The 6 cities of refuge are named in Joshua 20:7\u20139. There were 3 on the west side of the Jordan River and 3 on the east side. All 6 were Levitical cities from among the 48 cities set aside for the tribe of Levi, according to Numbers 35:6\u20138. They were not places to escape justice, but rather places where justice was upheld. Safe places set aside where someone who had accidentally killed another person could flee to escape the vengeance of outraged relatives or friends. Once there, they could safely await a fair trial by the city elders, determining their guilt or innocence.<\/p>\n
These cities of refuge are a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ. Just as the manslayer, in danger of losing his life, could run to the city of refuge and hide safely; so the sinner in danger of eternal punishment can flee to Jesus Christ and find safety. As Paul the Apostle wrote in Colossians, “your life is hid with Christ in God” (3:3). Jesus is like a city of refuge that goes out seeking the weary and broken wherever they are. He shines out like a brightly-lit city in the darkness of sin where there is no light. His gates are always opened wide, waiting to provide shelter for all who run in.<\/p>\n
Is there an adversary closing in on you, nipping at your heals? Are you desperately searching for a safe shelter from your enemies? No one needs to look any farther than Jesus, the city of refuge who already waits for us. We can flee into His gates with gratitude because our case has already been decided. The verdict is in and we have been found innocent because of the blood of the Lamb of God, who came to take away the sins of the world. There is no difficult journey required; we need only run into the waiting arms of our Savior.<\/p>\n
“LORD, we run again into the safety of Your presence. Thank You for forgiving our sins again this day.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n =============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deuteronomy 19 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup>\u00a0When the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;\u00a0\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God giveth thee to possess it.\u00a03<\/sup>\u00a0Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the\u00a0LORDthy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither. 4<\/sup>\u00a0And this\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;\u00a0\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a06<\/sup>\u00a0Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.\u00a0\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.\u00a08<\/sup>\u00a0And if the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers;\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three:\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God giveth thee\u00a0for\u00a0<\/em>an inheritance, and\u00a0so<\/em>blood be upon thee. 11<\/sup>\u00a0But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities:\u00a0\u00a012<\/sup>\u00a0Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.\u00a013<\/sup>\u00a0Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away\u00a0the guilt of\u00a0<\/em>innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. 14<\/sup>\u00a0Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour\u2019s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the\u00a0LORD\u00a0thy God giveth thee to possess it. 15<\/sup>\u00a0One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. 16<\/sup> If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him\u00a0that which is\u00a0<\/em>wrong;\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0Then both the men, between whom the controversy\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>, shall stand before the\u00a0LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days;\u00a018<\/sup>\u00a0And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold,\u00a0if\u00a0<\/em>the witness\u00a0be\u00a0<\/em>a false witness,\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>hath testified falsely against his brother;\u00a019<\/sup>\u00a0Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.\u00a020<\/sup>\u00a0And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.\u00a021<\/sup>\u00a0And thine eye shall not pity;\u00a0but\u00a0<\/em>life\u00a0shall go\u00a0<\/em>for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 6 cities of refuge are named in Joshua 20:7\u20139. There were 3 on the west side of the Jordan River and 3 on the east side. All 6 were Levitical cities from among the 48 cities set aside for the tribe of Levi, according to Numbers 35:6\u20138. They were not places to escape justice, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5971"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5971"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16022,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5971\/revisions\/16022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}