by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Designate the cities of refuge …’<\/em>” (Joshua 20:2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Joshua 20 establishes cities of refuge, places where someone who unintentionally kills another person can flee for protection until a fair trial. This system reflects Yahweh’s commitment to justice and due process.<\/p>\n
Contextually, these cities prevent revenge-driven violence. They ensure that accidental manslaughter isn’t treated the same as intentional murder. God builds safeguards into Israel’s legal structure to protect the innocent and restrain impulsive retaliation.<\/p>\n
This chapter teaches that God’s justice is thoughtful, not reactionary. He values truth, fairness, and careful evaluation. He cares about both the victim and the accused. Justice isn’t about emotional reaction; it’s about accurate and deliberate treatment.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Zeke Flores “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Designate the cities of refuge …’” (Joshua 20:2). Joshua 20 establishes cities of refuge, places where someone who unintentionally kills another person can flee for protection until a fair trial. This system reflects Yahweh’s commitment to justice and due process. Contextually, these cities prevent revenge-driven…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[523,406,841],"class_list":["post-98613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-justice","tag-murder","tag-numbers"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23560,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-land-promise\/","url_meta":{"origin":98613,"position":0},"title":"The Land Promise","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Franklin T. Puckett in\u00a0The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 10, August 1952. Premillennialists tell us that God's promise to give the land of Canaan to Abraham and his seed has never been fulfilled. Since His promises do not fail, there must be a future fulfillment. Consequently, when Jesus comes, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39671,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-someone-who-kills-in-self-defense-still-a-murderer\/","url_meta":{"origin":98613,"position":1},"title":"Is someone who kills in self-defense still a murderer?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If a Christian commits a murder in self-defense is he still a murderer? In the Old Testament, they had a place called the cities of refuge, if I'm not mistaken. How about in this present time? What does the New Testament tell us? I need your insight on this.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":98603,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/not-the-same-but-appropriate\/","url_meta":{"origin":98613,"position":2},"title":"Not the Same, But Appropriate","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"Then the second lot fell to Simeon ... and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Judah\" (Joshua 19:1). Joshua 19 continues the land distribution, showing God's attention to each tribe. Simeon receives territory within Judah's portion because Judah's land was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84518,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/changing-clothes\/","url_meta":{"origin":98613,"position":3},"title":"Changing Clothes","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall Notice how Colossians 2-4 has many parallel thoughts to Zechariah 3. Satan Accuses Joshua \"Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Yahweh, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him\" (Zechariah 3:1). Colossians 2:14 mentions a certificate of debt\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55004,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/let-justice-roll-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":98613,"position":4},"title":"Let Justice Roll Down","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer \"But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.\" (Amos 5:24) We typically think of justice as being connected to our legal system, and this is important. However, justice, biblically, must also be practiced personally. It isn't just about what we do legally;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/waterfall-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":94020,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-god-be-charged-with-murder\/","url_meta":{"origin":98613,"position":5},"title":"Can God Be Charged with Murder?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton with the help of Copilot The biblical answer is \"No,\" and Scripture gives multiple reasons why. The Bible consistently teaches that God cannot be guilty of murder, because murder is the unlawful taking of life, and God, as the Creator and Judge of all life, has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98613"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98616,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98613\/revisions\/98616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}