February 9, 2022 - Deuteronomy 19-25

Israel set up the refuge cities to which a manslayer could flee in order to await the working of the legal system and, thus, to receive justice. The Lord so carefully instructed Israel how she was to live and, always, he was concerned that people be treated fairly. If deserving harsh judgment, then one should be punished thusly. But God also provided for a careful and reasoned and fair approach in which people did not merely act on whims. The people were not permitted to lash out against others simply for vengeance. Our God is a fair God.

Other instructions are given concerning property boundaries, legal witnesses, and warfare (they were not to fear their enemies, rather, they were to trust in God). And then, there are additional laws concerning trials, female captives, inheritance rights, and various other matters. I’ve seen this over and over in the Mosaic legislation, i.e., there is a right way to live our lives. Israel is bound to live in that manner, not just any way she wishes. And these instructions are given, not to burden the people, but for their good. And so it is with us. We should always heed God's Word, not merely out of a sense of obligation, but even more, with the knowledge that the Lord knows what is best for us and out of a sense of gratitude. And so, with J. H. Evans, we can sing and testify:

Faint not, Christian! tho’ the road

Leading to thy blest abode

Darksome be, and dangerous too—

Christ, thy Guide, will bring thee thro’.

Faint not, Christian! tho’ within

There’s a heart so prone to sin;

Christ the Lord is over all,

He’ll not suffer thee to fall. –J. H. Evans (1897)