Jesus our City of Refuge - Safety from the avenger of blood

Bible Study Lessons

Jesus our City of Refuge - Safety from the avenger of blood

by I Gordon

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18:10)

Well, a whole new decade has begun and we're off to a bit of a doozy! There has been tension in the Middle East (ok, that's not new) with a key Iranian military General killed, a passenger plane shot down and over 20 missiles fired at an American base. World War 3 was trending on twitter! This is part of what the Bible calls 'Wars and rumours of wars'. As I write the numbers of those infected with the 'corona-virus' is sky-rocketing. Poor old Australia have horrific and devastating fires. And when it hasn't been fires it's been hail storms. And when it hasn't been hail storms it's been flooding. And when it wasn't flooding it's been dust storms. The Bible calls these things 'birth pains'.

This message is not however about those things. It is about Jesus as our place of refuge. With all that is happening people rightfully get concerned and many look for a place of safety. God, through His word, has shown where we are to look to find safety, refuge, meaning and hope. And He tells all of mankind to flee to that place and stay there. He has said this in many varied ways but one way that I have been looking at recently is pictured in the Old Testament concept of the 'Cities of refuge'. No doubt you have heard of these but maybe, just maybe, you may not have taken the time to think about what God is trying to teach mankind through them. If that's you, well, how fortunate you are because there are some important gems hidden within these cities!¹ So we'll look at:

The historical background (Joshua 20)

Let's first look at a passage of scripture that gives an overview of these cities of refuge and discuss how they were used historically.

Jos 20:1-9 Then the LORD said to Joshua: (2) Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, (3) so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood. (4) When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state his case before the elders of that city. Then they are to admit him into their city and give him a place to live with them. (5) If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the one accused, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. (6) He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled." (7) So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. (8) On the east side of the Jordan of Jericho they designated Bezer in the desert on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. (9) Any of the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

We see that God instructed Joshua, as he had Moses before him, to setup six cities throughout the land of Israel that would have a special status as a 'city of refuge'. So what does that mean? Well, in those days Israel lived under the law which incorporated the concept of 'an eye for an eye'. If you murdered someone, then you would be put to death... plain and simple. But even if you killed someone accidentally the closest relative of the slain person could come for your life. The 'closest relative' in this case was known 'as the avenger of blood'. They would come for justice over the shed blood of their brother or close relative.

So let's say I'm building a wall and I unintentionally dislodge some large stones which come down, hitting a man and killing him instantly. What do I do? Run. Fast. I need to get to a city of refuge where I can be safe and have my case heard. Or maybe I'm chopping down trees and, having not really maintained my tools, my axe head flies off, striking a man and killing him. I need to get to the city of refuge. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I have added a painting to the right.² Here you can see one fleeing into the gates of the city of refuge with the avenger of blood, drawn sword in hand, hot on his heels. But the elder or priest of the city is there to meet the one fleeing and say 'not one step further' to the one in pursuit. Our accidental man-slayer has made it! He's safe!

Cities of Refuge - The spiritual picture 

Now all of this is also a picture of the provision 'in Christ Jesus' for the sinner who, whether they know it or not, needs a place of refuge. Each city of refuge speaks of Christ in some way. We will look at that but for now let's first look at some general points from the passage in Joshua.

There is only one in this picture that is not a type of Christ and that is the one who has committed the crime and is fleeing. That is a picture of you.

Those who will not flee

So what of those who decide not to flee? They have unintentionally killed a man but decide to just stay where they are. What becomes of them? In these cases there was no safety outside of these cities. If the nearest kinsman was upset and out for blood then justice was coming. Would it be today? Tomorrow? In a week? Next year? Who could tell? But the avenger of blood was coming at some stage and the perpetrator was simply living on borrowed time. What a horrible position to be in.

I remember when I first saw this for my own life. As I read the Bible for the first time in my first year of University I saw that I was in trouble. Big trouble. I saw the need to flee. Not 'flee' as in leave the city I was in (though as a city it did give some strong reasons to do that as well!) But like Christian in Pilgrims Progress I saw I was living, spiritually speaking, in the City of Destruction and if I stayed there what would become of me? I might be ok for a day, a week, a year... who knows. But I saw I was living on borrowed time and that I needed to find a place of safety and forgiveness in Christ if I was ever to have rest. It took me 6 months of reading the Bible and agonizing over what I need to do... but I got there. Some people never come to see this. Most don't. They continue to live like they have forever. They live like the avenger of blood won't ever come. When is he coming? Who can tell? But justice is coming and no one knows how long they have got.

