Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as I attempt to read the Bible with fresh eyes, as if I don't know anything about it, and without consulting experts on what it "really" means.. Let's see where this takes us!
Deuteronomy 19
I'm reading Young's Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
"Cities of Refuge" are something I hadn't recalled in my first studies of the Bible years ago. They actually sound like something out of fantasy or post-apocalyptic science fiction: those morally innocent of wrongdoing have a safe place to go to if they were involved in a fatal accident.
It sounds like there must be a lot of such accidents among the Israelites. Then again, perhaps each of these cities is really a small community.
It's an intriguing idea, sparing the innocent from misguided revenge. More than that, however, it seems like an act of mercy for both the innocent and the family of the accident victim.
If I lived in a small community and was the inadvertent cause of the accidental death of another, say, a mother of three young children, I might choose to live elsewhere. If I saw her family, and they saw me, the painful memories triggered by seeing each other would be unfair to everyone.
The City of Refuge idea is about starting over after a tragedy. I admire its intent.
The rest of the chapter is similar in that it reflects laws that we ourselves would want to live under. The innocent person who causes death is to be spared life. In the same way, the innocent can only be convicted of a crime by the testimony of multiple witnesses, even if it's widely believed that they're guilty.
If I am accused, I would want to be presumed innocent. Deuteronomy 19 supports the presumption of innocence.
James Leroy Wilson writes Daily Miracles, The Daily Bible Chapter, JL Cells, and The MVP Chase. Thanks for your subscriptions and support!
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