Then the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, ‘Appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, 3 that the manslayer who strikes any person without intent or unknowingly may flee there. They shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 He shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city. Then they shall take him into the city and give him a place, and he shall remain with them. 5 And if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not give up the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unknowingly, and did not hate him in the past. 6 And he shall remain in that city until he has stood before the congregation for judgment, until the death of him who is high priest at the time. Then the manslayer may return to his own town and his own home, to the town from which he fled.’” 7 So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. 8 And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they appointed Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland, from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh.9 These were the cities designated for all the people of Israel and for the stranger sojourning among them, that anyone who killed a person without intent could flee there, so that he might not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, till he stood before the congregation.
The establishment of the cities of refuge falls under Moses’ exposition of the 6th commandment in Deuteronomy. The Ancient Near East did not have a police system as we do and the enforcement of law was handled differently in a theocracy as Israel enjoyed, than it is today. The idea was that when the Israelites went into the land they were to appoint cities, at first there were three and then later it would be six. If someone committed an unintentional murder, they could flee to one of those cities for refuge. In fact, it was required that Israel keep the roads well maintained to these cities so that the people fleeing there could easily get to the city.
This was not to let the guilty get away with anything. Manslaughter was a crime and the responsibility was put upon the criminal where it belongs. But God would make sure that his people were fair and just in their judgments with regard to an accident.
Later in Israel’s history the prophet Hosea will attack the corruption of these cities of refuge as we see in Hosea 6:8-9. In that context the city of Gilead was a city of refuge. But it was a city housing a number of murderers who should NOT have been given refuge, while allowing those who legitimately were there seeking refuge to BE killed. God thunders judgment against them because they perverted justice and mercy. So, what exactly was the problem?
The city bore the banner that spoke to the heart of God as a God of mercy and justice and yet the city was not living according to their calling as a place of refuge but were in fact the opposite of what they claimed to be. For the church to bear the banner of the very character of God, in this case mercy and justice, but to be the opposite, to be void of the meaning of the name we bear is to invite the judgment of God.
If the church refuses to be what God is, what and who Christ is, and yet thinks to bear the name of Christian, there is only the dreadful anticipation of falling into the hands of a consuming fire. We say God is just…are we just? He is compassionate and kind, longsuffering, and that He is truth, love and mercy…are we?
We are not our own. Our charter, our identity has been given to us from above and if we, if the church will not live that reality, then we will be good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
I think you can see by comparison just what our God thinks of those who say they are Christians, who claim the name and even talk favorable about Jesus but then do not live as those who belong to him body and soul. As we read in the Revelation, this lukewarm approach to God makes Him want to throw up…and he will vomit all such folks out of his mouth.
What is being illustrated for us is the need for true, incorruptible refuge, unassailable mercy to be shown to those who are sinners and so these cities, although practically significant, are pointing us to a truth that we stake our very lives, our eternal lives on.
One of the things I have realized is that often we see folks messed up because of their own sinful choices and yes, they are a mess, they have been foolish. And we say, “Well, they did it to themselves.” The problem is…we have all done it to ourselves, every one of us. We listen to the Accuser, Satan, pointing at the mess that we are, pointing to our sin, pointing to the fact that even as Christians we are sinful and we have no defense against his accusations…and what are we to say? That his accusations against us are not true???
Oh, it’s true, all of it and more…But, we have a city of refuge…we have One to flee too, where it is mercy upon mercy. And when we flee it is not as though our sin that made the mess is treated as though it did not exist…oh no…it is paid for…the full weight of it…endured, suffered by Another. Why? Because of mercy.
Since I brought up Hosea. I remember hearing a pastor giving a made up, but probably likely scenario concerning Gomer, Hosea’s, unfaithful wife and it goes like this:
Gomer is in the market, after Hosea had brought her home, with all her sin, and loved her still. And the women in the market are whispering about her… “There goes the one I told you about…she is well, at least she was, a prostitute, she is the sinner…Can you believe what she did to poor ole’ Hosea? Don’t stare, she might see you.”
And Gomer, over-hearing it all, can only say, “Yes it is true, everything you say about me is true…but let me tell you about my husband…let me tell you about my refuge…let me tell you about Him, because it is not about me, it is about the One who loved me, in spite of me.”
Jesus is our city of refuge. He is the One that sinners, guilty sinners, flee to for refuge, safety, and to be loved and turned into different people! People that only love, mercy and grace and mold!
The avenger of blood was not some hot-headed relative bent on revenge but was a kinsman who by culture and law was responsible to make sure that justice was carried out. However, with the possibility being strong that the avenger of blood would or might be tempted to act out of mere passion, God puts controls on how and when this avenger can do his work.
If the murder was intentional, motivated by hatred and not accidental and the murderer flees to the city of refuge then the elders were to turn him over to the avenger and not grant him asylum in the city. If he shed blood, if he murdered, then his life was to be required.
We are told in Numbers and mentioned in our text that the fugitive must stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. When the high priest dies, then all debt is forgiven and the guilty are allowed to go free. If the guilty one left the city BEFORE the death of the high priest and was THEN found by the avenger of blood then the avenger was free to kill the man, for he had broken the law and intentionally removed himself from the refuge God had provided.
In Exodus 21 we see the same principle with regard to the altar of God. Have you ever wondered in your reading why someone would run and cling to the altar to escape someone who was seeking his life? Same picture, now the clinging to the altar as a sign of mercy is extended to an entire city. The altar and now the city represented the mercy seat of heaven.
So, the city is, as one put it, both his refuge where mercy is shown, but because there are consequences in God’s ordering of life, the city is also his prison where his consequences are lived out. It is important for us to see the great lengths that God has gone to in order to show us that He is a God of mercy…The great lengths that God has gone to, to show us that He delights to show mercy. AND, that in his mercy, His justice is not set aside. Mercy and justice are NOT enemies, or mutually exclusive to one another.
I John 1 says that, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now, I am sure you have this verse memorized. And you take great comfort in this…Confess and because God is faithful to Himself and to His promises in Christ, you are forgiven…your sin, is washed away, as though you never committed it…That is indeed wonderfully good news.
But the text says that God is faithful and JUST. Justice requires the punishment of sin, the full wrath of a perfect God against it. So…you sin, over and over again, you confess…and He forgives…but where is the justice? Where is the justice to be found, when your ministers stand before you, and in Christ’s name, after you confess your sin, declare that you are forgiven? Again, I ask where is the justice, where is the punishment for what you have done?
Some might be tempted to think, “Ha, I got away with it…no punishment, my sin cost nothing!” The one who thinks that…might just still be in his sin…for he or she has missed the gospel.
Or as the hymn writer said looking at the cross, “Ye who think of sin but lightly, nor suppose the evil great, here my view its nature rightly, here its guilt may estimate. Mark the sacrifice appointed, see who bears the awful load, tis the Word, the Lord’s anointed, Son of man and son of God.”
The justice of God, the due for sin is seen…at the cross. There…the sacrifice appointed satisfies the perfect justice of a perfect God. Jesus as our city of refuge is not only our protection but He pays the debt for the sins of His people. He is a true refuge indeed!
Prayer: Father, forgive my wanderings and my seeking for a happiness that is as a vapor instead of seeking my life in the Savior of my soul. I confess that there is no happiness, joy, rest or peace apart from Him and I want this day to rejoice in the seeking…to find my happiness in the knowledge that You will lead me to the green pastures and the still waters, and that true and unending happiness will be mine in fullness when You bring me to Your home and mine, when I find the fullness of my Savior as the city of refuge for my soul, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Psalm 46 God is Our Refuge and Strength