December 11, 2023

Part of God’s law through Moses required that the Israelites create cities of refuge for those who accidentally kill someone so they have a place to run to for safety from their avengers. It was not for willful murderers. The Bible gives the example of cutting down a tree with the neighbor, and the axe head flies off and hits the neighbor and kills him. That person can flee and go to one of the cities of refuge to avoid the neighbor’s avengers. They were to make roadways and paths to those cities, so it was easy to get there quickly. However, if a willful murderer fled there, the elders of the city could send to have them brought back so they could receive their punishment. It’s like being extradited from one state to another for legal action. Here is the comparison:

Jesus is our city of refuge. The pathway is a clean and easy road without stumps or tree branches to get there. We get to stay in Jesus without fear of extradition as long as we are not willfully sinning. According to Hebrews 10:26, “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” If you continue to sin, the protection you had in Jesus is gone, and you will have to face the consequences for your actions. That is certainly not a very good place to be. We all sin unintentionally; it’s nearly impossible to live sin-free, but if we sin intentionally, we lose the protective safety of Jesus’s refuge. 

Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it. Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither. And this is 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; Deuteronomy 19:2-4