So what does the Bible say of those that have a place of safety but do not use it? It calls them fools. There is an interesting example of this during the days of King David. As a quick background, after the death of King Saul, David was anointed King but the house of David and the house of Saul continued to battle. David's general was Joab and Saul's was a man called Abner. Joab's brother Asahel (who was said to be as fleet footed as a wild gazelle) chased Abner and wouldn't turn aside even though Abner told him to several times. In the end Abner, in self-defense, killed Asahel. Joab of course, wants revenge. And so we read:

Now when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him privately, and there stabbed him in the stomach, so that he died for the blood of Asahel his brother. (2Sa 3:27)

And the king sang a lament over Abner and said: "Should Abner die as a fool dies? (2Sa 3:33)

David was sad for Abner's death but he said that he died as a fool. Why would he say that? What was Abner's foolishness? Well, it is hidden within the text in 2 Sam 3:27. The writer of the passage makes note that Abner was in Hebron. As we have seen above, Hebron was a city of refuge. You couldn't just go in there and kill someone. So Joab tricks Abner to come to the gate of the city. Outside, Abner is not safe and there he dies at the hand of Joab. Abner's foolishness was in knowing where the place of safety was but in not staying there. He died as a fool as do many others who have heard of their need to flee to Christ but choose not to.

Those who help others on their way to the city of refuge

It is also interesting to put yourself in the shoes of those who helped make the way to the city of refuge as easy as possible. This was one of the roles of the Levite priests. They would ensure that the roads were well marked, sign-posted and all obstacles that might prevent someone from reaching the city of refuge are removed. The Believers Bible Commentary says that according to Jewish writings:

How does that speak to us today you ask? Believers today are both those that have fled and found refuge, as well as the priests of God who then assist others to find that same safety. As priests we are the ones that put up the signs saying 'this way', 'refuge here'. Unfortunately there are many other signs saying 'find freedom in the New Age here.' 'Save the planet, hug a tree and save your soul here'. The voices and signs are many and varied but we have a need to point to the true city of refuge, Jesus Christ.

Is that something you try to do with those around you? We are also the ones who try to remove obstacles that stop others from finding safety. As an example, I had a letter come in to the website where the lady was hitting an obstacle... One that seems relevant to what we are speaking of. You may have noted above that the cities of refuge were for unintentional acts ONLY. For premeditated, defiant serious sins the law demanded death. One lady, reflecting on her background, wrote in really worried about this saying:

'I would like ask a question. I was saved at 36 years of age and prior to my conversion I lived a very immoral lifestyle. Which included abortion, adultery and a bisexual lifestyle. There is not a single commandment that I did not break in thought or deed. It was brought to my attention that the sacrifices offered in the OT were a shadow of what Christ would come to do, right? Ok. Except... there are no sacrifices offered for the things that I did. Without exception they were simply punishable by immediate death, no redeeming yourself with a sacrifice... I'm in a bit of a tailspin over it. So I guess my question is if the old sacrificial system was a shadow and Christ is now our perfect lamb how are certain sins covered or forgiven if they were not before? ' 

Now that is a fair enough question and one that presented a great obstacle on her path! It was a roadblock.

Thankfully I was able to share⁵ that the book of Hebrews tells us that compared to the Mosaic covenant, believers in Jesus have a 'better covenant' based on 'better promises' and a 'better sacrifice'. One, as Paul spoke in the book of Acts, that can free everyone from everything!

Act 13:39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.

Those that find their way to refuge

So what of those that make it to the city of refuge? What of those who find safety in Christ... What do they find? Good question!

God chose the cities of refuge for they speak of what we have 'in Christ'. We can glean from what these cities mean. So let's look at each in order from north to south.

Conclusion

Have you not fled to Jesus yet? Then see the precarious position of your life! The avenger of blood is coming. God loves you but He is also a God of justice and He cannot leave sin unpunished. Someone must take that punishment. If you will not flee to Christ for refuge then you will pay for your own sin. Be wise, not foolish, and flee to Christ!

Have you fled to Christ for refuge? Then rejoice in all that He is for you and tell and help others! Have strong encouragement as the word says is proper for those that have fled for refuge in Christ:

Heb 6:17-18 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

Think also of your role, as a Priest before God, to help others find the way. Remove obstacles where you can. Point the right direction for those wanting to flee. This is right and proper for those that know the way.