God's Fairness
God's justice is always fair. He knows how to take all factors into account in each case, and then render a fair verdict. Therefore, when He gave His laws about being just to Israel, they were all fair. This is especially true when it came to cases of what we call manslaughter. God had the Israelites set aside 6 Cities of Refuge, so that the person who accidentally killed another person could flee there and get a fair trial and a just sentence. (Joshua 20:9) Many of our laws today are based on God's laws.
God understood human nature, knowing that a family would probably want to take revenge and kill the person who killed their loved one, even though it was an accident. That is the reason for cities of refuge. What a loving God to provide protection from wrongful vengeance! Then, God provided for the person who killed another to get a fair trial before the congregation of people who lived in the city. This is like what we call a jury of our peers. Regular people would hear his story and discern the facts to see if there was hatred between the two people or any premeditation of a crime. If it was clearly an accident with no malice involved, the person was allowed to stay there, until the death of the High Priest, and then, he could return home safely. This allowed a grieving time for the family, which was very fair, too.
I believe we should all seek to be fair in our judgment of situations which arise and the people involved. We should seek to apply these principles even in lesser cases, so that we do not judge until we cool down and hear all of the facts. It would make our world a much better place.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 21-24.
God understood human nature, knowing that a family would probably want to take revenge and kill the person who killed their loved one, even though it was an accident. That is the reason for cities of refuge. What a loving God to provide protection from wrongful vengeance! Then, God provided for the person who killed another to get a fair trial before the congregation of people who lived in the city. This is like what we call a jury of our peers. Regular people would hear his story and discern the facts to see if there was hatred between the two people or any premeditation of a crime. If it was clearly an accident with no malice involved, the person was allowed to stay there, until the death of the High Priest, and then, he could return home safely. This allowed a grieving time for the family, which was very fair, too.
I believe we should all seek to be fair in our judgment of situations which arise and the people involved. We should seek to apply these principles even in lesser cases, so that we do not judge until we cool down and hear all of the facts. It would make our world a much better place.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 21-24.