Paying the Cost

Moreover, you shall not take ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.  Numbers 35:31

Ransom – We can measure the godliness of a society by the measure of its concern with the sanctity of life.  Frankly, the further we slide from God’s point of view, the closer we are to extinction.  If you don’t believe that to be true, read When Nations Die by James Black.  It should scare you to death (no pun intended).  In God’s Word, every capital crime is associated with a disregard for the sanctity of life.  So, kidnapping, homosexuality, incest, cursing parents, blasphemy, human sacrifice, divination, rape of a betrothed virgin and a few other notable immoral behaviors are capital offenses.  The perpetrators are to be put to death.

However (and it’s a big “however”), in all the cases except murder, there is a provision for ransom, although it is not always accepted. The Hebrew word is kopher.  It comes from the root kipper which is directly tied to the idea of atonement.  Kopher is a legal term that describes a material gift that settles a debt with the offended party.  Exodus and Deuteronomy describe many occurrences where such a debt can be paid by the offender in order to redeem himself, but no one can ransom his life from death for an act of murder.  In God’s court, there is no such thing as a civil wrongful-death law suit (see Psalm 48:7).

So many times we hear people argue that God’s laws are antiquated and unfair.  After all, why should adultery carry the death penalty?  Why, half of the population would have to be executed! (That should give us ample reason for rejecting God’s point of view, right?)  So, we change the law to fit our desires.  Capital punishment for murder comes under the same humanistic scrutiny.  Now even the most heinous murderers rarely give up their lives.  Even Christians seem pretty confused about all this, allowing themselves to be swayed by the culture of fairness rather than the law of God.  Aren’t we supposed to forgive?  Aren’t we supposed to be kind?  And isn’t all this death sentence stuff really set aside now that Jesus forgives us?

Walter Kaiser, a great Old Testament scholar, makes two significant points here.  First, he notes that there is no capital crime that involves property (in spite of the fact that cultures surrounding Israel had such laws).  In God’s world, life is sacred, not things.  The second point draws all of this directly into the New Testament world.  Life is so sacred that God sent His own Son to redeem it by dying as a ransom for all.  The Hebrew idea of kopher is central to Jesus’ act of reconciliation.  Ransom for those who deserve to die can only occur by the death of another.

Now we need to ask this question:  If God thinks that life is so special that His Son must die to redeem it, when did we decide that our fairness doctrine was better?  By refusing to pay the cost, we slap the Son in the face as He hangs on the cross.  Life has capital consequences.

Topical Index:  Commandments, Murder