Numbers: Faith, Law, and History

Laws of Murder

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Pentateuch

Lesson : Laws of Murder

Genre:

Track: 65

Dictation Name: RR181AJ65

Location/Venue:

Year:

{?} armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil days and having done all, to stand. Let us pray.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we give thanks unto thee that, by thy grace, we are able to stand against the assaults of this world, of evil principalities, of the powers of darkness, that thou hast called us, O Lord, remade us, and commissioned us not only to stand but to go and conquer. Bless us in this, our calling. Prosper us by thy spirit and in thy word, and make us more than conquerors in Christ. In His name we pray. Amen.

Our scripture is Numbers 35:9-34. Our subject: Laws of Murder. “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan; then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares (or that can be translated “by error”). And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment. And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge. Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.

And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him. But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die; or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him. But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait, or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments: and the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil.

But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled; and the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood: because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.

So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die. Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death. And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel.”

The six cities of refuge were Levitical cities at strategic points in Israel. They were places for men guilt of involuntary manslaughter to escape to, and hearings were held there to determine their guilt of innocence. The classic example is of a man chopping down trees. An axe head flies loose and kills another man. If the ax were known to be loose, or the handle split, the man who used the ax was liable on a murder charge. If however, the ax appeared to be sound, and the accident was totally unanticipated, then the man was innocent. There was no guilt nor malice, nor criminal negligence on his part.

Basic to this law is the fact of vendettas and feuds. Supposedly, these are now a thing of the past except in backward areas of Africa or Asia. The Hatfield/McCoy feud in the United States was well known. Despite the veneer of a more civilized behavior today, we do have such killings throughout the western world, and not only among foreign born elements, they simply are not labeled for what they are. More than a few killings today are based on some form of vendetta, whether they are paid professional killer jobs or amateur ones. Our pretences at advancement do a poor job of covering up reality.

Now biblical law recognizes the realities of the human scene and of fallen man. It therefore governs where we prefer to ignore the facts of a fallen world. The cities of refuge provided a place of escape for a man pursued by the avenging kinsmen, or relatives, of the dead man. In that Levitical city, a thorough hearing was held. If the man were found innocent, he could dwell safely in the city until the death of the high priest. When that death occurred, whether a few weeks or a few decades later, he was free to leave. If he left earlier, the avenger of family blood could kill him. If he left only after the death of the high priest, then no man could legally touch him.

Since the high priest was a type of Christ, the death of the high priest wiped away all responsibility, however accidental for the death. All recognize that atonement had been made. The avenger was a kinsman, a relative. Jesus Christ is declared to be our kinsman-redeemer, our next of kin who avenges us of our adversary. Isaiah repeatedly refers to God and Christ as the kinsman-redeemer of His elect people. The idea of an avenger of blood seems primitive to modern man. The enforcement of the law against criminals has been transferred from families and persons to the state. If a crime is committed against us, it is up to the discretion of the state’s officers whether or not they wish to prosecute. The family of the person affected by the crime, had nothing to say. The police themselves have nothing to say. The state officers, they alone make the decision.

Under the old order of Christendom, prosecution depended on the offended person or family, and then was mandatory for the civil officers, and this is the biblical pattern. In the case of a murderer, if the Levi court found the killer guilty, his execution could follow in either of two ways. First, as in this chapter, the kinsman in charge of the prosecution could execute the man, or second, the community would execute him usually either by hanging or stoning. Any crime is an offense against God and the community. The Levites acted for God in rendering a judgment, and so too did the kinsmen and/or the community. In Medieval England, this custom or law prevailed, because they sought to be biblical, and crosses on the roads to churches could provide refuge until the church staff came to give safe conduct to the church, pending a trial. The church was the city of refuge and any cross used as a mile stone to the church functioned like the church. Even the king had to honor the verdict, and then, even if he were an enemy of the king, give safe conduct out of the country.

Cities of refuge were also discussed in Deuteronomy 19:1-3 and Joshua 20:1-9. Verse 15 makes clear that the cities of refuge applies to both Israelites and foreigners. Anyone could seek sanctuary there pending the trial. Apparently, according to verse 24, the theocratic community took part in the trial, so that the decision of the court represented the law of God and the assent of the people to it. Instead of being primitive law, some have held, this is law of the highest order, God’s law, and two premises are clear. First, there must be an intent to kill or criminal negligence for the killer to be executed. Then second, if a man is indeed guilty of murder, he must be killed. Verse 31 makes clear that there can be no monetary or other substitutions for the life of the killer.

