Punishment For Killing

The American court system today is not concerned about justice.  It has become a contest between the lawyers.  The clients just provide the cases and the money for the lawyers to play the game, and the winning lawyers get extra pay and prestige.  Frequently even the winning client does not win enough to recover his legal expenses, but because our laws have become so complex almost everyone is forced to hire a lawyer, enabling them to charge exorbitant fees. 

When the jury finally gets the case, they are given a series of complex instructions that frequently make it difficult to come to a decision as to what the verdict should be.  God’s laws were much more straightforward, so that lawyers were not necessary, but by Christ’s time, the Jews had modified and complicated the law enough to justify a class of lawyers.    The laws God gave Moses were simple and logical. 

For example his laws relating to murder and manslaughter were quite clear, as we see in Exodus 21:12-14.  “He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.  And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.  But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.” 

There was no concern for whether a person was mentally competent.  If he murdered someone he was to be executed.    If it was an accident, God made provision for the person to go to one of the cities of refuge, and as long as he remained in the city he was protected from execution.  If the person deliberately attacked the person and killed him it was murder, and he was to be executed, even if he fled to the City of Refuge or into the very temple itself.  They were not to protect or provide sanctuary for murderers.

Deuteronomy 19:4-13 goes into greater detail about this.  “And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past; As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live: Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.

Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.  And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers; If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three: That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.

But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities: Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.  Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.”

Numbers 35:16-25 goes into greater detail about how to decide if it was an accident or murder.  “And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.  And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.  Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.  The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him. But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die; Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him.

But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait, Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments: And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil.”

If they used any implement as a weapon, it was to be considered murder, but things that were clearly an accident, such as unintentionally knocking a rock off a wall and hitting someone was to be considered accidental manslaughter and the person was to be protected, provided he followed the rules as   Numbers 35:26-28 tells us.  “But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled; And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood: Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.”  Manslaughter was a life sentence, and it was up to the guilty person to stay inside the City of Refuge.

This was God’s standard, and it was not to be changed.  Numbers 35:29-32 commanded, “So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.  Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.  Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.  And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.”   No one should be able to get by with murder or manslaughter, regardless how much money or power their family might have.  At the same time, no one could be convicted on the basis of a single witness.  There had to be additional evidence. 

When we look at man’s standard it seems that some people matter more than others.  Black lives appear to matter more if they are killed by a police officer than if they are killed by another black person.  Sanctuary cities protect murderers who are illegal aliens, and powerful political figures are never investigated when they are linked to murders.   God said every murderer was to be executed.  While we cannot bring the victim back to life, we can prevent their killer from killing others.