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Cities of Refuge "God is our refuge and strength,
Cities of Refuge in the Old Testament. The setting for the provision of the "cities of refuge" was at the time when the Jewish nation had just come through the 40 years in the Wilderness and entered the Promised Land. They were rough times for this fledging nation, vengeance was a way of life to people, backed by the law of God. The family of a slain person were more often interested in repaying eye for eye rather than carefully examining of the circumstances to see whether the offending party deserved the severity of the punishment that anger and grief dictated. God knew that Divine Justice did not differentiate between sins, but that Divine Mercy could and so the Cities of Refuge were established. In Joshua 20:2‑6 The Lord spoke saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, that the slayer who kills a person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there; and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. And when he flees to one of those cities, and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declares his case in the hearing of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city as one of them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. Then if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbour unintentionally, but did not hate him beforehand. And he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the slayer may return and come to his own city and his own house, to the city from which he fled.'" Where were the cities of refuge? Six cities were set aside by the Lord's command as cities of refuge. They were centrally located so that people could reach them from any point in Israel in a minimal period of time. They appointed Kedesh in Galilee, Shechem (in Ephraim), Kirjath Arba (Hebron) in the mountains of Judah, and on the east side of the Jordan Bezer, Ramoth‑Gilead and Golan in Bashan. (Josh.20:7‑9) They were part of the 48 cities that were allocated to the Levites with their common‑land. Such cities ensured that they were free from all tribal bias or prejudice. The tribe of Levi stood separate and distinct from all the other tribes, as the religious representatives of the nation. It was fitting, therefore, that these refugees from justice should be wards of Levite protection." (Num.35:6‑7) The Purpose of cities of refuge was to temper justice with mercy; they were established, not to protect willful murderers, but for those who had unintentionally, through error or accident, taken the life of another. This is now known as manslaughter. Anyone taking a life was worthy of death under the decree in Gen.9:6 "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man." Even self‑defense or being the result of an accident was no excuse. Anyone believing they were free from malicious, willful, intentional murder could flee to one of these cities of refuge and there be protected from the full demands of the law against their life. They could obtain a measure of mercy without condoning the offence. It is of interest that the routes leading to these cities of refuge were to be built and kept in good order, free from stumbling stones, with bridges over water‑courses, so as to afford the guilty ones full opportunity for a rapid flight to secure safety. Moreover at frequent intervals signboards were erected pointing in the direction of the city of refuge and bearing the word, "Refuge." It was also a custom among Jews that two scribes should accompany the refugee. Their purpose was to persuade the avenger should he overtake the culprit, to permit him to reach the city of refuge and to have a proper trial. This was to recognize the justice of vengeance, but instilling into the minds of the people the principle of mercy. Most of the people felt sympathy for the person fleeing from an avenger to a city of refuge, as they realized that at some time they too may commit a similar offence and thus need to seek refuge and mercy. Murder or Manslaughter. On arrival the person was not free. They were received into the city and protected until such time as a trial before the elders of the city representing the people of Israel, could take place. The cause of the death was to be carefully investigated. Murder was adjudged if the death was: · being struck with an iron object, a stone or wooden tool The intention of these cities of refuge was not to defeat the ends of justice, but that while serving justice, mercy might be extended to those who were eligible for it. If a person was found guilty of murder then the city of refuge could not save him from the death penalty. If he were acquitted of any malice, he was not freed but was obliged to remain in the city of refuge or within its suburbs of 1,000 cubits (approx. 1,500 feet) beyond the walls. In addition Numbers 35:25‑28 says "the congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall return him to the city of refuge where he had fled, and he shall remain there until the death of the high priest...But if the manslayer at any time goes outside the limits of the city of refuge where he fled, and the avenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood, because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession". The high priest was one of the most prominent individuals in the nation, and his death, therefore, would be such a notable event as to be known throughout all the tribes. This would allow the convicted to leave the cities of refuge and to return to their homes free from the danger of the avenger, the avenger's opportunity expiring with the death of the high priest; and were he to avenge after that, he would be the murderer. This still placed a heavy penalty upon carelessness or passionate actions. The penalty included separation from family and restriction of liberty. This showed that the careless person inflicting serious injury to another, as a result of their actions should suffer the inconvenience of having to stay in the city of refuge and the loss of their freedom for whatever period was required before the death of the high priest. The meaning to Christians. The opening text "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble," draws to our attention the antitypical significance of these cities of refuge. It becomes apparent that Christians are like those fleeing to the Cities of Refuge under a death sentence. If God were to pursue the Christian with the full weight of His Divine Justice it would result in death without hope. But Paul says "through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" and as a result we all "fall short of the glory of God". The result of this is "the wages of sin is death" (Rom.5:12; 3:23; 6:23). Once the Christian recognizes that they are sinners in the eyes of God and