cities were to be in the middle of the land. It would not do to have them in far corners, or in places that were hard to reach. God also said the people must prepare a road, and divide their land into three parts. Everything was arranged to help the slayer escape. The gracious Lord thought of the feelings of the distressed man fleeing for refuge to take hold of the hope set before him. God brought the city of refuge near, just as He brings "the righteousness of God" near to the poor, broken-hearted, helpless sinner.
Writers read this law forward to Israel and the death of Christ.
God's holiness shows in this: He would not shield the guilty... and His grace shines out in keeping the unintentional slayer safe inside the refuge, so that the avenger of blood could not lay hands on him. Here we have a picture of the Lord's gracious dealings with Israel — the beloved but blinded nation, which is responsible before Him for shedding the blood of Christ. He graciously regards Israel as a "slayer," rather than a "murderer," to be restored in due time to the good land.
Commentators differ over how far that picture holds.
The unintentional killer is a picture of Israel, who killed Christ in ignorance. It was of them that the Lord Jesus said on the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."... But in another sense both the leaders of the Jews and the people were murderers on purpose — deliberate, knowing rejecters of God and of His Christ.
Inside the gate the running stopped. But how could the man know he was safe?
But the moment he found himself within the gates, he was safe, and he knew it. How did he know it? By his feelings? By the proofs he could see? By his experiences? No. He knew it only by the word of God... The grace of God had made him safe, and the word of God made him sure.
- Cause — A slipped axe head kills without hatred. God separates the manslayer from the murderer, yet still counts shed blood as defiling His land.
- Description — God describes the man in detail. If the description fits you, the refuge was made for you.
- Road — Cities in the middle of the land, a divided territory, a prepared road. God clears the way instead of testing the runner.
- Reach — Writers see Israel here: guilty of Christ's blood, yet treated as a slayer. Others point to a deliberate rejection as well.
- Result — Grace makes the man safe. God's word makes him sure — not his feelings after the run.