Deuteronomy 17:7 The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting the person to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you.
Justice comes in many shapes. And many of those shapes are unexpected. What on the surface sounds like injustice can actually be mercy and grace. This is especially true when we read the Scriptures.
Our passage today might sound very harsh. We are talking about stoning someone to death. This is not the prettiest picture of justice, people gathering around a person and throwing stones at them until they die. We don’t use this form of capital punishment here in this country. And when it comes up in the news, we are appalled.
But the larger context of this verse helps to put a very different spin on this. This verse in really about protecting people from hasty or vindictive punishments. There must be multiple witnesses in order for someone to receive a sentence of death. This is about protecting people and holding witnesses accountable for their testimony.
This is very important, holding witnesses accountable for their testimony. In fact, a later verse tells us that if the false witness is discovered, then the punishment they wanted for the other person is to be imposed on them. They get what they wanted for the other. So witnessing takes on a whole different flavor. Witnesses are held to the same standard as everyone else.
In our highly divided nation, accountability for witnesses seems to have fallen away. People can seemingly make any accusation against anyone without any liability. And with social media running rampant, these charges get amplified, and all without the originator of the accusation having to defend their words.
It would be a very different thing if the accuser received the punishment they wished on the accused, if their charge was false. That would be justice! People would be very hesitant to be a false witness. Right now, nothing prevents them. The media moves on to the next scandal without every looking back. Russia Collusion!
So our text is about protecting the integrity of the justice system. Witnesses must see the results of their testimony and participate in the judgment. They have to look the accused in the eye as they thrown the stones. And throwing stones so as to kill someone is very hard to do. We aren’t designed to do this. It goes against our nature.
The LORD wants to create a nation that will be loyal to Him first! They are to be willing to live radically in a world filled with sin. They are to be different. They are called to be holy and to live holy.
And we are called to be and do the same. We must honor our LORD by honoring His Word and honoring our word. There is no place for lies, half truth or partial truth. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
How are you doing at truth? Does your word match what you do? Do you always reflect truth in what you say to other people? This is a very high standard we are called to keep. Nothing less will suffice.
The Arnold Journey 