I'd like to begin this morning by simply reading Joshua 20:1-9, from start to finish:
(1) And Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,
(2) "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying,
"Make for yourselves cities of refuge, which I had spoken to you by the hand of Moses, (3) to flee there, a
manslayer-- a striker of a life accidentally, apart from intent,
and they shall be for you as a refuge from the redeemer of the blood,
(4) and he shall flee to one of these cities,
and he shall stand at the opening of the gate of the city,
and he shall say/explain in the ears of the elders of that city his words/situation,
and they shall gather him to the city-- to them,
and they shall give to him a place,
and he shall dwell with them,
(5) and when the redeemer of the blood pursues after him, they shall not surrender the manslayer into
his hand
because apart from intent he struck his neighbor,
and not hating him was he beforehand in the past,
(6) and he shall dwell in that city until he has stood before the community for the exercising of authority -
- until the death of the high priest who is in those days.
At that time, the manslayer shall return,
and he shall go to his city and to his house/home, to the city that he had fled from there,"
(7) and they dedicated Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shekhem in the hill country of Ephraim and Kiriath Arba-- this is Hebron-- in the hill country of Judah,
(8) while on the other side of the Jordan Jericho to the east they gave Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad and Galon in Bashan from the tribe of Menasah.
(9) These are the appointed cities for all the sons of Israel and for the resident alien residing in their midst, to flee there-- all who struck a life accidentally,
and he shall not die by the hand of the redeemer of blood until he has stood before the community.
These verses should sound familiar to you. They should make sense. But this doesn't mean that Joshua 20 is teaching the same thing that Numbers 35 and Deuteronomy 19.
There is a unique focus in Joshua 20-- AJ here focuses far more on the role of the elders and the community in dealing with cases of unintentional killing.
Starting in verse 4, almost every verb focuses on the elders and the larger community:
(1) the manslayer shall explain in the ears of the elders his words
(2) and they shall gather him to the city, to THEM,
(3) and THEY shall give him a place
(4) and he shall dwell with THEM,
(5) and THEY shall not surrender the manslayer into the redeemer's hand, first, until the community can hear his situation, and second, until the death of the high priest.
Notice how much responsibility Yahweh gives to humans in all of this. When someone murders someone else, we'd maybe expect God to put a giant flashing neon light above the murderer's head, to make sure that person is punished. Or maybe, we'd expect a flash of lightning from heaven, as God deals with the murderer himself. But God doesn't do that. Instead, God delegates that authority, and responsibility to humans:
A) Elders and the community are given the responsibility of determining whether or not the manslayer should die.
B) Humans are given the responsibility of being the ones to execute the guilty person. Specifically, this falls on the redeemer of blood.
C) Elders are given the responsibility of protecting the innocent manslayer.
-Not everyone gets a sign of divine protection on them (Genesis 4:15).
-The elders initially protect the manslayer until the redeemer of blood can make his case, with witnesses, for the manslayer's death.
-Assuming innocence, the elders then protect the manslayer until the death of the high priest.
D) Elders are given the responsibility of making sure the innocent manslayer has a place to live-- among them. They can't let the manslayer go homeless. Or starve to death. Or ostracize him.
If you are a town elder, God expects you to exercise authority with integrity. You have to judge impartially; you have to protect the vulnerable (including the manslayer!). Above all, you have to keep the land free of bloodguilt. God is counting on you to make sure the people live rightly within the covenant you made with Him. God is counting on you to protect the manslayer from being murdered.
One of the main complaints Yahweh makes about Israel through the prophets, is how Israel's leadership usually failed in all of this (Isaiah 1:15). It's hard to be the kind of leader God wants you to be. It's hard to exercise authority rightly, on behalf of the weak and vulnerable. It's hard to not take advantage of your position by perverting/twisting your authority for personal gain.
How can you really care about people who can't do anything for you? These people are hassle. A hindrance.
Now, when you hear me talking about elders, and their roles, and the responsibility God gives them, you maybe instinctively find yourselves itching to flip forward in your Bibles. You know God has a lot to say about elders in the Bible. I think this is a good impulse-- a good instinct. So let's indulge it. Let's make the jump to Job 29 (if you're reading this, read it out loud slowly, or it won't hit you like it should):
(1) And Job again took up his sayings,
and he said,
(2) "Who will give me,
as in the months before,
as in the days of God when He would guard/watch over me,
(3) When his lamp shined over my head, by his light I would walk through darkness,
(4) as when I was in the days of my prime,
when the counsel of God [was] over my tent,
(5) when still Shaddai/Almighty [was] with me,
all around me [were] my youths,
(6) when my steps were washed in/with curds,
while a rock was pouring out for me streams of oil.
(7) When I went out to the gate of the city in the square, I would establish my seat.
(8) Youths saw me,
and they stepped aside,
while the aged rose to stand.
(9) Officials held back from talking,
while the palm they laid on their moth.
