Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast.
If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you.
Thank you for joining us today.
We are blessed and thankful to be here and Lord, we want to praise you tonight, God.
We want to give you the glory tonight, Lord.
We want to have your spirit fill this place, Lord, and fill our hearts and our minds,
Lord, and just really come into a deeper knowledge of you, Lord.
We pray, Lord, for wisdom and discernment, God, as we dig into your scripture, Lord,
and just reveal, God, your goodness to us through it, Lord, your truth through it.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
All right.
Hey, and just as a forewarning, we are, we're not, we're not going to break into
groups tonight, so I, um, yeah, I'm just, just as a free warning, I, I got on a roll
with this and, um, I have a little bit longer than, than, than normal, uh,
presentation on it and, um, you know, God just last week started to open up a
whole color palette in this book, so I'm really very, very excited to, to teach it.
So, um, so just as a recap from, we're today, tonight we're going over numbers
35, and as a recap from last week, you know, the, the land that, that the
Israelites are inheriting is not just merely a territory or land.
It's, it's a, it's a holy gift, uh, from God and he's, he's outlined the boundaries
of it, he's broken it up into tribes and pointed leaders to, to oversee this.
And he's, he's really projecting this, this new and vibrant future for, for
Israel built around obedience and stewardship in this new, new covenant that
he has and, and, and last week's chapter really kind of frames up, um, this,
this 35 is this idea of this sacred holy nation and this people.
Um, it really kind of sets the stage.
So as an overview for, for 35, you know, you know, God opens with this, this,
this profound revelation, you know, of, of his heart for both, both justice
and mercy for his people.
And he's, he's designing this, this, this new kind of society where his, his
presence is there in the people and it's shaping, um, every day life, you
know, he's establishing now these in this chapter, these Levitical cities
and these cities of refuge, which is something new where a worship and
law and compassion are going to be the fabric of, of these, these communities.
So let's, let's start out.
I'm going to read, um, verses one through eight on the planes of Moab
by the Jordan across from Jericho.
The Lord said to Moses, command the Israelites to give the Levites
towns to live in from the inheritance of the Israelites in with will,
that the Israelites will possess and give them pasture lands around the towns.
Then they will have towns to live in and pasture lands for their cattle.
They own and their other animals, the pasture lands around the towns that
you give the Levites will extend a thousand cubics from the town wall outside
the town, measure 2000 cubics on the East and 2000 cubics on the South side.
2000 cubics on the West, 2000 cubics on the North with the town in the center.
So they, they will have this area for pasture lands from the town.
Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge to which a
person who has killed someone may flee.
In addition, give them 42 other towns.
In all, you must give the Levites 48 towns together with their pasture lands.
The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be
given in the proportion, the inheritance of each tribe.
Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few.
So these are, let's take a, let's take a, um, oops, where am I at here?
Okay, here we go.
So we have here, you know, the Levitical cities and, and, and God is now
among the people and in the, they're, he's giving the, the, the Levites 48 of
these, um, of these cities.
So, so remember, this is going back, I don't know, probably like five or
so chapters when, when, when God was originally breaking up and dividing
the lands, the Levites had no tribal inheritance, right?
Cause they weren't, they're not considered one of the tribes of, of Israel.
So they didn't really, they weren't part of that, that dividing of the land.
Their role is spiritual and legal and structural and guiding, you know, for
the people, you know, they taught, you know, they, they were, they were God's,
God's representatives.
So they were, they were different.
So now we're getting to the point where, okay, so these are, this is what
God's establishing now for the Levites.
Cause we were probably all wondering, I know I was wondering, it's like, okay,
well, all these Levites are just going to like live in the temple.
What's happening here?
So he's given him not just land, but this really good land, this really fertile land
for agriculture and the pasture lands and, and, and all of this.
And let's take a look at this by.
So here, here, here are the four, here are the 48 cities, you know, and
you can see, it's kind of hard to see on this map.
By another map, I'm going to bring up, bring up in a minute where we're
talking about the, or we're talking about the, the, the refuge cities.
But, you know, these are, these are, these are scattered throughout the
nation and, and you can, they're very strategic in, in, in where, in where they
are. So this is positioning of the Leelites all throughout, all throughout the land.
And, you know, this is, this is a nation now.
So think about, think about how, how, how, how things are, are positioned here
with, with the Promised Land.
