๐๐๐ [Deuteronomy 19] God’s Mercy Revealed in the Cities of Refuge
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๐ Key Summary of Deuteronomy 19
The instructions in Deuteronomy 19 concern the time when the Israelites, after destroying various peoples in the land of Canaan, would live in their cities and houses. This chapter also provides more detailed explanations of commands that God had previously given.
① Prepare three cities of refuge (verses 1–13)
In Numbers 35:13–14, God had already commanded that there would be a total of six cities of refuge: three on one side of the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan.
In Deuteronomy 19, God does not say "the peoples of Canaan" or "the seven peoples," as He had often said before. Instead, He says that after destroying various peoples and settling in their cities and houses, they were to set apart three cities of refuge.
๐ Usually, we find the expressions "seven peoples" or "the peoples of Canaan," but here, for the first time, the expression "various peoples" is used. ๐
✔️ This appears to refer to the three cities of refuge that were to be set apart in the land on the other side of the Jordan, after various peoples had been destroyed. God normally records people and groups very specifically, but here He clearly states that various peoples would be destroyed.
๐ And on the side of the Jordan where they were, they were to set apart three cities:
So that those who killed someone unintentionally could reach a city of refuge quickly, God commanded them to divide the land into three regions and prepare the roads.
This was because the avenger of blood might be in great haste, and if the journey were too long, he might overtake and kill the person who had committed the unintentional killing.
✔️ Here we can see God's intention to save, by every possible means, the person who killed unintentionally, revealing His mercy. As an example, God describes the case of two men cutting wood together, when the iron head of an axe suddenly came loose and struck the other man, causing his death.
❌ In contrast, a person who had deliberately planned to kill someone, even if he fled to a city of refuge, was to be taken out and handed over to the avenger of blood to be killed. God commanded that no mercy should be shown to the person who had shed innocent blood. (v. 13)
๐ Therefore, this is a chapter where we can see both God's mercy and His judgment according to justice. ๐
② When He gives you all the land promised to your ancestors! (verse 8)
This refers to the time when the Israelites would receive the land of Canaan as their inheritance. At that time, God commands them to add three more cities.
✔️ Just as Numbers 35 had already commanded that three cities should be located in the land of Canaan, here God again speaks of adding three more, making a total of six cities of refuge.
After destroying various peoples
→ 3 cities, on the east side of the JordanWhen God gives you all the land He promised
→ 3 cities, on the west side of the Jordan, in the land of Canaan
③ Do not move your neighbor’s boundary marker (verse 14)
God prohibits anyone from secretly moving the boundary markers established by their ancestors in order to enlarge their own land and take part of their neighbor's property.
๐ After explaining the sin of shedding innocent blood, the command not to move a neighbor's boundary marker appears immediately afterward. This may suggest that this kind of problem would also become common.
(This is simply my personal observation.)
④ Judgment must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses (verses 15–21)
God commands that regarding any wrongdoing or sin committed by a person, a case must not be decided on the testimony of only one witness, but must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
๐ If it is proven that someone gave false testimony in order to accuse his brother, God commands that the false witness should receive the punishment he intended to bring upon his brother, thereby removing the evil from among the people.
The purpose is that everyone would hear about it, be afraid, and never again commit such evil.
→ And immediately afterward comes this command:
"Your eye shall not pity": life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot. (v. 21)
๐ Final Reflection
I would like to focus on the final verse, especially what is written in verse 21:
Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot...
❌ When people read the Bible, they often say that, based on this command, the Old Testament applied the law in an extremely harsh manner.
(In reality, that is not exactly what was happening.) ๐
Reading Deuteronomy 19, however, reveals that this strict judgment was to be applied to those who were not to be shown mercy. Yet this command is often misunderstood as a general rule applied indiscriminately to everyone.
The person who deliberately committed murder
→ was not to be shown mercy. (v. 13)The person who committed the evil of giving false testimony
→ was not to be shown mercy.
Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot: the person was to receive what he had intended to inflict upon another. (v. 21)
✔️ God first demonstrates His mercy by even preparing the roads, so that the person who killed unintentionally could reach the city of refuge quickly and be protected from death.
✔️ Then we can understand that the final command — often called the "law of retaliation" — was not a general command for personal vengeance, but was to be applied to those who were not to be shown mercy, according to justice.
๐ In Deuteronomy 19, God's mercy and justice appear together.
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