In the cases of accidental killings, there was no moral guilt, but there was a legal fact of death. As a result, the man was restricted to the city of refuge. In God’s covenant with Noah we read, in Genesis 9:5-6, “And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” Now, even in my childhood, in terms of this, there were trials of animals that had killed a man or a child, and if it were determined that the animal was at fault, and the man had not or the child had not in some way tormented the beast, then the animal was put to death. Well, the sad fact is that even in one of the better commentators, we find a reference to this fact: Man being created in the image of God as basic to the law of murder, as a notion. This tells us how far the world of the seminary has departed from the faith. It is no wonder the church is so impotent.

One of the myths of our time is that in partial, judgment must prevail in the courts. This is a very foolish belief, because first of all, a judge must be partial to justice. There is a difference in ascertaining the facts and favoring one side or another. The judge must be partial to justice and must ascertain the facts fairly. The innocent person and justice, this must be the goal of the court and that’s partial. Then second, in Deuteronomy 19:20, it is clearly stated that the local elders, or judges, shall have jurisdiction together with Levitical guidance. Now, a change of venue is sought, and trials are also actually held at times without notifying the victim. I have heard, in my travels, of people who have had a serious crime affect their family, something like rape, for example, and the case has been settled in court with plea bargaining, without the victim being notified, and a change of venue in order to avoid the strong feelings of the community. Well, it is true that those strong feelings can be unfavorable, but they can also be strong feelings requiring justice, and this is one reason why the death penalty is not more enforced. Changes of venue have been very successful in frustrating justice. Now it is the state versus the criminal, and the victim can be ignored because the victim is not in the case.

In the trial, the evidence in scripture must be of two or more witnesses or more than one kind of evidence. This is necessary for conviction. The presumption of innocence until proven guilty governs in biblical law, and of course the concept comes from the Bible. Not even confession is sufficient for conviction. It requires corroboration before it can be used. Throughout the ancient world, torture was routine in the cases. Under the influence of Christianity, it steadily disappeared. It was gone by the time the Middle Ages began to flower. Then, with the Renaissance, torture has returned. It has returned once again and it exists in most of the world.

There is a very important aspect to this law which must not be overlooked. God commands the avenging of blood. He requires both the family and the community to be a part of this justice process, together with the Levites. Now this means, putting it in modern terms, that the victim’s family has to be involved in the criminal process, and the church has to be involved. It cannot sit back and forget about law, and justice, and capital punishment, or anything like that. It must be involved.

Thus, this law is very different from and it is an error to compare it feuds and vendettas, to Hatfield and McCoy world. It has a resemblance to that, but it is not personal. It is God’s requirement. The cities of refuge and the duty of the Levites move it from the local realm to a religious duty. God requires it of the family and the community to bring about justice, whether a guilty verdict or an acquittal. The matter cannot be reduced to a purely human level. It is not family honor, but God’s honor that is at stake. The avenger of blood, unlike the vendetta and feud scene, cannot exact vengeance on innocent members of the family of the man who has sought refuge in a Levitical city. In the vendetta and feud, innocent members of the fleeing man’s family are routinely murdered and the feud continues until one or another family is wiped out. God requires that only the guilty suffer.

As a result, the tendency of scholars to place this law in the realm of family vendettas and clan feuds is idiotic and perverse. As we have seen, first, the basic premise of this law is that man is made in the image of God. It is therefore, a very serious offense in the sight of God when murder takes place. God makes clear all through the Bible that He will not forget the shedding of blood, and will exact vengeance on the nation that does not administer justice, and there can be no justice when God’s law is bypassed.

This weeks English Spectator is very interesting because an article there is, surprising in a liberal publication, calls attention to the fact that it is statistically verifiable that as church attendance and the Bible in schools has declined, crime has risen, and so we have gone, he says, in England and Britain generally, from a law-abiding realm to a dangerous and lawless one, all because we have bypassed the faith. Now, the author looks at it rather pragmatically rather than religiously, but he is right. This is what has taken place.

Then second, we have a key premise set forth in verses 33 and 34. “So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel.” Now like statements are very common in the whole of the Bible. We are told that unpunished murder pollutes, profanes, and dirties up a land. The land cannot be then cleansed except by the blood of him that shed it. Where people claim to be God’s people, He dwells also, and to defile such a land bring an especial judgment. After a time, God ceases from all partial judgments and brings about a radical and a total one. As we are told in Isaiah 1:5, “Why should ye be stricken anymore? Ye will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick and the whole hear faint.” The country that will not punish crime will be punished by God. The country that will not execute murderers will be executed by God. This is what we are plainly told. Let us pray.

