Joshua Chapter 20
Showing all 9 verses for Joshua Chapter 20.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, "
"The LORD then spoke to Joshua, saying:"
Before any plan for justice or mercy is put in place, I speak first - and I want you to listen for my voice before you act, especially when someone's safety and future are at stake. Real justice always begins with hearing from me, not with rushing to judgement on your own.
"Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: "
"Tell the Israelites: set up cities of refuge for yourselves, just as I told you through Moses."
I do not make up mercy as I go along - I planned it long before anyone needed it, and I ask you to build the same kind of safety nets into your own relationships, ready before the crisis arrives. Love that only appears after the damage is done is love too late; prepare your grace in advance.
"That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. "
"These cities are so that anyone who kills someone accidentally, without meaning to, can run there for safety - a refuge from the relative seeking revenge."
I know the difference between a wounded heart that never meant harm and a heart full of malice, and I will not let an honest mistake be treated the same as murder. When you are tempted to judge someone's failure harshly, ask first whether it came from cruelty or simply from being human.
"And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. "
"When the person fleeing arrives at the city gate, he must explain his case to the town elders. They are to let him in and give him a place to live among them."
I ask that you actually stop and listen to someone's whole story before deciding what they deserve - not judge from a distance, but let them speak at the gate before you shut the door. Compassion always makes room for someone to explain themselves.
"And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime. "
"If the avenger comes after him, the city must not hand the person over, because he killed his neighbour by accident and held no previous grudge against him."
I look at the heart, not just the outcome - I see whether someone acted from hatred or simply stumbled into tragedy, and I ask you to make that same distinction before condemning anyone. Do not let an accident be punished as though it were a plot.
"And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled. "
"He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the community, and then until the current high priest dies - after that, he may go back home to his own city and house."
Even mercy has its proper time and its proper end - I give you refuge, not to trap you forever in fear, but to bring you safely home again once the danger has passed. Notice too that it is the death of the high priest that finally sets the fugitive free - a shadow of how my own death would one day open the way home for everyone under judgement.
"And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. "
"They designated Kedesh in Galilee (in the hill country of Naphtali), Shechem (in the hill country of Ephraim), and Kiriatharba - that is, Hebron - in the hill country of Judah."
I placed these cities of safety within reach of ordinary people's lives - Kedesh, Shechem, and Hebron were not hidden away, because mercy that is too far off to reach is no mercy at all. Make sure the grace you offer others is actually reachable, not just a nice idea.
"And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh. "
"On the other side of the Jordan, east of Jericho, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness plain (Reuben's territory), Ramoth in Gilead (Gad's territory), and Golan in Bashan (Manasseh's territory)."
I did not forget the tribes settled across the Jordan when I planned this protection - Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan meant no one was left without a safe place just because of where they lived. Wherever you are, know that my care reaches you too, not only the people who seem closer to the centre.
"These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation. "
"These were the cities set aside for all the Israelites and for any foreigner living among them, so that anyone who killed someone by accident could flee there and not be killed by the avenger before standing trial before the community."
These cities were for every Israelite and for the foreigner living among them alike - I never draw a smaller circle of protection around outsiders than around my own people. Treat the stranger in your community exactly as you would treat family, because that is how I treat them.