Jesus Christ and the cities of refuge

Text Numbers 35 Time 02/06/13 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

We come this week to the last but one chapter of Numbers, Numbers 35. Last week we were looking at the borders of the land as set out there and the appointment of people to distribute the land among the nine and a half tribes, excluding the two and a half who had already received land the other side of the Jordan in Gilead. That's 12 tribes altogether then, all dealt with but there is also the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe and they are dealt with rather differently.

That is set out in this chapter along with the fact that six of their cities were to be cities of refuge and re-iterating God's attitude to murder. So, there On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, we read how the Lord told Moses to command Israel to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. They were also to give them pasturelands around the towns so that they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for their cattle, flocks and all their other livestock. Verse 4 says that The pasturelands around the towns should extend out fifteen hundred feet from the town wall. They are told to measure three thousand feet on the east side, three thousand on the south side, three thousand on the west and three thousand on the north, with the town in the centre. There is no contradiction here. The pasture lands were to be set out in a square. Altogether there were to be 48 of these towns and six of them were to be cities of refuge.

The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess we are told in verse 8 are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few.

The idea of the cities of refuge was to have a place a person could flee to if he had killed someone accidentally. In ancient times, when a person was killed it was the duty of someone in the family of the dead person (the kinsman-redeemer or the avenger of blood) to pursue the killer and take vengeance. By selecting places of refuge from the avenger, a breathing space was given before the trial before the assembly.

It was arranged that there would be six cities of refuge, (14) three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan. The cities were places (15) of refuge for Israelites, aliens and any other people living among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.

So (16-21) in the case of murder the murderer should die. Six examples are given.

First, If a man strikes someone with an iron object so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. Or if anyone has a stone in his hand that could kill, and he strikes someone so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. Or if anyone has a wooden object in his hand that could kill, and he hits someone so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.

Second, If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at him intentionally so that he dies or if in hostility he hits him with his fist so that he dies, that person shall be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

However (22-25) if without hostility someone suddenly shoves another or throws something at him unintentionally or, without seeing him, drops a stone on him that could kill him, and he dies, then since he was not his enemy and he did not intend to harm him, the assembly must judge between him and the avenger of blood according to these regulations. The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send him back to the city of refuge to which he fled. He must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil. The example given in Deuteronomy is of two men going to cut wood in a forest and an axe head flying off and killing one of them.

Protection continued only as long as the person stayed within the city of refuge. If he stepped outside he was vulnerable. 28 The accused must stay in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may he return to his own property.

So where there as more than one witness to a murderer the murderer was to be put to death and there was no ransom allowed. In the case of manslaughter there was no death penalty as long as the person stayed in the city of refuge for the prescribed time. The closing verses of the chapter say (33, 34) Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites. Sin especially murder pollutes the land.

There is a reminder here then of the need to provide for those who minister.

Otherwise, we no longer have avengers of blood. Things are dealt with in quite a different way although it is clear here that a fair trial is important and that is generally accepted in our society. I think it is clear that murderers should die and that those guilty of manslaughter should not. Certainly a distinction continues to be made between the two crimes in this country and we should be thankful for that. Murder carries a mandatory life sentence while the sentence for manslaughter is at the judge's discretion. Of course, what is in mind here is involuntary manslaughter. It can get rather complex, of course. When is death caused by a car driver manslaughter and what about a drug dealer supplying someone with heroin?

We ought to pray for our law makers and for the judiciary as they make sometimes difficult decisions.

Perhaps the best way for us to think about this passage tonight, however, is to remember these words from the New Testament.

In Hebrews 6:18 the writer refers to Christians as we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us. In 2:13 he also asks how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?

In Romans 8:1 Paul speaks of those who are in Christ Jesus as being under no condemnation, as was the case with a person who fled to a City of Refuge.

There is good reason, therefore, to see these references to cities of refuge as pointing to forward to Christ and the salvation that is found in him. I want to say four things that arise out of these verses this evening then.

