Turtle, Turtle

"Look me in the eyes and say turtle, turtle."  This was my mom's standard phrase when she was asking me to me honest and tell her the truth.  I did some research and can't find that this was a common method used by mothers.  Perhaps she was reminded of the Mock Turtle's sad tale in Alice in Wonderland.  The memory made me think about honesty and consequences when I read Deuteronomy 4:41-43.

In the midst of Moses' prelude to the Ten Commandments, these three verses set up the cities of refuge.  I was fascinated by the concepts of the cities of refuge.

In the event, a neighbor killed a neighbor unintentionally without malice aforethought, he could flee to the nearest city of refuge and live protected from vengeance from the victim's family.

God provided for this unintentional sin.  Yet for this system to work it demanded honesty.  The sinner must be honest and acknowledge his act.  I read that when he enters the city of refuge, he was to plead his case before the city elders.  He was safe within the city's boundaries but if he left and was killed by the victim's family, then it was his own fault.  So even when found "innocent" of premeditated murder, there was the consequence of life within the city of refuge.  The city of refuge's borders was the sinner's protection from the emotion of vengeance.

There was a provision of grace for this unintentional sin but it came with the consequence of a life sentence of living in the city of refuge.  To experience this protection, the sinner had to be  honest and admit the circumstances of the tragedy.  Even though there is a clear distinction between premeditated and unintentional, the unintentional sin had grace and consequences.

It seems the ancient records have responsibilities for access to the cities of refuge placed on the inhabitants.  They must keep roads cleared of obstacles and have the city clearly marked as a city of refuge.  The high priest's mother provided food and clothes to those would gained refuge.

I wondered what it must have been like to live in a strange city, to have to start over without a job or possessions and to bear the consequence of a tragedy.

I also found it curious as to the placement of these verses.  In the midst of the presentation of all of the laws for living life in a new land, Moses interjected this situation.  How often would this happen?  Yet he must have known he was dealing with us, the child-like humans.  We always take the most unusual twist of a rule or law and exaggerate it to point out a flaw in the consequence and it's seeming injustice.  Moses skips right ahead of them and points out that God knows the difference between unintentional and premeditated and will call them to be honest before Him and themselves.

So my application for these verses is to be honest before God and myself about my sin and to remember that God has provided grace.  There may be consequences but there is grace.