In a minute, I'm going to pull up another map that makes it just a little
bit, a little bit clearer.
They're basically surrounded by, by these, these pagan nations.
So, so God is saying that, that, that Israel, the Promised Land, the people of
God, they're going to be this living model for God's presence amongst all of
this. And what he's doing is he's establishing this, this different kind
of, of, of kingdom.
All right.
One where, where justice is, is, is, is brought into play, where mercy is.
It's not driven by power and money and revenge or, you know, tyrannical
leaders that, that were there.
The, the Eastern world in and of itself, and really the world as a whole at, at
this time was dominated by tribal warfare.
I mean, warfare was a way of life.
I mean, you know, think about even conquering was a way of life, even
up till a few hundred years ago.
I mean, it's just how, how the world was.
But these were, these were ruler centered, you know, laws.
They were militarized, pagan nations, you know, human sacrifice, slavery,
self-mutilation, false Gods, you know, all types of, of, of just, you
know, just horrible, horrible stuff that was going on.
And in this slide, you can see a little bit, a little bit clearer that all
of these various nations, and you know, you can go in, some of these
nations were even long descendants from, from Abraham, but they
were all bad, bad nations.
And we're not talking about small, you know, unsophisticated tribes.
These were organized, powerful kingdoms who lived in an opposite
manner of what God was teaching Israel.
Now, God was doing something completely new and he was using Israel
as this, this beacon, kind of this, you know, this metaphor is this light
on a hill showing these surrounding nations because the reputation of
God, you know, of the God of Israel had spread.
So, so these other nations, they knew, but he's showing these nations
what it looks like to live under the one and only true God in
righteousness and with compassion and with love and with structure in,
in society, you know, they back in Exodus, remember, God
said that, that Israel, you're going to be a kingdom of priests.
You're going to be a holy nation in Exodus 9, 8, 9, 8, 19, 6.
So it wasn't just about, Hey, this is our God and we're
worshiping privately, but this is a public demonstration of who God is.
We've been learning all throughout Leviticus and numbers about what
God is instituting here.
And this is something new and revolutionary.
I, I even, I, I'm going out on a limb here.
I mean, I think it's, it's really about proclaiming the good news.
I mean, they were literally proclaiming the good news of Adonai, their God
on display in what he was doing in this, in this society.
And, and this is the message of Jesus, right?
Jesus was bringing this, this gospel message, this, this good news.
It was, it was a new kingdom.
It was a new way of living.
It was a better way, a holy way, a truer way with meaning and purpose.
And he was bringing this to the Jews.
And, and, and just like with, with Israel here, it was counterintuitive
to what was happening.
So everything around them was well, this isn't really the way it's supposed
to be when Jesus was bringing his message.
This isn't really what we were taught.
And as Israel is being established now as this nation and this beacon for God,
it is completely and utterly counterintuitive, the opposite of what's
happening all around them.
So this is a radical, radical new way of governance that Israel has on display
here for the surrounding, surrounding nations.
And when you think about this idea of, of, of God, you know, embodying Israel
here, Jesus was the fulfillment.
He was the fulfillment of God dwelling amongst his people.
So it was on display with Israel, but it came into full
fruition with, with, with, with Jesus.
But make no mistake about it.
It started back here with Israel as he was shaping justice and worship
and a code for morality.
How many times have we, have I, have I mentioned that many of these, these,
these ways of governance have, have translated and transcended thousands
and thousands of years into our own justice system here.
So it was on display for the world to see, but Israel, they couldn't really
see it like that and they didn't see it like that because at, at the time
it, it was, they were an ethnic, what you would call an ethnic religion.
So I mean, God was the God of Israel, right?
So he wasn't the God of, of, of the Canaanites.
He wasn't the God of Moab.
He was the God of Israel.
So they very much looked at their God as an ethnic God.
He's our God.
There was no, Hey, Hey guys, I'm, I'm a pagan and guess what?
I've just been saved and I want to become an Israelite.
It didn't happen.
There was none of that.
Happening.
It was the Israelites religion.
The God of Israel was the God of Israel.
Now that would change over time as they went through, you know, their series of
captivities, you know, with, with, with Babylonian, Syrian, Persian, and you
know, Alexander the great, when he came in, all of these things, you know,
would they, Hellenism kind of got, got ahold of it and they would begin to
change their perspective that you could, you know, convert into, into Judaism.
