Cities of Refuge
1“When the Lord your God cuts off the nations, whose land the Lord your God gives you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses, 2you shall set aside three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which the Lord your God gives you to possess. 3You shall prepare the roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the Lord your God will give you as a possession, so that any manslayer may flee there.
4“Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he kills his friend unintentionally, not hating him previously— 5as when a man goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the handle and strikes his friend so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live; 6otherwise the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in the heat of his anger, and overtake him, because the way is long, and take his life, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously. 7Therefore, I command you, saying, ‘You shall set aside three cities for yourself.’
8“If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give your fathers— 9if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in His ways always—then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. 10So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and bloodguiltiness be on you.
11“But if there is a man who hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up against him and strikes him so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13You shall not pity him, but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with you.
Laws of Landmark and Testimony
14“You shall not move your neighbor’s boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess.
15“A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed. 16If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, 17then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. 18The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, 19then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. 20The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. 21Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
16These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates. 17Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,’ declares the Lord.”
17“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
1) How does Zechariah’s vision of honest speech and peaceful judgment reflect the justice יהוה expects among His people?
2) How does Yeshua clarify that fulfilling the Torah means living out its heart—truth, mercy, and reconciliation?
3) Where might you need to seek reconciliation or honesty to walk in the spirit of Torah rather than just its letter?
PSALM 108
God Praised and Supplicated to Give Victory.
A Song, a Psalm of David.
1My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.
2Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
3I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4For Your lovingkindness is great above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.
5Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth.
6That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!
7God has spoken in His holiness:
“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem
And measure out the valley of Succoth.
8Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the helmet of My head;
Judah is My scepter.
9Moab is My washbowl;
Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;
Over Philistia I will shout aloud.”
10Who will bring me into the besieged city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?
12Oh give us help against the adversary,
For deliverance by man is in vain.
13Through God we will do valiantly,
And it is He who shall tread down our adversaries.
Concerning Divorce
1When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; 2and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.
3Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” 4And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” 7They *said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
10The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” 11But He said to them, “Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. 12For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”
Jesus Blesses Little Children
13Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.
The Rich Young Ruler
16And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” 17And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20The young man *said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
23And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
The Disciples’ Reward
27Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” 28And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.