Morning Light – Deuteronomy 19

[Deuteronomy 19]: Beheading the Enemy in Your Life. In this chapter, the Father continues instructing the people for the time WHEN and NOT IF the promised land becomes their possession. God’s plan for your life is not a MAYBE PROPOSITION. He promises to implement the provisions of the cross in your SPIRIT, SOUL, AND BODY to bring the fullness of His blessing and purpose as provided by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

[Deu 19:1-21 KJV] 1 When the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses; 2 Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it. 3 Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither. 4 And this [is] the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past; 5 As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live: 6 Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he [was] not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. 7 Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee. 8 And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers; 9 If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three: 10 That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee [for] an inheritance, and [so] blood be upon thee. 11 But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities: 12 Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away [the guilt of] innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. 14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it. 15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. 16 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him [that which is] wrong; 17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy [is], shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; 18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, [if] the witness [be] a false witness, [and] hath testified falsely against his brother; 19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. 20 And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. 21 And thine eye shall not pity; [but] life [shall go] for life, eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

In this chapter, instructions continue regarding the governance of the people in the promised land. Notice in the first verse the positive statement regarding the successful conquest of Canaan. The wording is not IF the Lord would cut off the nations but WHEN. Your victory is assured. The promised land represents coming into your place of promise and fulfillment of the destiny of God for your life. The obstacles in your way are the nations that God promises to cut off. There are indeed impediments and contradictions to God’s blessing in your circumstances but make no mistake God WILL (not MAYBE) cut off and destroy every obstacle in your way. The word cut off there means to “cut off, to kill, eliminate, to behead…” You see, your warfare is not, first and foremost a natural warfare. Your immediate and real enemy is not people, or natural issues, lack of social standing, or other obstacles. We tend to waste our time picking the fruit of our problems and putting out fires without going after our real enemy. Paul wrote:

[2Co 10:4-6 KJV] 4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Notice the context. The strongholds are not phantoms lurking in your house. The strongholds of the enemy are in the imaginations and thoughts in your own mind that suppose and propose to you that you will fail to experience God’s blessing. You are perfectly capable of casting down those imaginations and vain thoughts. This is the obedience God is looking for – the obedience of warring in your mind against doubt, fear, and torment.

In vs. 2-7, we find that there were three cities to be set aside as a sanctuary to a manslayer. This speaks of manslaughter, not premeditated murder. Why should this matter to us? Because we carry in our lives inborn guilt because of sin that results in the culpability of every person in the human race for the death of Jesus on the cross. We didn’t choose to take Jesus’ life, but because of sin, we are nonetheless guilty. What are we to do? Flee to the refuge that God has set aside for us. The idea of refuge from penalty is found from Genesis to Revelation. There is an escape for us from the ravages of sin and our own bloodguiltiness before a Holy and Righteous God:

[Pro 18:10 KJV] 10 The name of the LORD [is] a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

There were three cities initially set up and others designated when the land was enlarged. Three is a number that represents completion. God promises us complete refuge and protection in every area of our lives – spiritually, emotionally, and mentally (the area of the soul) and physically.

The adversary is the devil. He comes against you on the legitimate grounds of the sin that is inborn in your person. What is the sin nature in you? It is every aspect of your life, thinking, mind or heart that is contrary in character to the professed character of God Himself. When we deviate from the image of God, the enemy has the right to destroy your soul, your body, and your spirit in hell for eternity – BUT you have a refuge to run into. The name of Jesus is your high tower.

In vs. 8-9, we see plans that God will enlarge your coast. In blessing you, God is keeping promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because you are an inheritor of the blessings of Abraham through Christ. God’s plan for your life is enlargement. God has no intention of diminishing you or denying you or disappointing you in any way. If that happens, it is a deviation from God’s best and highest will for your life. The key is our cooperation – what does that look like? Are we to keep the law? Notice verse 9: we are to walk in His ways.

[Jhn 14:6 KJV] 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

God is not interested in us following a regimen of religious dogma. One of the early church’s great tragedies was when Tertullian, Clement, and Origen blended Greek philosophy with Christian thought. This was the beginning of the reduction of dynamic life in Christ to just another religion on par with the pagan religions of the day. Jesus is our way, our truth, and our life. Our anchor is in the person of Jesus, not dogma, or religious, performance-based justification of the brokenness of our lives.

There were instances of taking a life that the cities of refuge offered no protection to the manslayer. The cities of refuge speak to us of salvation on all three levels, spiritually, in the realm of the soul, and in the physical. Without getting into the complications of theology just on the surface, this points out the absolute reality that there will be people that do not make heaven their home. Today, there are teachings that everyone will go to heaven – that if Christ died for all – then all are saved. These same doctrinal positions claim that even the devil himself will one day be forgiven and restored to fellowship with God – with or without a change of heart. We don’t like to think about hell or eternal punishment. We don’t want to imagine standing before God and being excluded for eternity from His mercies, but the awful truth is that it is a possibility, which this instance regarding the cities of refuge point out by type and allegory.

The remainder of the chapter specifies levels of guilt and underscores again who will and who would not be extended the protection of the cities of refuge. Upon establishing that the cities of refuge are not unconditional sanctuaries for every criminal then criteria for establishing guilt are established. Notice that only on by more than one witness was culpability established. This removes the entire predication for subjective, arbitrary condemnation of others based on our own personal opinions or judgments. The expectations of a Holy God are not to be used as an excuse for vindictiveness or vengefulness.

What is the city of refuge for us today? The writer of Hebrews addresses this for us:

[Heb 12:22 KJV] 22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

Our refuge is in Christ, and He is the head of the body, which is His church. The church is defined here in Hebrews 12:22 as the city of God – our city of refuge. The enemy has worked long and hard to corrupt church culture with judgmentalism and harshness. Those character traits are inconsistent with the idea of the church being God’s city of refuge. God’s intent is that we not only find clemency in personal faith but that in the church, we find the fellowship of others for whom the curse of sin has been commuted through the blood of Christ.