It wasn't by any means how we look at it.
Like now it's like, you know, we're just, you know, we're, we're bringing
as many, as many people into this, but they didn't, they didn't see it like
that and it wasn't like that, but this was God's, God's was, this is the
beginning of God's master plan to be that light and to show people,
hey, this is the way, this is the true way.
So he was designing in Israel for them to be carriers of his presence so
that other natures, other nations could see it, not just consumers of it.
So at the time they viewed themselves as just consumers of what God
was providing and that would eventually change.
And it's very, very much like what Jesus was doing with his disciples
and with his teachings.
Everything that the Jews thought was right was wrong.
Not that it was wrong.
They were looking at it wrong.
They saw it wrong.
They, they saw it through the lens of the law instead of through the
heart of what God is trying to teach them.
Everyone who they thought was in, wasn't in the Sadducees.
These guys were not in the religious leaders.
They were not, they thought they were in, but they really weren't.
And Jesus is saying, no, these other people are in.
So he was showing them a completely different way.
And it was a painful, painful process.
Like for instance, you know, this idea of, of, of, of, of ceremonial
washing and the washing of feet, these things had become religious rituals.
And Jesus turned the tables and said, I'm going to wash your feet.
I'm going to wash your feet with a heart, with a humble heart of serving,
not with a ritualistic heart of, okay, this is a cleansing thing.
He, he, he told the disciples, you know, basically, we're not going to stay
within the safety umbrella of Galilee.
We're going out to the Decapolis and to the gates of hell, to all of these
pagan places, and we're going to talk to them about God and we're not going
to do it just to Jews.
We're going to do it with Gentiles and even worse yet, Samaritans.
So Jesus was bringing this completely different type of kingdom, a kingdom
where serving and mercy and love and justice and freedom were, were part of it.
He was teaching Israel to be carriers of his presence.
And he says to us in, in, in Matthew, you are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people lay a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead, they put it on its stand and gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your
good deeds and glorify your father in heaven.
This is what he was doing with Israel at the time.
He was teaching them to be carriers of his presence, just like he is doing in us.
I can't possibly, I can't possibly tell someone about the goodness and the grace
and the love and the mercy of Jesus unless I have experienced it myself.
I can't possibly do it.
And that's what he was doing with Israel.
He was saying, this is the society that we're creating.
This is the culture that we're creating it.
And you are going to experience it amongst yourself.
The Levites, where they mean that the Israelites were, were, were a nation of
priests, a holy nation.
And we now, we now, as followers of Jesus, function as spiritual Levites that are
scattered throughout our communities, that are scattered throughout the workplace,
that are scattered all throughout society, very strategically by God, just like these
Levitical cities were scattered because we're to reflect the kingdom of Jesus,
just like they were reflecting.
Let's move on.
Verses nine through 15.
Then the Lord said to Moses, speak to the Israelites and say to them, when you
cross the Jordan into Canaan, select some towns to be your cities of refuge.
To which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee.
They will be places of refuge from the Avenger so that anyone accused of murder
may not die before they stand trial before the assembly.
These six towns, these six towns you give will be your cities of refuge.
Give three on the side of the Jordan, three in Canaan, the cities of refuge.
These six towns will be places of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners
residing among them so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can
flee to there.
So let's take a look at this.
So now you can see, you know, these were strategically the stars is where the
cities of refuge were scattered amongst them, evenly, evenly distributed there.
And this idea of mercy kind of woven into this system of justice.
These were these were set aside as safe havens for someone who had killed
someone accidentally and protecting them from revenge until due process was done.
And this is this is one of those things that you can just kind of read over
and just not really fully understand what's happening here.
But in the Eastern culture, this idea of family based justice, this system of
justice was very, very common practice.
So when they talk about the Avenger or the Avengers blood, it was this legitimate
role that someone would play that if if if someone in my family was killed,
regardless of how they were killed, I could go and avenge them and kill
someone. Now, you think that that seems kind of wild, but think back just a
couple hundred years ago in the United States, you know, if if if if someone
offended, even just offended someone's honor, you could you could you could
kill them fair and square in a fight.
I mean, even back, you know, in in in the wild west, these things these things
were happening. So it's not that out of out of place that that families and
people and friends would be seeking their own retribution through this.
