John Calvin Commentary Exodus 21:14

"And if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die." — Exodus 21:14 (ASV)

But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor. He expresses the same thing in different ways; for although there is a wide difference between slaying a man presumptuously ³² and with guile, yet Moses applies them both to a willful murder. For by guile he means a wicked disposition to injure, and by the word presumptuous he designates a violent assault, when a man in hate wantonly falls upon another. And surely truculence, and violence, and all cruelty is presumptuous, (superba); for unless a man despised his brother, he would not assail him as an enemy.

So that they would not defile the land by overlooking murders, God commands that murderers should be torn away even from His altar, by which He signifies that they are as unworthy of divine as of human aid. For, although the sanctity of the altar might afford an asylum for the protection of those who had transgressed through imprudence or error, yet it would have been wrong for impunity for crimes to have been derived from this, because the sanctuary would have been thus converted into a den of thieves, and religion would have been subjected to gross profanation. Therefore, although criminals embracing the altar might implore God’s aid, the Law commands them to be torn away from there to punishment, because it would have been disgraceful to abuse God’s sacred name as affording license for sin.

Thus it appears how great was the folly of old in supposing that churches were honored when they were made asylums for the encouragement of evil deeds. This, indeed, was derived from the ordinary custom of the heathen; but it was a foolish imitation thus to mix up God with idols in a spurious worship. Although in this respect the Gentiles served their idols more purely and virtuously than the Christians ³³ served God; for they refused the right of asylum to the sacrilegious and impure, so that the temple of the Samothracians was no secure hiding-place even to Perseus, ³⁴ the king of Macedon.

Livy records the following words, as having been spoken by a heathen, — “Since, at the commencement of all our sacrifices, those whose hands are not pure are enjoined to retire, will you suffer your sanctuaries to be contaminated by the blood-stained person of a robber?” Let us, then, be ashamed of polluting our temples under the pretext of reverence for them.

³² “Superbire, et , et insidiari longe differunt.” — Lat. “Ruer sup quelqu’un par longe differunt.” — Lat. “Ruer sup quelqu’un par fierte et malice, et , et l’’aguetter.” — .” — Fr..

³³ “Ceux qui se glorifioyent du titre de Chrestiente;“ those who prided themselves in the name of Christians. — Fr..

³⁴ See Livy, lib. 45:5. The words quoted are from an address of a certain L. Atilius to the popular assembly of Samothracia.