Reconsidering Murder

申命记第19 章：1-14节
Sermon on Deuteronomy 19:1-14

Growing up in the Sunday School at Jubilee, I learned and memorized the Ten Commandments at a very young age. I still remember my reactions to four of the most familiar lines of the commandments. Exodus 20: 13 Thou shalt not kill. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15 Thou shalt not steal. 16 Thou shalt not (children’s version is “lie”). I remember having 3 distinct reactions to these four commandments. For the last two, thou shalt not steal and lie, I was afraid. These commandments felt relevant for a young child. Maybe there were times I felt like lying to get out of a difficult situation, or I desired something that didn’t belong to me. It felt scary to be directly warned by God. I also remember my confused reaction to the 7th commandment: 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. I was puzzled by the meaning of adultery. What is this thing called adultery that I cannot do? The Chinese translation “不可奸淫” could mean committing an adultery or rape. I remember asking the female teachers inquisitively since this is one of the Ten Commandments, but fortunately or unfortunately, I got mostly garbled answers which left me none the wiser. Looking back, I now understand the awkward glances and red faces. In the end they just said in exasperation, “This one never mind, just don’t do it.” Lastly, I had a totally different reaction to the 6th commandment: 13 Thou shalt not kill. It wasn’t confusion because unlike adultery or rape, I knew what killing means. It also wasn’t fear because unlike stealing and lying, the thought of killing has never ever occurred to me, even in the slightest bit. It didn’t feel like a warning that was addressed to me directly. I remember the reaction of feeling intrigued. It’s like a commandment “Thou shalt not jump off a cliff”. I can understand why it is given. But it’s just that it feels weird to be warned about something that hasn’t crossed my mind. It made me wonder if I should be thinking about it. Really, I cannot kill? Ok, if you say so. If I ever think about killing, I’ll remember that I cannot.

I think that might be the attitude most people would have towards the Ten Commandments, which to them is a list of don’ts. And therefore, our reactions are limited to fear, confusion and being intrigued. But as I look deeper into the context, I realize that this perspective is flawed. The Ten Commandments are more than a list of dos and don’ts. The context of the commandments is nation building, and their purpose is about building a people of God. What should these people be like, and how should they behave? How would the people of God look at their relationships, their social structure and their properties, etc.? When viewed in this perspective, these commandments then become critical in shaping the culture of a community, moulding them towards the will of God. The Ten Commandments is not just a basic list of dos and don’ts, but the principles of living as a people of God. And a people of God is who we are as Christians. Brothers and sisters, have you given thought as to what kind of a Jubilee community you want us to be? I eagerly await the day when people will say ‘when I interact with the people from Jubilee, I see and I experience a people of God”. That will be the day when we attract, witness, equip and bless with God’s love.

But one might ask, “how can a list of Ten Commandments transform us into this attractive people of God?” Does it mean that if we just don’t do the entire list of don’ts, we would have achieved the will of God? This is why I’m thankful that we have this opportunity this year to study Deuteronomy in greater depth. As we reflect on the fine print of the laws, you might realize that the Ten Commandments act more like a table of contents. Each commandment is like the chapter title of its own set of laws. The titles of each chapter might be rather misleading, thou shalt not do this, thou shalt not do that. But when we go into each chapter and study in detail, it is not about prohibitions, but rather very action-orientated. It is actually about thou shalt do this, and thou shalt do that. The title of the chapter is ‘Thou shalt not kill’, but the contents of the chapter are ‘Thou shalt put a stop to violence.’

Numbers 35: 16 “‘If anyone strikes someone a fatal blow with an iron object, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death. 17 Or if anyone is holding a stone and strikes someone a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death. 18 Or if anyone is 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. 19 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.

This is the first responsibility of a community. It is not enough that we are not murderers ourselves. We must also participate in the stopping of murderers. The commandment makes us go beyond being just innocent bystanders, but also be pursuants of justice and peace in the community. We cannot be a community that allows murderers to commit acts of violence freely. We have to become the avengers. The title of the chapter is ‘Thou shalt not kill’. But the contents of the chapter are ‘Thou shalt kill the killer.’ What do we do with someone who kills with a knife? We kill him. What do we do with someone who kills with a stone? We kill him. We are the avengers.

What do we do with someone who kills these killers? We kill him. No, I’m just kidding, of course not. Otherwise, there will be no more avengers left. Just using common sense, we understand that there are situations just as war or self-defense where killing is excusable. There are at least 30 versions of such exceptions in the Singapore law.[1] The principle of stopping violence may be simple, kill those who are murderers, but the execution of law enforcement can be quite tricky. We need to consider exceptions in enforcing the rule of limiting violence. Otherwise, we will be the ones escalating the violence instead. The first responsibility of a community is to stop murderers. We are the avengers. But the second responsibility of a community is to prevent false lynching. If we are not careful with this responsibility, we are no longer the avengers. We become the revengers.

