The historical Bible written thousands of years ago: Deuteronomy 19:1-13, explains Civil Law and Cities of Refuge, addressing the provisions and reasons behind “cities of refuge.” They are called “cities of refuge”, not sanctuary cities to protect the innocent and not presumed guilty. It defines the classification of individuals who may “flee” to the city of refuge for sanctuary.
Including, persons who accidentally [protection from the avenger of blood] kills someone or ignorantly kills his neighbor, one he has had no differences in the past could “flee” to one of the cities of refuge. An example is given: two persons go to cut wood and if the head slips off of the ax and kills the other person; then that person can “flee” to a city of refuge. The laws concerning “involuntary murder” are set forth in [Numbers 35:22-29].
There are other scriptures [Deuteronomy 4:41; Numbers 35; Joshua 20] which address the reasons for the LORD’s statutes to have cities of refuge established and the premise behind separating our cities and setting them apart as cities of refuge. They reflect laws concerning killing the neighbor unawares and hated him not in time past and “fleeing” to one of these cities he might live; that if the person who is in refuge leaves that city of refuge, and the avenger of blood, that is the person who wants to kill him, then finding him without the borders of the city of his refuge, the avenger of blood shall not be guilty of blood.
Now a new name is adapted, “sanctuary cities.” Cities of refuge are morphed into sanctuary cities with immigrants as one classification. I’m for the innocent going free. I hope we can sort this out and bring equanimity. I know for sure that the Old Testament Civil Laws on Cities of Refuge statutes are not applied today. So much is fueled by emotions and the lines become blurred. Elizabeth Allen Associate professor of English, UC Irvine “Why Sanctuary Cities Must Exist” LA Times, 2/15 states.
“In one case, it protected a man in flight from mistaken vengeance by giving him the chance to explain he had not been present at the scene of the original crime. Another sanctuary protected a boy who accidentally killed his brother with a rock. When the boy was finally prosecuted, the jury concluded that the brother died of a seizure before the rock struck him. Sanctuary had provided time for the community to decide that, whatever the facts of the case, the boy did not deserve hanging or exile. Still, our legal system is never perfectly responsive to people’s circumstances, and sanctuary, while not included in our statutes, has often been invoked in the United States.”
Teach the children.
Jeanette Grattan Parker, Ph.D. Founder-Superintendent of Today’s Fresh Start Charter School 4514 Crenshaw BL, Los Angeles, CA 90043 [all writings are copyright. [email protected]. Will You Marry Me. Inquiring Minds Want To Know
