There were some great classic legal principles that Moses
reviewed (Numbers 35:6) and established before his death. These policies were
meant to help preserve civil justice in Israel. Because the nation had a unique
form of government, which we call a theocracy, it's hard sometimes for us to
differentiate between Moses' secular and sacred regulations... but there was
indeed a difference.
This chapter is devoted to what we would typically call
civil justice (secular rules intended to promote fairness and peace between
citizens). Technically, there was no such thing as a truly "secular"
matter in Israel, at least there weren't supposed to be any areas that were
void of spiritual significance. And, even in our lives as Christians (and as
Americans for that matter), God should be preeminent in EVERY area of our life.
Still, of the 3 human institutions that God has ordained (family, government
& the church) - there are distinct differences in the roles of each
institution. This chapter was aimed at government.
Notice the double edged sword of justice (Romans 13:3 &
4). In some cases, the emphasis was on the safety of the innocent (Deuteronomy
19:3), and at other times the emphasis was on the pitiless punishment of the
guilty (Deuteronomy 19:12, 13 & 21). At all times, fairness, equality and
justice was the aim... even down to the distance required to find safe harbor
from avengers (Deuteronomy 19:6) or the standards for the lawful proof of a
crime (Deuteronomy 19:15).
No comments:
Post a Comment