However, this is easier said than done. Remember that those were the times were justice was settled within family and tribal boundaries. A clan-oriented system is good when it is a source of protection and sense of belonging. You are not alone to fend for yourself. You have your kinsman to fight for your rights. But a clan-orientated system can also easily escalate violence from an individual level into a tribal level. The Chinese have a saying “打狗也要看主人”. What if the master is a family, a clan, a village, or even a tribe? If a person is attacked, it is no longer about him, but an attack on his gang and family. Blood-feuds and tribal rivalry can easily turn an accident into a war.

In the time of the 40 years in the wilderness, the altar in the tabernacle performed this preventive function. Anyone who killed without malice could run to the altar for safety. Exodus 21: 12 “Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death. 13 However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate. 14 But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death. But when the Israelites conquered the land of Canaan, and the altar could be inaccessible to those far away from the Temple, our passage today describes the rules for cities of refuge逃城.

Read Deuteronomy 19:1-14.

The cities of refuge were designated for the purpose of giving a place of refuge for those who killed another by accident. And the test of whether it was an accident was twofold. Firstly, was there malice? Did the killer have a motive to kill? Secondly, was there premeditation? Was the murder planned and intentional? But before such questions could even be asked in a trial, the killer needed a place of refuge so that the avengers did not act in rage and forget about the steps of proper judgment. It was no coincidence that these cities of refuge were Levitical cities利未人的城邑. Levitical cities were cities within each tribe given to the Levites for them to perform their religious functions. Six of these cities, three in the east and three in the west of the River Jordan, were eventually designated to be these cities of refuge. As you can imagine, since they were Levitical cities, they were neutral to any tribal disputes and they acted as divine protection for the innocent.

Today, we no longer need cities of refuge. If you accidentally kill someone, and you are afraid of revenge of an errant vigilante, then just go to the police and do not post bail. This is the legal advice I was given. When in trouble, just go jail (kidding). Even though we no longer need cities of refuge, I believe there is much we can learn about justice and community building based on its principles. Our first responsibility as a community is to be avengers of murders. This means that we have a responsibility in dealing with violence in the community, and we have to act against those who use brutality in their conflict. Our second responsibility as a community is to prevent revengers. This is a good reminder as we carry out our first responsibility. We might not be part of any clans or official associations, but the herd mentality is deep-seated within us. And when the accusations start to fly, we might be tempted to follow blindly. Beware of mob justice and public lynching. Whether it is gossips at the workplace water cooler or on the internet, when you see people casting stones, remember that you have a different value system as a child of God. The cities of refuge reflect the belief of the right to a fair trial. As Christians, we judge ourselves before seeking to judge others.

US president Obama said this in 2009, “To overcome extremism, we must also be vigilant in upholding the values our troops defend – because there is no force in the world more powerful than the example of America. That is why I have ordered the closing of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, and will seek swift and certain justice for captured terrorists – because living our values doesn’t make us weaker, it makes us safer and it makes us stronger.” [2] Four years later today, the detention center remains open because of opposition in the Congress. More than a hundred supposed terrorists remain detained there, still without a trial. I state this as a reminder that living our values is never easy, but a life-long objective.

In conclusion, I want to return to the subject of what kind of community do we want to become. Remember that the purpose of the Commandments is to shape the culture and behaviour of the people of God. Jesus said in Matthew 5: 21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ (a term of contempt) is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. You might think that Jesus was just adding another don’t into the list of don’ts in the ten Commandments. But I feel that Jesus is teaching us to reconsider what is murder. Murder is when you disregard the value of another human life. This is why hating brings judgment. It is because you forget the value of a brother or sister in the eyes of God. Hating is killing because he or she turns from a subject of love into an object of hate. Allow me to list out practically the application points. One, hating is killing. Two, judging without a fair trial is also killing. The cities of refuge remind us to control our anger and withhold our judgment until a fair trial has taken place. In our passage today, there seems to be a throwaway verse in Deuteronomy 19: 14 Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess. But this seeming throwaway verse is actually another good reminder of what else constitutes killing. One, murdering with hate is killing. Two, taking revenge with rage is obvious killing. But three, when you take away a person’s livelihood, or when his family suffers, it is also killing. Four, when you dishonour someone, and disregard a person who should have been treated with respect, it is also killing.

What kind of community do we want to become? This is the take home message for today: Let us be a community that protects each and every life. We are avengers. We punish the killers of life, we speak out against those who spread scandals, we act against those who sow hatred and those who hurt others physically or mentally. But as avengers, let us remember to be cautious. We are the avengers, not revengers. Everybody deserves a fair trial, a fair judgment. We become murderers when we kill someone unfairly. The cities of refuge are for the innocent, but they also act as a refuge from any uncontrollable rage. Killing comes in many forms and thou shalt not kill. Let us be slow to judge, slow to criticize and be quick to forgive and love.
[1] General exceptions can be found in section 76-106 of the Penal Code.
[2] BARACK OBAMA, Address to Joint Session of Congress, Feb. 24, 2009