(10) The voice of the leaders was quieted,
while their tongue to the roof of their mouth stuck.
(11) When the ear heard, it blessed me,
while the eye saw, and it testified in support of me,
(12) because I would save the needy and orphan crying for help-- and [when] there wasn't a helper for
him.
(13) The blessing of the ones being ruined/perishing, upon me it would come,
while the heart of the widow I caused to sing for joy.
(14) Righteousness I put on,
and it clothed me like a robe,
and a headband [was] my exercising of authority.
Eyes I was to the blind,
and feet to the lame [was] I.
(16) A father [was] I to the poor,
and the legal dispute I didn't know, I investigated,
(17) and I broke the jaw bones of the evil one,
while from his teeth I threw his prey,
(18) and I said,
"In my nest I will pass away,
and like the sand I will multiply days."
(19) My roots [were] open to the waters,
while dew spent the night on my branches.
(20) My glory [was] new with me,
while the bow in my hand was new.
(21) To me they listened,
and they waited,
and they kept silent for my counsel.
(22) After my word they didn't speak again,
while upon them my words dropped [like dew],
(23) and they waited like the rain for me,
while their mouth they opened wide [as] for spring rain.
(24) I smiled for them.
They didn't lack confidence [in anything],
while the light of my face they didn't extinguish.
(25) I chose their way,
and I sat as head,
and I dwelled like a king among the troops,
like one who mourners he comforts.
There was a time, Job recalls, when he was the most respected and valued elder in his town. Young men would see him and step aside out of respect. Even the aged would see him, and rise. Leaders would cease speaking-- they found it impossible to even form words, just from his presence.
Why?
Job was an elder committed to saving God's people who lived on the margins of society. Job knows that it's the rich and powerful who dishonor the vulnerable-- the poor, the widows, the orphans. It's the rich and powerful who oppress them, who drag them to court to take advantage of them (James 2:6). Who will defend people that no one cares about? Who will defend people who can do nothing for you?
Job did.
Everyone knew that Job would fight for the vulnerable. He is the one who would investigate their dispute. He is the one who would bring their complaint before the elders. He would save them from their oppressor. He was eyes for the blind, feet for the lame, a father for the poor.
And the community rejoiced in his leadership. Many towns have the appearance of health and unity, but they usually do so at the expense of the minority (Acts 6:1). Simmering disputes are left unsettled, in hopes that the vulnerable will simply go away. People avoid each other, or harbor grudges (Leviticus 19:17-18), rather than forgive and give restitution when necessary. Authority is used to crush dissention, not bring it into the light and resolve it.
But when Job was an elder, his town reflected God's ideal. When God commands people to love each other, this is messy. People don't want to forgive. They don't want to be responsible for restitution, if they wronged their brother. They don't want to be responsible for people on the margins. But a great elder can see through all of the whitewashing, all the lies, all the falsehood, and cut through all of it to create an authentic, healthy community.
And so Job looks backs fondly on that time in Job 29. This is how things used to be for him. He was respected and praised, and the community was healthy. And why? Because Job understood what God wanted from people who exercise authority over His people.
Let me suggest that right near the top of the list of things church elders should focus on, is making sure that churches live as genuinely united (Philippians 2). Part of elders' meetings should be making sure that there are no ongoing disputes in the church (Acts 6:1), and that the vulnerable in the church are not being ignored or even oppressed (James 1:26-27). If there are two people in the church that you know are angry with each other, it's your job to investigate it, and resolve it. The authority God gave you elders, is mostly for things like this (Heb. 13:17)-- along with protecting the church from false teachings/teachers (Acts 20:29).
Everyone in the church should understand that if someone in the church isn't forgiving you, you need to bring your dispute to the elders. You have to get this figured out. You have to resolve it. If you need the elders' help, get their help. And they have to resolve it. If elders won't use their authority to resolve this, they need to step down. And the church members needs to be willing to submit to and obey them in these situations. If people won't forgive, they need to be stripped of their membership.
Authority is used to serve people who have no voice. Authority is used to maintain authentic unity in the church.
If you're an elder, be the kind of elder, that people rejoice in your leadership. When the church is struggling with disunity, and anger, and frustration, and they see you enter the room, they rejoice. They find comfort before you even speak. When you open your mouth, they grow silent. Everyone becomes aware of their own selfishness-- how at some point along the way, they got the idea that church became about themselves and what they want. And you bring them back to the truth. You are the one who fights for authentic unity-- not the kind where dissention is crushed, but where people are reminded and encouraged to sacrifice for each other, following your example.
Be Job.
I'd like to close this morning by simply reading Acts 6:1-7 (RSV-- no particular reason for the translation):
6 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists[a] arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.3 Therefore, brothers,[b] pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
2 final thoughts:
(1) Maybe churches don't grow, because they don't live as a unity. It's hard to look outward, when you're fighting with each other.
(2) If you want to know if a church is healthy, look at the margins.
