11-12 “But suppose someone is hostile toward a neighbour and deliberately ambushes and murders him and then flees to one of the cities of refuge.  In that case, the elders of the murderer’s hometown must send agents to the city of refuge to bring him back and hand him over to the dead person’s avenger to be put to death.  Do not feel sorry for that murderer! 13 Purge from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people; then all will go well with you.

14 “When you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession, you must never steal anyone’s land by moving the boundary markers your ancestors set up to mark their property. 15 “You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 16-17 “If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime, then both the accuser and accused must appear before the Lord by coming to the priests and judges in office at that time.  18-19 The judges must investigate the case thoroughly. If the accuser has brought false charges against his fellow Israelite, you must impose on the accuser the sentence he intended for the other person. In this way, you will purge such evil from among you.  20 Then the rest of the people will hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing.  21 You must show no pity for the guilty! Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” Deuteronomy 19:11-21 New Living Translation paraphrase (English Standard Version link)

The first ten verses of this chapter were about making a place of safety for people to flee too when there had been a terrible accidental death, this section deals with 'premeditated' or intentional crimes. The first was the crime of murder, vs 11-12; the second the crime of theft, vs 14; and the third the crime of perjury, vs 16-17. These crimes are still rampant in society today. What was the common response God said such criminals deserved?

Israel was to punish wrongdoers and, in the case of murder, to carry out capital punishment. In the matter of stealing or perjury the punishment needed in some way to reflect the severity of the crime that had been done. (vs 21) What two reasons were given for appropriate punishment of crime. (vs 13 and 20)

Vs 20 is what we would call a 'deterrent' – something that should make other people afraid to commit such a crime. Sadly, experience shows that some hearts are so hard that even harsh punishment doesn't stop them from criminal activity. That's why vs 13 is important. Capital punishment is a big step to getting rid of evil in the land. Notice how in both cases God says “You must not feel sorry for or show pity to the wrongdoer.” How important this is for our present generation when so often all sorts of social or psychological excuses are made for criminals, and victims are left to carry the pain and loss.

This doesn't mean there are never other factors involved – what we call 'extenuating circumstances'. Notice how vs 15-19 speak of the need for adequate evidence and thorough investigation. Justice must be fair. Those accused of a crime must be given opportunity to make a defence. But, if proven guilty, there needs to be appropriate punishment. Does the gospel change all of this?

Well, we could note that these laws were dealing with unrepentant criminals. The implication is that, while they may've been sorry for being caught, they weren't sorry for what they done. Christians do often personally forgive someone who has caused them deep hurt – especially when that person has shown remorse. But the gospel age doesn't remove the responsibility of Governments to punish crime. The apostle Paul stated this clearly when he said even the Roman authority of his generation was God's servant for people's good. He says: “If you are doing wrong - then you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you! They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong.” (Romans 13:4) The Christian's duty is to “pray for kings and all who are in authority, so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.” (1 Timothy 2:2)