LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Cities of Refuge
When God gave the land of Canaan to Israel, He arranged for six cities, strategically located throughout the length and breadth of the land, to be cities of refuge from the unwitting manslayer (Num. 35). There were three on the east of the Jordan, and three on the west. They were to be located in visible places, so that no one would have difficulty in seeing them, and accessible, so that no one would have trouble reaching them. For this, the access roads had to be always open; their gates always open. All these cities were given to the Levites, in charge of the service in the temple, men who knew God, his wonders and mercies.
When the unintentional murderer fell into the misfortune of an unpremeditated fatal act, he would immediately flee to the nearest city of refuge to escape the wrath of the avenging kinsman. The poor fugitive would flee for his life. If the avenging hand fell upon him on the way, his end was death. Only when he passed through the gates of the city of salvation was his life safe.
How precious was God's provision for the troubled man, suddenly turned into a socially undesirable being! There, fury was suddenly arrested, forgiveness was attained, grace was poured like water into the mouth of the thirsty, at the moment when he needed it most.
In Joshua chapter 20 this instruction is reinforced - Israel has already arrived in Canaan - and the cities in question are also mentioned. Three of them are located in the mountains; three in the valleys. The mountains and valleys represent in Scripture the high men and the low men, respectively; the prominent and the simple. All of them find refuge; for all of them there is a city that welcomes them. For, whatever their condition, suffering is the same when misfortune knocks at the door.
What do these cities speak to us, who are thousands of years away? Kedesh speaks to us of refuge for sinners; Shechem, which means shoulder, speaks to us of relief for the weary; a strong shoulder like that of the shepherd in the parable who carried the lost sheep; Bezer, which means castle or fortress, offers us security; Ramoth, which means height, is succor when we walk in valleys of the shadow of death. Golan, which means refuge for the afflicted; and finally Hebron (Kiriath-Arba), which means communion or covenant, is the refuge for the forsaken, as it was for an exemplary forsaken man, David, when, after countless sufferings, he was anointed king by Samuel.
Everything here speaks to us of Christ; the land of Canaan with its abundance of milk and honey, are the unfathomable riches of our inheritance in Christ. And every city of refuge, meanwhile, is Christ receiving us in grace to forgive us, sustain us, shelter us, lift us up, comfort and anoint us. Wonderful is Christ, ineffable in his person and in his love, typified in many ways for our safety and comfort!