Deuteronomy 19

The Law of God for Israel had a very unusual provision that only made sense for a world of unintended negative consequences. A scheming group of people that murdered an innocent man had to face the death penalty. But a man who had been working with his friend in the forest who was swinging his axe only to have the unintended result that the axehead flew off and his friend was hit in the head and died, that man was not a murderer. He was guilty of manslaughter. No one wanted this to happen, and everyone was asking, “Why?”

In the Law of Israel, that man who swung the axe could run to a city of refuge, and find safety from the grieving relatives. The next of kin to the dead man was a “kinsman-redeemer” who would see to the requirements of justice and who would also care for the land, family, and name of his relative. He was to make things right in this matter in name of the deceased, and in this case was called an avenger.

But how would you make things right, when no one was able to make sense of this death? What about the man who would now die for the unintended manslaughter? Who would avenge his death? Where would it end?

The Lord provided a city of refuge. In that city, the elders, would have to decide the case. They could not harbor a murderer in their gates, but they could protect a manslayer who had no intention of taking the life of his neighbor. As the conquest of the land progressed, the Lord would provide additional cities of refuge, so that the nearest city would be close enough to be an effective safety net in a sad world.

How do you receive this unusual decree from Israel's God? Just for a moment, don't evaluate it as a judge, or catalog it as a researcher of legal customs. Receive it like a child of some years who heard these words for the first time from a father who could tell the story clearly and well. That child would be able to get the point.

One man died in an accident. In God's land, the nearest relative could run after the man who killed him. That nearest relative could demand the life of that man. But the Lord provided a place of safety, since the man did not mean to kill his friend. That man who swung the axe had to run fast, faster than the man who might be chasing after him. He had to get to the city of refuge first. If he did, the leaders in that city would protect him.

That story might come back to the mind of that child in years to come when someone urged him to run for safety again to Jesus. It is a powerful idea, a city of refuge, but it only goes so far. We need a much more comprehensive solution to the sadness of life all around. Our misery is not merely a result of unintended negative consequences.

Even in Israel, there might be those who had stolen. For instance, a neighbor might try to move the stone that marked his property line, and end up taking some land that really was not his. He also might lie about another neighbor as a malicious witness, and bring horrible trouble upon many lives. Evil could not be tolerated, but how would anyone survive? Two or three witnesses could rightly bring a man to his death. What can be done for people like us. We are guilty. How can we meet our Maker? Is there any place of eternal refuge for the guilty? Can the guilty man ever find forgiveness? Can people covered with shame ever find cleansing?

There is a Kinsman-Redeemer for us in the Messiah. He is our closest brother. He died not just for our careless mistakes. He gave His righteous blood for our worst sins. Even Saul of Tarsus, a chief of sinners, a man who had hated the innocent just because they believed that Jesus was the Son of God and Messiah, even that man found forgiveness through the blood of his kinsman-redeemer that He had hated without a cause.

There is a new story that is very powerful. Receive it like a child. You are guilty, and not innocent. Where can you go? The man running after you is the Son of God, and He runs faster than you do. He has every right to punish you forever. He comes in the Name of His Father, and you have stolen and lied in ways that have offended the Most High God.

But what does that closest relation of God do when he catches you? He does not destroy you, He grants you life in His blood. He has taken the penalty for you. The Kinsman-Redeemer of God that could have demanded justice from you forever has become your Brother and Redeemer. He has paid Justice for you. He has become your City of Refuge. Now that's a powerful story! And it's true.