Oh Lord, recall us as a people to thy word, to the kingship of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and give us grace and courage to make thy law the law of the land, so that evil-doers may be punished instead of thy judgment falling upon all of us in the whole earth. Make us instrumental in the revival of the things that are of thee, so that indeed, men and nations may know Christ as king. In His name we pray. Amen. Are there any questions or comments about our lesson? Yes?

[Audience] Can you comment on the polluting, toward the end of the chapter?

[Rushdoony] On the what?

[Audience] The polluting, the city {?} that the land would be polluted.

[Rushdoony] Yes, what the Bible makes clear again and again is that creation is a unit. When Adam sinned, then all the world was fallen, not just Adam, and the effects of that pollution of sin took a progressive toll. After God’s further judgment in the flood, the life expectancy of man, which had been in the hundreds, was reduced to less than a hundred, and the effect of the pollution continued in every sphere. It continued in the sphere as, for example, Deuteronomy 28 makes clear, the weather, of storms and floods, of enemies, men destroying each other. In every sphere of life, the pollution spreads like a contagion, so that sin pollutes man and the whole earth. Just as a plague, an epidemic will spread from person to person, all over the world, so too we are told that sin is a pollution that has covered the earth, but God, by His grace, called a family and then a people, and now the church to push back that pollution, to recapture the lost ground to the end that the kingdoms of this world might all become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, so that the whole earth may be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, we are told, as the waters cover the sea. So, on the one hand, you have sin and death as a pollution covering the earth. On the other hand, grace and life being spread to cover the earth and recapture it. That is the scenario as scripture gives it. Yes?

[Audience] Recently, the state has used computer-generated animations to depict how they think that crimes took place, and this seems to be an artificial witness created by the state, and I see some danger there because that can be manipulated to the advantage of the presenter.

[Rushdoony] That’s a very interesting point, and it would be well worth exploring by someone who is knowledgeable in that field like yourself, Douglas. I know that it was twenty, thirty years ago that an FBI man told me that lie detectors were a very, very real threat because they were a way of destroying the Fifth Amendment, and an innocent man could very innocently be trapped on a lie detector test, because it could be for some crime, and then he could be asked questions about his tax returns, about anything under the sun, and he told me “You had better believe it that once they choose to do so, they go on fishing expeditions far afield,” and that it becomes for form of entrapment. So, many of these newer technologies offer very serious potential threats, and like any computer, garbage in, garbage out, so they can feed things in that recreate the crime and give a picture of a criminal, or a description of him that can be dangerous.

[Audience] It seems to me that it’s a part of the intellectual manipulation of juries. There’s a lot of that going on from selecting a particular profile of a jury that the prosecution wants, is one area, the lie detector test are another area, and now this computer generated animation is another area, and it seem to me they’re all artificial. They deviate from the real course of achieving justice.

[Rushdoony] Yes. Some years ago, a police detective said the myth that television has created is of the crime laboratory as having the answers, and he said in his experience, it is extremely rare that anything like that works. Most of the time it’s just foot-work, finding witnesses, digging up evidence by hard, patient work, but he said that’s not the way it is on a great many television shows. He himself said that it’s rare that they find anything through fingerprinting, for example.

[Audience] I guess my concern is that our society is deviating from the Bible here. They’re getting away from having three witnesses, three credible witnesses to establish the fact, and let a jury decide, and this manipulation process I see pretty dangerous {?}

[Rushdoony] I think you’re right, especially because so much prestige is given in the eyes of people to anything that is supposedly scientific. Somehow, it is seen as foolproof. Yes, Mike?

[Audience] We’ve been using computers and these techniques recently, but like, for example, when they executed the death penalty, the community stones them. Today, what we do is the gas chamber, it’s very impersonal. People aren’t taking their covenantal responsibility of what this man has done, and we evade these responsibilities. That was just a thought. I have another question. With the death of the high priest in the Old Testament, those people who were in the cities could be released. What would be the equivalent in our nation today if we were to implement this? How would that work?

[Rushdoony] Our high priest is Jesus Christ, and He died and is risen again, so that there is no need for that, and all that is required now is the proof that it was an accidental death, that there was no fault at all. Any other questions or comments? Well, if not, let us conclude with prayer.

Our Father, we thank thee for the sufficiency of thy word. We thank thee that, by thy mercies, and by thy spirit, we are continually renewed, made strong in thee, and enabled to do thy work in a hostile world. We thank thee that the victory is ours in Christ, and in due time, we shall see the enemies of thy kingdom confounded and thy righteousness and truth shine forth. And now go in peace. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost bless you and keep you, guide and protect you this day and always. Amen.

End of tape