And that's exactly what was was happening, is that that that that if
someone was killed, regardless of how they were killed, or if someone was done
wrong, regardless of of the intent that was happening, this person could seek
seek revenge. So what what God is doing here is he's establishing these safe
havens. So something happens, you can go here and you are safe and you are are
protected. This is a radical, radical thing that he's doing, and it interrupts
this this revenge cycle that was very common back then. And he is he's
instituting something very different, a justice system, a sanctuary, you know,
where where he's saying that that that human anger and the emotion that's all
tied up in when someone dies or someone gets killed does not justify vengeance,
is what he's saying. God alone is the final judge, and his justice, as we've
learned through the lidikis and numbers, his justice is not reactive, his justice
is is redemptive. And there's there's there's justice behind it. I love this
scripture that God is our sanctuary. If you say the Lord is my refuge and you
make the most high your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come
near your tent.
And I look at Jesus as my ultimate refuge. So God was establishing these places of
refuge, but when I was guilty, I found my freedom in Jesus. When I was burdened
down and overwhelmed with with sin, I found my forgiveness in Jesus. When I was
under judgment from the life I had led, I found grace in Jesus and he was my
refuge. Let's keep going here. This is going to be a long segment. This is a
16 through through 28, so I might have to take a couple breaths through through
this. If anyone strikes someone, a fatal blow with an iron with an iron
object, that person is a murderer. The murderer is to be put to death, or if
anyone is holding a stone and strikes someone, a fatal blow with it, that person
is a murderer. The murderer will be put to death, or if anyone holding a wooden
object and strikes someone, a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer. The
murderer is to be put to death. The avenger of blood shall put the
murderer to death. When the avenger comes upon the murderer, the avenger shall put
the murderer to death. If anyone with malice, a forethought, shoves another or
throws someone, something at them intentionally so that they die, or if out
of amenity, one person hits another with their fists so that the other dies, that
person is to be put to death. That person is a murderer, and the avenger of blood
shall put the murderer to death when they meet. But if without anonymity
someone suddenly pushes another or throws something at them unintentionally,
or without seeing them, drops on them a stone heavy enough to kill them and they
die, then since that other person was not an enemy and no harm was intended, the
assembly must judge between the accused and the avenger of blood according to
those regulations. The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from
the avenger of blood and send the accused back to the city of refuge to
which he fled. The accused must stay there until the death of the high priest who
was anointed with holy oil. But if the accused ever goes outside the limits of
the city of refuge to which they fled, the avenger of blood finds them outside
the city of the avenger of blood may kill the accused without being guilty
of murder. The accused must stay in the city of refuge until the death of the
high priest, only after the death of the high priest may they return to their
own property. Some pretty weird stuff, right? I mean that's just, there's just
some really odd things in there. But what's very clear in here, and I'm going
to try to clear up some of the weirdness, what's very clear is God is
distinguishing between accidental death and murder. He's saying there is a big
difference. So what is it? God cares about intent. So he's defining very clear and
legal standards for what qualifies murder versus an accidental killing. So
another kind of little tidbit on ancient culture is ancient laws typically, they
typically focused on outcomes only. So what that means is, you know, justice was
based primarily on the result of an action. So if someone died, regardless of
how they died, punishment had to follow, okay? And often without looking at or
considering intent or motive. It's just the way that it was. So God is
introducing this better way of doing it, and he's saying motives matter, intent
matters. What does that mean? That means the heart matters, okay? The heart of what
what someone goes into. So God is not just giving this rigid framework for law,
but he wants to make sure that that the Israelites are examining the heart of
what's happening here. And from my perspective, nobody defined this more
than Jesus did. He was constantly, constantly referencing the law and
delineating between this is the heart of the law. This is what it's really
meant. This is what it was intended to mean. You guys look at it like this, but
this is what it really means. Jesus, we're just, I'm just reading a little snippet.
I would encourage you to read this whole, whole verse here, but do not think
that I came to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them,
but to fulfill them. And then he goes into this long laundry list of, you've
heard it said that murder, you know, is this. Part of it, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. So
he's, he goes into this whole laundry list of, you know, you've heard it said
about murder, but I'm telling you that murder is in your heart. And if you're a
murderer in your heart, you're a murderer. So he's getting to the heart of this.
