Numbers 35:6-15 (ESV)
"The cities that you give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. [7] All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be forty-eight, with their pasturelands. [8] And as for the cities that you shall give from the possession of the people of Israel, from the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites." [9] And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [10] "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, [11] then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. [12] The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. [13] And the cities that you give shall be your six cities of refuge. [14] You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. [15] These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.
Six cities of refuge. God ordains 6 of the 48 Levite cities to be cities of refuge where the manslayers who have accidentally killed anyone may flee there for protection from the avenger of blood. Levites are not only to house themselves in these cities, but those who are in trouble and are in need. Lesson first here is that we also, as priests, are obligated to house or help those who are fleeing from danger or those who are in need. We are especially to house those who are in spiritual danger, those hurt by sin, lies, and laden with condemnation, to point them to the shelter that is in Jesus Christ. We are, as Levites, to live for others, not only for our own selves.
From larger tribes you shall take many, from the smaller tribes you shall take few. These cities of Levites were to be given in proportion to the size of the tribe. To the tribes who had been given many cities, many cities were required to be given to the Levites, and to those who have been given a little, only a little was required to be given. This is to fulfill Christ's words:
Luke 12:48 (ESV)
Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
Let us then take heed, to give to the workers of the Gospel in proportion to what we have received. God does not expect us to give what we don't have. As with any commandments He has given us, He does not expect us to do what we cannot do. But as God gives us the resources, we shall do. As God has given us the proportion of faith, we shall give and help, according to the proportion of faith.
Then you shall select cities to be refuge for you. Israel chose only six cities out of 48 to be cities of refuge for the manslayer to flee. Not every Levite city was a city of refuge. A manslayer could not flee to any Levite city and claim to have committed manslaughter. Likewise, we who have sinned against God cannot take refuge in any old city. We must go to the Refuge that God has ordained to be legitimate cover from His wrath. And God has not even chosen a few cities in which we may take refuge. There is only one City that God has chosen to be our refuge. Jesus Christ is the only Refuge that God has chosen in whom we may take cover from the storm of God's wrath that is coming upon the world:
Isaiah 4:5-6 (ESV)
Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. [6] There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.
Acts 4:12 (ESV)
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
We have sinned against God, our Maker. We have not sinned against flesh and blood. God Himself was the Avenger who was coming after us, to destroy us. We have not committed unintentional sins like the manslayers, but we have committed intentional sins. We never could say of our sins, 'I didn't mean it', for we meant our sins from the bottom of our hearts. We did it with full hatred towards God and hostility to all His ways. All our sins were not accidents, nor were they mistakes. They were carefully planned rebellion and treason against the throne of God. None of were simply 'victims of our situation', as we would like to see it, but we were criminals and perpetrators. We all sinned with knowledge that it was wrong, going against the conscience that God gave us, knowing well that those who do evil deserve death. God thus had every right to chase us with the sword of His wrath, to slay us and to consume us forever in the fire of His vengeance.
But what is amazing about the love of God is that the same God who was angry with us has provided a refuge for us to hide from His own wrath. It is as though God is both the Avenger of blood and also the Levite. God's love is so great that He loves the objects of His own wrath. When we have this in mind, this famous verse doesn't sound the same:
John 3:16 (ESV)
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
God is saving us from Himself by Himself. And the only way He could save us from His own wrath, was that He Himself take this wrath for us. Christ drank down the cup of wrath that was for us, and rose again from the dead, that He may be our Refuge from His own wrath. By Him we are kept safe until the Day of Judgment, on which we shall also be delivered from God's wrath, since we have been justified by faith:
Romans 5:9 (ESV)
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 (ESV)
and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
That the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. The manslayer may have killed the High Priest, the King's son, or even the King himself, but if he had killed without intent, he may flee from the avenger: "any person". Likewise, however great a sin we may have committed, God has permitted us to flee to the Refuge in Jesus Christ. However, we must FLEE from the wrath of God:
Matthew 3:7 (ESV)
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
God's wrath is coming speedily upon the earth, ready to crush all who have sinned against Him. God's patience has long ago been overdue, but He tarries that all His chosen may repent before He pours out His fury on all Earth's inhabitants:
Hebrews 10:37 (ESV)
For, "Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay
2 Peter 3:9-10 (ESV)
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. [10] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Since there is only a little time, and God has not promised to wait one more day, he who desires to escape the wrath of God must flee from it. He cannot simply take a gentle stroll to the Refuge, as though he had all the time in the world. Today is the day of salvation. Imagine if the manslayer, after having killed a high official, was slack in his escape. Imagine if he was not diligent to save his own life, and did not go to the city of refuge as soon as possible. The Avenger will find him, and kill him, and no one would complain. No one would care if it was manslaughter or murder. It would be assumed that, since the manslayer did not care to flee quickly, it was probably murder after all. It is the same with the salvation of a soul. If a man is slack in repenting of his sins or believing in Christ, it shows the man is not really serious about saving his soul at all. Death may overtake him before he believes in Christ, and he will be lost forever. And no angel in heaven would complain that another hell-deserving sinner perished. We must flee to Christ, as though Hell itself was chasing us to swallow us up whole.
You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan. The six cities were positioned so that any manslayer may not need to travel too far to find refuge. Salvation is likewise nearby to all who seek it. As it is written:
Romans 10:6-8 (ESV)
But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, ''Who will ascend into heaven?''" (that is, to bring Christ down) [7] or "''Who will descend into the abyss?''" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). [8] But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);
Our salvation is not found in the high heavens, or in the deep below, that we cannot find it. The Gospel, if we have heard it, is found very near us, in our mouths and in our hearts. All we need to do is the believe in that Word of Christ that has been preached to us, and we shall be saved. We don't have to travel to some far away Holy Land or Mecca that we may achieve our salvation. When we hear about Christ, how He came, lived, died and rose again from the dead, and we believe that word, we are taken immediately from death to life, from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God, without ever having to physically move an inch. Just as the cities of refuge were easy to reach for anyone in danger, we who are in danger may believe this word anywhere, and reach out to Christ anywhere, for His Spirit is everywhere.
Refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there. Not only anywhere, but anyone may believe and be saved. God here puts no distinction who may flee to the cities of refuge. Even if it was a Gentile who had killed a Jew, if he had understood this law, and wanted to flee to the Levites for protection, he would be safe. It is the same with anyone who goes to Christ understanding that it is by faith a person goes to heaven. Anyone can take refuge in Christ. As long as he is a human being, and is broken over his sins, and he believes that Christ can save him, the man can go to Christ for safety. Christ will never reject any who come to Him, just as no right-minded Levite would reject a sojourner just because he is a sojourner. Salvation of the soul is for the Jew, Gentile, young, old, male, female, slave or free. There is no discrimination, nor any distinction, for we have all sinned. God doesn't see us as Jew, Australian, American or Arabic, but He simply sees us as Sinners that need forgiveness. Any person can go to Christ for forgiveness, for any sin. Let us preach this Gospel which is for all, that any people in every nation may believe, and become a child of God. Amen.
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