Deuteronomy 19 Devotional
by Pastor Mark Hudson
Justice is a major theme in the Bible. Justice could be a one word description for this chapter. God is a God of Justice. Psalm 37:28 says, “The Lord loves justice.” Ps. 89:14, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne.” Ps. 103:6 proclaims, “The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.” And we are to be just. “You shall not pervert justice is a refrain we read in Ex 23:2, 6; Deut 16:19; 24:17. “Justice, and only justice, you shall follow. . . .” in Deuteronomy 16:20. Often this justice is for the weak or afflicted. In Ps. 82:3, “Give justice to the weak and fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and destitute.”
We see that God cares deeply about justice between human beings and especially in his covenant people.
In this portion of Deuteronomy, Moses is describing the process by which the community determines the guilt or innocence of a person who unintentionally kills another person called a “manslayer” in the Old Testament. First, Moses reminds them of the cities of refuge. These were carefully placed throughout the nation so when someone accidently killed someone, they could flee to one of these cities and be safe and protected from the avenger of blood. These cities were placed throughout Israel to allow cooler heads to prevail. The nation had already set aside three cities to the east of the Jordan. These three were west of the Jordan River.
These cities were to protect the person who unintentionally killed someone. And it was to protect the person who avenged innocent blood. A process to determine who was guilty needed time to “inquire diligently” so they could hear both sides and prevent any more bloodshed as well as punish the guilty person or release the innocent.
In verses 11-13, this describes a homicide where one intentionally murders another person. In this case, the elders of the city should hand him over to the avenger of blood (a male relative or possibly an elder of the city where a person was killed) to die. So the warning against favoritism. “Your eye shall not pity him” which implies justice leans toward the innocent. Innocent blood is a serious blight against a nation. In Genesis 4:10, God says to Cain, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” This is such an amazing verse. There is a sense that innocent blood has a sad, unsilenced eloquence that cries out to God and against those who murder. One wonders if the one who murders can hear a similar sound in their heads.
In verse 14, the prohibition of moving a neighbor’s landmark is briefly stated. This seems to be a power move done when no one is looking. As someone once said, “Invest in land. They aren’t making any more of it.” This was a serious violation of justice to cheat your neighbor out of his land by claiming it for yourself. If a person did this little by little annually, one could gain more land with no one seeing and make money by harvesting more crop or gaining more grazing land or water rights.
In verses 15-21, the process of hearing an accusation against a person is described and defended. This section prohibits a mere single witness to be enough to charge someone for a serious crime. This prevents someone bearing a grudge to wrongly and successfully accuse someone and get them convicted. So serious was a false accusation, that if someone was found out to fabricate lies against someone, the lying person would receive whatever “he had meant to do to his brother” v. 19. This was meant to preserve the sanctity of one’s word, especially in court.
We end this section by this well-known phrase, “eye for eye, tooth for tooth, etc. I have to admit I get more than a little frustrated when unbelievers throw verses like this up in our faces to show how ridiculous the Bible is and how foolish and archaic God is. I don’t believe people took that literally with no consideration of the circumstances surrounding a misdeed. I do not think God intended us to take this literally. The words commensurate or proportional are intended. If your friend does something seriously wrong, you should not just pat him on the hand. On the other hand if someone commits an infraction, we shouldn’t punish excessively. Where do I get this?
Look at Exodus 21:23, 24 where an expanded use of that phrase is listed. But in vs. 26-27, we see that this was, by God’s direction, not intended to be used in a wooden, literal, sense. In Ex 21:23-24, the phrase is listed but in vs. 26-27, the application is not literal. Verse 26-27 says, “When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.”
These verse follow immediately after the eye for eye section. Why? To show, justice is not wooden but is a wise application of God’s law for human flourishing. God just wrote, “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” but then applies it to show how God’s law works in real life.
Finally, we are not to pity the guilty person but consider the injured party or the dead person or family of the deceased. To show compassion or pity is a good thing that can be misplaced or misapplied. One wicked person should not dominate a family, a business, a church, or a community. If one individual harms others, they deserve a just or commensurate punishment. Pity should be extended to the one(s) harmed, damaged, or mistreated not to the one doing the harm.
Lord, You are just and You love justice. We often play favorites and judge by outward appearances. We pity the wrong person at times. We are always looking out for number one. We need to see the world through Your eyes. You see the poor, afflicted, and needy and love and care for them. We see them as lazy, deserving of their affliction and wonder why they can’t do better. Soften our hearts, mold us into your people from the inside out. Help us to believe the gospel in the areas of our lives that are the most worldly and ungodly. For the sake of Your name. Amen.