Deuteronomy 19 Devotional

Refuge Within Reach

“Thus innocent blood will not be shed in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.”Deuteronomy 19:10 (BSB)

God tells Israel to set apart three cities and to build roads to them, dividing the land so that every part is within reach of one (19:2-3). The picture is specific: two men cutting timber, an axe head flying off its handle, a neighbor killed by accident (19:5). Without a refuge, a grieving relative might chase down the one responsible and kill a man who did not deserve to die (19:6).

This law shows a God who cares about the difference between accident and murder. The deliberate killer finds no shelter (19:11-12). A matter must be established by two or three witnesses, and a false witness receives the very penalty he hoped to bring on his brother (19:15, 19). Justice and mercy are both built into the map. God does not leave the innocent exposed to rage, and he does not let lies stand. Because he weighs the heart behind an act, you can be slow to assume the worst about someone whose harm to you may not have been intended.

To think about: Is there someone whose harm to you you have assumed was deliberate, and how might God's careful justice change the way you see it?