You've heard it said about adultery, but I tell you this, you've heard it said
about divorce, but I tell you this, you've heard it said about oath, you've
heard it said about an eye for an eye, but I tell you this, that it's the heart that
matters. That he was so clearly delineating between the legality of the
laws and the things that, that the Jewish culture was so fixated on, on, on
this hyper sensitized to this law and, and doing this law. And he was
constantly coming back to this idea of, yeah, the law says this, but the heart of
it is this. The original intention of this law was this. And he was teaching it and
modeling it, loving your enemies. Crazy, crazy stuff like that, that was just not
at all even close to being in, in their culture. Jesus was just turning it upside
down. And in every respect, he would look at the law and say, you look at it like
this, but the heart of it is this. And that is exactly what God is doing in
this instant. Our hearts matter. Their hearts mattered, Israel, and he was
communicating that very clear. He was also talking about the role of the
community and the role of the church, so to speak. So that justice in a sense
within this community that God was creating, justice isn't just a private
thing. It impacts all of, of society. So the congregation or the grouping of people,
they were responsible for, responsible for judging these cases. Not the
individuals, not just the Avengers, not just the accused, but the overall
situation. So Israel was this covenant society, not an individualistic one. They
were in it together, and they knew, and God knew, and God communicated this over
and over again that sin affects the community as a whole. It's not just one
person that's sinning. It impacts everything. And this idea of justice that
he's instituting again, just, and keep in mind that this was just something so new
to the culture back, back then. Justice was this act of worship to God in many
ways. Think about, you know, you know, verse in Mike Rick, I can't think of, I
can't think of the numbers off the top of my head, but to act justly, and to love
kindly, and to walk humbly before God. How we treat others is at the epicenter of
the whole body of Scripture. I want to read this, Matthew 18, 15 through 17. If
your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault just between the two of
you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen,
take one or two others along so that every matter may be established by the
testimony of two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to listen, tell it to
the church. And if they refuse to listen, even to the church, treat them as
you would a pagan or a tax collector. If Jamie Alabak was advising Jesus on this
particular piece of Scripture, I would have said, hey Jesus, why don't you just
remember how I treated pagans and tax collectors? Because you could read that
and say, yeah, that's right. They don't listen. We're gonna treat them like the
pagans and the tax collectors. But Jesus in true iconic rabbinic form just leaves
it hanging there because He wants them to have that revelation of how did my
rabbi teach? How did my rabbi treat tax collectors? Because there's one among us
here, Matthew. How did our rabbi treat the pagans? He healed them and he
showed them love. But we want to so quickly show the judgment of, well, if
they're not gonna listen, if they're not gonna follow the rules, if they're not
gonna play by the same playbook that we're playing by, then, well, we got to
treat them like pagans and tax collectors, right? They're out the door.
It's not at all. That is not at all what Jesus was saying here. Jesus was
saying in rabbinic form, treat them with love, treat them with grace, treat them
with mercy. Galatians 6 1 through 2. Brothers and sisters, if someone is
called in sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person
gently. But watch yourselves or you also might be tempted. Carry each other's
burdens. Carry them and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Mercy and
grace. Now, in 25 and 27 of Numbers 35 here, we also see that mercy has
boundaries, right? There are boundaries within this system that God has. So with
this idea of the accused, if they remain in the city, the protection exists for
them, but only within those boundaries. Leaving removes this protection. And is
it really that different, you know, when we think about our walk of faith, you
know, God pours grace upon us. Abundantly pours grace on us. But that's not a license
just to sin and to live this unfettered life and to just do whatever we want.
Mercy and forgiveness is there for us, but not without consequences, right?
Refuge does not allow us to escape accountability or ramifications of things.
So there's boundaries even in this walk of grace and there was boundaries back
then within this this format that he was showing. And then this idea of the high
priest, this was just kind of like, what in the world does this even mean? And listen, if I've
kind of jumped the track on this one, I just, you know, chalk it off.
But I'm looking at this as the high priest's death is this symbol of
atonement. And I think that there's some level of hidden theology in here where the
person that you fled and who's taking refuge in this city, he must stay there
until the high priest dies and then he's free to go. And I ask myself, why is
this release tied to the high priest's death? And I believe that it's because the
high priest is the representative of God in the nation, the representative of Jesus.
