Rev. Don Campbell
Numbers 35-36
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, March 10, 2019
“THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD”
Man is made in the image of God and whoever shed man’s blood by man his blood was to be shed (Gen 9:6). No limitations or guidance was given as to the execution of this command. God’s will is clarified in today’s reading: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. And the cities that you give shall be your six cities of refuge. You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there’” (Num 35:9-15). This protection was for manslaughter not murder. A murderer was to be put to death by the next of kin of the victim (Num 35:16-34).
God has put the punishment of evildoers into the hands of civil authorities: “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Rom 13:3-4).
God’s command that those who murder should themselves be put to death has not changed since Genesis 9:6, although the responsibility for carrying out the sentence has changed. If some had their way, no one would ever be executed for even the most horrendous murders. One argument is the satanic misuse of the King James Version of the sixth commandment: “Thou shalt not kill.” That it should be translated “murder,” is clear from Exodus 21 where no fewer than six different violators were to be put to death.
A second argument is that the death penalty does not deter crime. That might be debatable, but it is irrelevant. God said nothing about executing one person to deter crime in another. That would, indeed, be “cruel and unusual punishment.” A third argument is that an innocent person might be executed. This is a legitimate concern and one which God recognized: “If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death” (Num 35:30-31). With modern investigative techniques such as fingerprinting, DNA test—and probably some of which most of us are ignorant, the two-witness rule could be followed in spirit. In other words, no one should be put to death based solely on circumstantial evidence.
CONNECTIONS
1. Should Christians be indifferent to the debates about justice and mercy?
2. If it is God’s will that civil authorities carry out God’s wrath against wrongdoers, who will be held accountable when they don’t?
