As we look around our world today, we may be tempted to think that things will be better if we simply adopt the same system as Israel. If we had a designated blood redeemer (avenger of blood), it would certainly make people think twice about killing. Life in our world has become very cheap. We do not think twice about killing children in the womb, and on the streets you can be knifed for petty cash. In recent times, especially in the Western world, there is more and more pressure on disabled or older people to see themselves as oxygen thieves who take up valuable space and resources. Given this reality, it would be a good thing for us to follow the example of Israel and set a high price on human life.

But before we use this passage as a justification for capital punishment or the grounds for a legal system, we should appreciate that these regulations governed murder and accidental killing in Israel. They cannot simply be cut and pasted onto other nations and countries. The civil law which governed life in the land was an application of God’s moral law, but it was nonetheless a law specific to the theocracy of Israel and it expired when that theocracy came to an end. Certainly these regulations show us that God has a great concern for human life and that murder is an abomination which pollutes the land, but we cannot jump from this passage straight into today. We need to reflect carefully with our non-Christian neighbours about procedures for dealing with murder and accidental killing. Murder is a violation of the moral law and on the basis of Genesis 9:1–29 we can certainly advocate for capital punishment, but we do so on account of the sixth commandment and not the civil laws of Israel.