And I see this profound symbol in that the death of this representative of
God's representative brings freedom to the one bound by the blood guilt. So
this idea of substitutionary release, we understand that, right? Because it's what
Jesus did for us, it's what he modeled for us. Life is restored through blood,
through death, through the loss. You know, guilt is lifted through this
priesthood's mediation. So the priest was the representative of God and he was the
guy that guided them too. And when this death happened it was almost like this
this sacrifice. So Hebrews 4.14 tells us that Jesus is our great high priest.
Hebrews 9.11-15 says his death brings eternal redemption. And Romans 8.1 says
there is now no condemnation. And I think that this in numbers here is this
this hidden nugget of prophetic foreshadowing of what Jesus was doing for us.
We are not released from our sin and our guilt by time. We're not released by our
effort. We are released by what our high priest did for us, dying on that cross
and his shed blood for us. So again, you know, if you feel like I kind of jumped
the track on that one, that's okay. It's just something that kind of kind of came
to me as this symbolism through through Scripture. Let's wrap things up here with
verses 29 to 34. This is to have the force of law for you throughout generations to
come wherever you live. So that single statement there is God is saying I am
laying this foundation that is going to be there for thousands and thousands of
years. Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the
testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of
only one witness. This was even being applied in Jesus' time. It's written in
Scripture. Do not accept the ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to
die. They are to be put to death. Do not accept the ransom for anyone who has
fled to a city of refuge, so allowing them to go back and live there on their
own land before the death of the high priest. Do not pollute the land where
you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land. An atonement cannot be made for the land
on which blood has been shed except by the blood of the one who shed it. Do not
defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I the Lord dwell among the
Israelites. Wow. That is a powerful, powerful statement. He's basically saying
that shed blood defiles this land and he's saying, do not defile this holy
land that I have given you. Only justice can cleanse that. This new land, it wasn't
just territory, it wasn't just property, it was this sacred space where God was
dwelling with the people. And he's saying here that murder is an assault upon this
holiness and his covenant. He describes it as spiritual pollution. That's the
first time I ever heard that word. I mean that was, I must not have read that
too closely the last time I went through this. So again, sin doesn't just
individually, it affects the community, the nation, the spiritual environment. And
this correlates perfectly with what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6, 19, 20
where he says, you know, our bodies are God's dwelling place. And then he
makes the other correlation in 1 Corinthians 12 where the body of Christ
is made up of different parts. So when you think about this idea of, you know, how
can my sin just affect me when I'm part of the larger body? I'm just one part of
the larger body, it affects everything. And this is, it was a really
important conclusion here that he's bringing. See, do not defile the land
where you live and where I dwell, for I the Lord dwell among your people. And
that's why he's bringing this system of justice and say these things have to be
treated right. Some concluding thoughts. The guilty don't escape justice in this
system. They don't escape and run away from it. They run towards the mercy of
God. And in the New Testament, the New Covenant is described as sinners don't
run from God, they run to Christ and to his mercy. So before Israel fully
settles in the land, God is teaching them how to protect it spiritually, how to
protect themselves spiritually, how to institute this system of justice, saying
that murder and these things aren't just a crime, they defile God. So the key, you
know me, I like my key takeaways. Life is sacred to God. Murder is a violation
against him. But intent matters. You know, justice should not just, you know, be
so rigid that it doesn't examine the heart and what's going on.
You know, community guards righteousness. So righteousness isn't just an individual
thing. And vengeance should play no part in that. Mercy has structure in
and of itself. Grace has structure. God's presence is in us. And justice can
preserve that holy dwelling for us. So again, Israel wasn't just inheriting a
land. They were modeling a society that would really have impact on not just
generations to come, but the world to come. I mean, I've heard it said
that, you know, how society is today was shaped by what God instituted
throughout the Old Testament and into the New. There are the cornerstones of
society. The cornerstones of the judicial system. Cornerstones of morality.
The cornerstones of all of these things come right from the essence of what we're
learning here. And the Israelites were learning it firsthand from God, direct
source. And it wasn't happening anywhere else in the world around them. And
that's an incredible thing. When you think about this small little area in
the Middle East and where it grew from worldwide, I mean, Western civilization
was built around this.
Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His
word. Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings at 10 a.m.
Eastern on YouTube. Be blessed and have a great day.