Thursday, February 26

Scripture: The congregation shall rescue the slayer from the avenger of blood. Then the congregation shall send the slayer back to the original city of refuge. The slayer shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. (Numbers 35:25).

Observation: Moses is giving his final instructions to the Israelites before they cross the Jordan River westward. Here, he includes provisions for people who commit involuntary manslaughter. The “slayer” in Numbers 35 refers to any Israelite person whose actions directly led to the death of another person, but the slayer did so without the intent to cause harm. Perhaps the slayer swung his harvest scythe a little too recklessly and struck the poor guy behind him, or while building a city wall a builder accidently dropped a rock on top of a fellow builder’s head. Moses provides a fair process that protects the slayer, the person who commits the involuntary manslaughter, from the vengeance of the family whom the slayer killed, the parents or spouse or relatives who might be seeing red and want to take matters into their own hands. After the tragedy occurs, the slayer must flee to a city that is designated as a “city of refuge,” a city where no harm must come to the slayer as a consequence of the tragedy; then there must be a fair trial in which the congregation of Israel decides if the slayer bears guilt; and if there is no guilt, then the slayer must return to the city of refuge and stay there, safe and protected from the potential bloodlust of the victim’s family. This process affords justice for the victim’s family and the slayer and solves for the likelihood that the victim’s family may not be satisfied with a “not-guilty” verdict.

Application: At the end of a book containing violence, war plans, mass killing, and vengeance, much of it explicitly authorized by God, here is a surprising turn toward peace and due process that makes for peace. How enlightened of Numbers to spell out a fair legal system for the victim and the accused. How refreshing of Numbers to use its word count for a creative fair due process that provides justice for all parties involved in a tragedy that led to unintentional killing. How Christ-like of Numbers to control for the wrath of the victim’s family before and after the verdict of guilt. How Christ-like of Numbers to safeguard a future where people who will never see eye-to-eye can live in peace. Yes, we are allowed to see Christ in his passage, here at the end of a book that, let’s face it, doesn’t sound much like Christ, though His wisdom speaks through every word if we have the patience to listen in the company of others who might hear His voice better. It’s not difficult to imagine a twenty-something Jesus hearing this passage read aloud in the Nazareth synagogue, then going home and mentally chewing on it, and thinking to Himself, using these words in a silent prayer for the first time in history, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

Prayer:

Blessed are the peacemakers indeed. For the attorneys fighting for the families who lost loved ones to acts of blind rage or undiluted sin working through premeditated wrath or shorted-sighted or no-sighted decisions born of fear from the parts of the human brain the work quicker than good judgment, I ask a blessing. For the attorneys fighting for the accused with the admirable intentions of protecting innocence and advocating for the poor and the terrified who previously had no clue what their rights were and ensuring justice for all parties involved in human-caused tragedy, I ask a blessing. For the juries who must deliver a verdict and the judges who must render a sentence, I ask a blessing. For the lawmakers who like Moses went to hidden efforts to draft laws and fair processes in the noble attempt to guarantee justice for all or at least the closest we will see on the sin-side of heaven, I ask a blessing. For the victims of violence everywhere, those with You and those who remain here, I ask a blessing so they might know full healing. For the guilty enduring consequences, I ask a blessing so they might be transformed by the renewing of their minds. For the families on both sides of violence, I ask a blessing for full healing of soul as they sojourn with the Friend of Lazarus who sobs with them and knows the volume of every salty tear. For all, I ask a blessing for the noble effort of trying to understand one another and the stitching-together of the human community that violence rips apart, for though forgiveness is a tall ask, with Your help we can move in the direction that takes us closer to forgiveness and delight in the blessing that is peace. Onward we go: amen.