Numbers 35

I wasn't a really big fan of P.E. (physical education, not potential energy), but one of the few activities I enjoyed--besides the parachute, which everyone likes--was a game called Rocks. It was basically a modified version of Capture the Flag, except that each side had several "flags" called "rocks." The field was divided in half, one half per team (which, for all you math prodigies out there, adds up to two teams total) with a "base" at each end of the field where the rocks were. If you were in the "base," you were safe, but if you were tagged on any other part of the other team's territory, you had to go to jail (and return any of the rocks you may have been carrying). I think I enjoyed the game because I was a pretty fast runner and never got caught. Anyway, this idea of a "base" is what came to mind when I read about Israel's cities of refuge.

I don't know about your experiences, but out of the many games I played in P.E., no one ever killed anyone else, so maybe my comparison is a little off. However, the cities did provide justice for anyone who killed someone accidentally, keeping them safe until they could go on trial. And this was vital, because God did condone an avenger (not the Marvel ones, though I guess the Punisher might fit the bill here) killing the accused if they left the city of refuge.

This sense of semi-vigilante justice also applied to people who did kill with "malice aforethought" (verse 20). No trial, no jury, just death at the hands of the "avenger of blood" (verse 21). Of course, this idea is completely unacceptable today, but ancient Israelite society, in case you were wondering, is much different from modern society.

The most bizarre part of stipulation, though, is the one that states: "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" (verse 28). Therefore, the accused person's fate was completely dependent on the health and longevity of a completely unrelated person. Woe to the old fellow who accidentally kills someone just as a new, young high priest is ordained. On the other hand, a young person who accidentally kills someone when the high priest is really old doesn't have to worry too much. If nothing else, this does emphasize how important the high priest was--after all, he was the one who most represented God's presence on Earth.

I do wonder, though, whether the cities of refuge became less desirable places to live because they harbored accidental killers. Actually, that's a rather intriguing premise for a fictional story, though I'm sure someone out there has already written a story based on notion. But what about a story about a schoolyard Rocks or Capture the Flag game that turns deadly? I'm sure there's some potential there….