When something is precious to us, it's valuable and not to be treated
lightly or carelessly.
The Bible often teaches us that human life is precious to Jehovah: he is
the source of life, breath, and all things (Psalm 36:9; Revelation 4:11). He is the reason we're
alive.
Another way that we know human life is precious to Jehovah is by studying the ancient cities of refuge in Israel. If we turn to Deuteronomy
19:2-3, notice what Moses wrote under inspiration about the
accessibility of these ancient cities.
The Israelites had to set up three cities to the west of the Jordan and
three cities of refuge to the east: notice that these cities also had to
be easily accessible to an unintentional manslayer in order that he could arrive safely to
the city.
The roads to the city of refuge were kept in good repair and
Jewish tradition even states that signposts were erected to help fugitives
reach the cities. In this way, Jehovah illustrated how precious life is
to him and it prevented the unintentional manslayer from going to a foreign land
that would be filled with idolatry.
In addition, ordained cities of refuge protected the Israelites from bloodguilt.
Deuteronomy 19:10 demonstrates this point. Read Deuteronomy 19:10.
No bloodguilt would come upon Israel if the nation adhered to Jehovah's
commands regarding the cities of refuge. This arrangement permitted Jehovah
to show mercy to an unintentional manslayer, but it did not mean that God merely overlooked killing that happened through negligence. The Israelites were supposed to take steps to prevent such killing. Furthermore, the
manslayer needed to present his case before the elders of the city, then
if they judged his case to be accidental, the one found to have committed the act unintentionally had to remain in the
city of refuge until the death of the current high priest. So he might spend his whole
life there, depending on the age and service of the high priest.
These consequences emphasized how precious and sacred that
life is: Jehovah does not take illegitimate killing lightly, even if it's unintentional.
Another lesson we learn from the cities of refuge is found in
Deuteronomy 19:11-13 (read).
The cities of refuge were not meant to protect willful murderers. If an
Israelite hated his brother or slandered him, it was comparable to
murdering him. Yes, anyone hating his brother or willfully taking a fellow believer's life
would be accountable to Jehovah, the supreme life-giver (1 John 3:14-16); and since
Jehovah has not changed today, in what ways does he expect us to treat
human life with care?
See Malachi 3:6.
A) driving while texting; B) speeding or careless driving C) avoid working unsafely
Sporadic theological and historical musings by Edgar Foster (Ph.D. in Theology and Religious Studies and one of Jehovah's Witnesses).
Matthew ch.10:29NIV"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care."
ReplyDeleteWe can gather from the above quoted scripture that every living soul(including every subhuman soul) is view by JEHOVAH as a unique original and not simply a generic interchangeable cog/widget.
So in reading the scriptures we don't get the sense that JEHOVAH is blase about death ,thinking that he could make any number of replacements required.JEHOVAH'S Word to every loyal servant and sincere truth seeker is that from his sensibilities each and every one of us is irreplaceable.
Matthew ch.10:30"And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."
To show the individuality aspect, I also like a verse stressed in today's Watchtower lesson: Galatians 2:20. But Jesus' words do the trick.
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