You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in
the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be
for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the
sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent
may flee there
(Numbers 35:14-15 ESVST)
God desires mercy more than sacrifice. God desires restoration, not retribution.
People are people. We act like people and often do things we regret. We
need to demonstrate patience, not tolerance towards all.
Tolerance is the acceptance of what is wrong as normal, whereas patience
is the acceptance of humans as normal. All people are sinful, and all
sin has ramifications. We know that and we need to position ourselves to
be patient, while wise enough to not be tolerant.
We often see
Christians who are crushed by insisting on taking on the responsibility
of God to enact vengeance. God, alone, can and should punish, and we
should rejoice in that, for He is a God of mercy and grace.
Punishment is never the goal, but, for some reason, it seems simpler
than restoration. God will punish, but reserves such things to those who
refuse to repent.
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