1. Realise that by nature you are in a state of danger

A person who killed another person under the Old Testament law was a person who was in danger. From the moment he killed a person he was in danger of being hunted down and killed by the avenger of blood. The law said that if you killed a person then the avenger of blood was free to kill you without offence.

Now we also, all of us, have broken the law. We have not killed anyone but there is hatred and if not hatred other sins in our lives. James warns (2:10) whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. If we say we have no sin we are liars. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. We have gone astray like lost sheep. Further, the Bible is clear that the wages of sin is death. When sin is full grown it brings for the death. If we die in our sins then we will be cast into hell. We are in great danger. The avenger of blood is already on the road to get us as it were. God's wrath is like an avenger of blood hunting down his prey. In Galatians 3:10, quoting Deuteronomy, Paul says clearly Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law. We need to see our danger then.

2. Understand that you will only be saved from danger if you flee

Now a second lesson can be learned from the fact that the only way a man could be saved from danger was by fleeing. If he stayed where he was it was all but certain that the avenger of blood would find him. As soon as the other person died his killer was in danger and he needed to flee as fast as he could. Death can come at any moment to anyone of us. Therefore we need to act quickly and to be ready to flee. There is no place for ease or complacency. The difficulty is waking people up to their danger.

In one of his books John Blanchard writes

“On 12 December 1984 dense fog shrouded the M25 near Godstone, in Surrey, a few miles south of London. The hazard warning lights were on, but were ignored by most drivers. At 6:15 am a lorry carrying huge rolls of paper was involved in an accident, and within minutes the carriageway was engulfed in carnage. Dozens of cars were wrecked. Ten people were killed. A police patrol car was soon on the scene, and two policemen ran back up the motorway to stop oncoming traffic. They waved their arms and shouted as loud as they could, but most drivers took no notice and raced on towards the disaster that awaited them. The policemen then picked up traffic cones and flung them at the cars’ windscreens in a desperate attempt to warn drivers of their danger; one told how tears streamed down his face as car after car went by and he waited for the sickening sound of impact as they hit the growing mass of wreckage farther down the road.” (John Blanchard, “Whatever Happened to Hell?”, page 297)

It is like those policemen – trying to warn people but people not realising they have to flee.

3. Accept that the place of safety to which you can flee is Christ

This is the third thing. There are several things about the cities of refuge that are also true of Christ and that point to him. Let me mention five.

1. Appointed by God

The cities of refuge were not a man-made idea, it was something that God himself instituted. It is God who said there should be cities and how many there should be and God who said that they were places of refuge. It was God also who appointed his Son to be the Christ and to be the Saviour of the world. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

2. Free and open to all

You remember how in verse 15 it say that the Cities of Refuge were for Israelites, aliens and any other people living among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there. So it is with Christ. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. He is the King if the Jews but he is also the Saviour of the world. Romans 10:11-13 As Scripture says, "Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

3. Close at hand

The cities of refuge were so placed that no-one was never very much more than a day's journey from one or another of them. This is true of the means of drawing near to Christ too, which is by faith. Remember how Paul says in Romans 10:6-10

But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or 'Who will descend into the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

4. Easily accessible

The cities of refuge were made accessible by good roads and were in high up places where they could easily be seen. So it is again with the gospel of Jesus Christ. His name is known everywhere. The only real hindrances are made by ourselves.

5. With an ample supply

The cities of refuge were kept well stocked with the necessities of life for those seeking refuge in those places could not go outside of them. This reminds us of how all goodness and wisdom are found in Christ. Once you find him you lack nothing.

4. If you have found the place of safety in Christ you must remain there

Once you entered a city of refuge and were found not to be guilty of murder the only thing needed was to stay inside the city. It must have been something of a trial not ever to leave the city but given the safety it afforded what could be better? Once you become a Christian all that is required is that you remain in Christ. Some days that can seem such a chore but when we remember what being in Christ guarantees who would not wish to be in him? Remain in him then. Christ is the vine and we are the branches. We will bear much fruit if we only remain in him.