on their own cannot stand in His divine presence, the picture of the Cities of Refuge can be seen. The avenger, Divine Justice, is on our trail, and it is only a matter of time before the Christian is overtaken and destroyed under the Adamic death sentence. In the account of the Cities of Refuge there are similarities of our own refuge in Christ Jesus! Christ is our shield and refuge against the penalty of all of our sins, except those sins that we commit willfully against the knowledge received through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Christ does not shelter the obstinate neither the unrepentant sinner, but he does shelter everyone who accepts Him and realizes that they were born in sin and shaped by iniquity. (Psa.51:5). All inherited sin through birth. To seek refuge in Christ one must flee from our old life and practices, finding the only refuge God has offered, forgiveness and life in Christ Jesus. Fleeing to the city of refuge is like our own repentance and conversion from sin as we flee from the world. We must be honest and earnest in our desire to stop sinning with our body, our mind, and our affections. Like the ancient Hebrews who sought the city of refuge, having faith that they would be safe, we too must seek Christ by faith. We are assured that we will find protection but we have to accept and act on that promise of that protection knowing that without Christ we are subject to the wrath of sin. Assistance in the way. When we make the decision to flee unto Christ for refuge we are assisted on the way, as with those fleeing to the Cities of Refuge, by the sign posts we find in God's word that give us encouragement on the way. Not only is there the word of God to assist us, but also like in the Cities of Refuge where the roads had to be kept in good order to assist the person fleeing, we have the Holy Spirit to help smooth our way. Like those fleeing, who had the sympathy of those on the way, we are fortunate in have fellow travellers to assist and encourage us on our journey as it says in 1 Thess.5:11 (ESV) to "encourage one another and build one another up". Life of sacrifice. Our behaviour in the City of Refuge is set out under the rules and regulations that Christ Jesus himself laid down for us. Christ has also shown us the way ahead as He learned obedience by the sufferings he endured, also the follower of Christ will have to continue to please God in the same way being prepared to sacrifice friends, wealth, earthly pleasures even family in the life of sacrifice. What a privilege there is in abiding within the hallowed precincts of the salvation, deliverance, and refuge, in Christ which God himself has provided. Romans 8:33‑34 says "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us". When looking back to the Cities of Refuge it can be seen that protection was not available to those who willfully took a person's life. His covering robe of righteousness does not provide a place of refuge from willful and intentional violation of the divine Law. Motives, intentions and heart condition are important. One cannot take off the robe of Christ's righteousness. If once one accepts the offer of refuge in Christ but then leaves the city of refuge, abandoning trust in the precious blood of Christ, which cleansed us from all sin, departing from Christ, means one abandons the mercy and forgiveness, which the Father has extended through His beloved Son then one becomes liable to the demands of Justice, without mercy and would be subject to the penalty of Second Death. As the Apostle explains, "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb.10:31). The reason and result of standing in Christ is because He "is able to guard you from falling (stumbling), and to place you blameless in the presence of His glory, with great Joy, to God alone, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord". (Jude 24‑25 Diaglott) . How long? The Christian today will have to abide in the antitypical City of Refuge, the covering Robe of Christ "until death", in order to receive a "crown of life". (Rev.2:10) How long are the antitypical cities of refuge needed? They are needed until the death of the antitypical High Priest. This has largely been accomplished. The Head of the antitypical high priest, our Lord Jesus, already has finished the work that His Father gave him to do, and the members of the body of the high priest, his Church in the flesh, are filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ. Col.1:24 states "even now I rejoice in the midst of my sufferings on your behalf. And in my own person I am making up whatever is still lacking and remains to be completed (on our part) of Christ's afflictions, for the sake of His body, which is the church". (Amplified Version) With the promise of the result of this suffering says "provided we suffer with him…we may also be glorified with him (Christ)". (Romans 8:17 ESV) Soon the entire body will have died and the Christian era with its purpose of calling out the Bride of Christ will come to an end. Then the new dispensation will be ushered in and no longer will our imperfection need the covering robe of Christ's righteousness in order to stand before divine justice. Rev.20:6 (ESV) says "Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years." Being made like our Lord Jesus, and being presented before the Father blameless, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, without any vengeance on the part of divine justice. The entire arrangement is of the Heavenly Father, His Justice as the avenger of sin, and His son Christ Jesus as refuge and deliverer. Therefore "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." RC |
What
a wonderful thought the Psalmist brings out in this verse, that God is our
refuge and strength. King David was well aware of the Cities of Refuge and their
legal status and how this provided a place of refuge for those who had broken
God's laws. However he realized that they were only temporary places of refuge
compared to what God had to offer to those who are faithful to Him. Paul also
realized the advantage that we have when he states, "We...who have fled for
refuge" (Heb.6:18). The Jews he wrote to were very familiar with the "Cities of
Refuge" and their purpose of protecting a Jew or even a stranger who had
accidentally killed a person making them liable to death under the "eye for an
eye" provision of the Law of Moses. Under the provision of the "Cities of
Refuge" God had made allowance protecting them until they could plead their
case. The Heavenly Father knew that as imperfect human beings, mistakes can be
made. He knew that not all the sins of the people were deliberate and wilful.
What lessons can Christians learn about this feature of the Jewish Law and what
it tells about the relationship with the Heavenly Father?