#343 Presently

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 eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Deuteronomy 19 KJV

The blood of men is sacred, and what men may give themselves license to, whether in rage or emotion at the time of loss, there need be a defense against this. While self defense is clearly instituted in scripture, one must give more patience and understanding to this institute of grief. You did not by intent take the life of another; it was by accident and yet the avenger seeks your life. Do not confront the avenger, for he is a man in need of cooling off, his head is not yer right, but instead, flee to that city of refuge. The same I would beg of my children, do not be so quick to take offense, though you are in the right, why escalate a matter, especially with a fool? He will find the insult worth your life, why not walk away from little things? The city was not designed for the murderer, the one, who in anger, took the life of another. Your reputation is not worth a life. Your property is not worth a life, take such a matter to the magistrate. Your feelings are not worth a life. Your convenience is not worth a life. Money is not worth a life. It is a life for a life. If you came to take someone else's life and lose your life in the process, then you are your own murderer. The man or woman that you seek to kill, cannot murder you, if they are defending their life or another's from you. Your blood is on your own head. Every man and woman is made in the image of God and therefore belongs to Him, so what you do against that image is against the Creator of life. This passage makes plain the way of false witnesses as well, and if you bear such witness that would require someone's life in the end, then it shall be your life instead, so if what you wish to say is not true, then repent before it leaves your mouth. Gossip, we would view as the lightest form of this, but it starts here, and the damage of another's reputation, or the accusations of false witnesses gain momentum here. We must all be aware of our tongues and hold high the truth, hoping for the best in others, and taking more time to express that which saves rather than that which condemns us, the hypocrites, for what can I possibly say to someone else that does not point back at me? Remember, I could not live the life, for I was stillborn, dead in my trespasses and sins. I could not die the death necessary, so I had to wait inside that city of refuge for the time of that High Priest, whose death would set me free. Because, he could not be held by death, why? Because the wages of sin is death, so He Who had no sin could not stay there. I am happy to have my life in Christ, to be the slave of Jesus, and it is my prayer, that all my fellow human beings will come to the saving knowledge of the gospel. Don't let others deceive you. Don't be confused about your fallen state, and those things which are the result of original sin. God hates sin, but He has provided us a way to be reconciled in Christ, and we need no other High Priest, for we have Jesus. 

Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tender-hearted and humble. 9Do not repay evil withevil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.…1 Peter 3: 8-10