Where to Run

GETTING STARTED

Breathless, the man stood at the gates of Hebron, anxious for the city elders to gather and hear his case. His accuser couldn’t be but a few hours behind him in his pursuit. It had all happened so fast—one moment he was making repairs on his house and the next, the stones had come crashing down, crushing the elderly man passing by. There was no time to stop and mourn. His brothers quickly packed a bag, making the decision for him to flee in haste. Such was a likely scenario in the days of Joshua, and so six cities were set aside to be places of asylum. They were easily accessible throughout the Promised Land and their purpose was to limit retribution in the case of an unintentional killing. They were a place where the guilty could find refuge.

  • Where do you go when you need to feel safe?

READ THE WORD: JOSHUA 20:1-9  (ESV)

20:1 Then the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, ‘Appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, 3 that the manslayer who strikes any person without intent or unknowingly may flee there. They shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 He shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city. Then they shall take him into the city and give him a place, and he shall remain with them. 5 And if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not give up the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unknowingly, and did not hate him in the past. 6 And he shall remain in that city until he has stood before the congregation for judgment, until the death of him who is high priest at the time. Then the manslayer may return to his own town and his own home, to the town from which he fled.’”

7 So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. 8 And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they appointed Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland, from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh. 9 These were the cities designated for all the people of Israel and for the stranger sojourning among them, that anyone who killed a person without intent could flee there, so that he might not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, till he stood before the congregation.

English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

DIGGING DEEPER

  1. Whose idea was it to have these cities of refuge?
  2. Who could claim asylum in these cities and for what reasons?
  3. What do you learn about God’s character from this passage?
  4. In what ways do you try to assuage your guilt apart from Christ? Where are the places you run to for safety and refuge that are apart from him? Confess those to him.
  5. In what way is Christ our refuge? How does this encourage you?

RESPOND TO GOD

When life is hard, it matters where you go to feel safe. In his mercy, the Lord provided the cities of refuge for the one who killed without intent. Whether a stranger, a sojourner, or an Israelite, it did not matter, the guilty one was enfolded into the community that served as sanctuary. He was safe. What a beautiful picture that points to Christ. We are all guilty (Romans 3:23) and in need of safe haven. When we come to him acknowledging our poverty of spirit he will receive us, enfold us, and protect us. We who have fled for refuge will find strong encouragement in Christ (Hebrews 6:18).

  • Meditate on and be encouraged by the truth that, “God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).