Joshua 20:6 –
But the slayer must stay in that city and be tried by the local assembly, which will render a judgment. And he must continue to live in that city until the death of the high priest who was in office at the time of the accident. After that, he is free to return to his own home in the town from which he fled.
This is one part of the cities of refuge I don’t understand, why must a person stay until the priest dies? If they are tried and it is found to be an accident then why not just let the transgression go at that? Why must they remain prisoners of this city? How does that protect them from any retribution after? What if they are tried and found innocent, then almost immediately the high priest dies? How is that any different from the high priest living a long time for the victim’s family?
Do they assume that time will repair the resentment for the loss? Why do they just not apply a period of time before the person may go back after the accident? I always look at modern law and Hebraic law to draw similarities. I cannot really find anything that really draws a close analogy to modern law. When a person is punished for “manslaughter” there is a specific time to serve, not associated with the life of another. When did this practice change or is it still done in Israel?
Now in thinking about the death of the high priest, one could draw the analogy to Jesus being the true High Priest. His death freed us all from the prison of sin. Come to think of it Jesus is THE city of refuge in modern times; we come to him for refuge in our times of need. This is cool when you can draw connections between the Hebraic Law and Jesus. We see time and time again these connections and learn more the significance of how Jesus is “the way”.