Joshua 20 - The Cities of Refuge

Again, let me begin by thanking you for all the prayers for my grandson, Luke. Shortly after I finished posting my pastor’s chat Sunday morning we received a call from Kimberly that the medical staff at the hospital found an infection on the shunt tubing and they would be taking Luke back to the OR to remove all the tubing that is involved in draining the excess fluid around the brain. This of course was not good news. Luke went back to the OR in the afternoon and went though a couple hours of surgery to remove all the infected tubing associated with the shunt all the way down to his stomach. Temporary tubing was put in coming directly out of his head to continue to drain this fluid. He did well through this surgery. Edith and I drove up to Roanoke Sunday afternoon and was able to spend some time with Luke and Kimberly in the PICU. He was resting well, and with the pressure gone seemed to be doing fine. After the infection is cleared, he will have another surgery, hopefully later this week, to replace the shunts and all the tubing. Please continue to pray! Thanks again for your continued enormous support, kind and encouraging words and of course your prayers!   In Joshua 13-19, the twelve tribes of Israel receive their inheritance of land from Joshua and the elders. After that was complete, in Joshua 20 the LORD reminded Joshua about the “cities of refuge” that He had given instructions about to Moses while the nation was still on the other side of the Jordan. God had told Moses to have the people set aside special cities for the Levites (Numbers 35:1-5), as well as six "cities of refuge". The cities of refuge are mentioned at least three times in Exodus 21:13, Numbers 35:6-34, and Deuteronomy 19:1-13. Now that the tribes had received their territories, Joshua could assign these cities.   Even before the Law of Moses was given, in Genesis 9:6, God had laid down the basic rule that those who shed blood should pay for their crime with their own blood. "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.” This principle was enunciated repeatedly in the Law, but God made a distinction between murder and manslaughter (Exodus 21:12-14; Leviticus 24:17; Numbers 35:16-21; Deuteronomy 19:11-13. God had warned the Moses and the people that, "Blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit" (Numbers 35:33-34).   The six "cities of refuge" were needed because society in that day had no police force to investigate crimes. It was the responsibility of each family to see to it that murders were avenged, but how could they tell whether it was a case of premeditated murder or accidental manslaughter? In the heat of anger a relative of the dead person might kill somebody who was really innocent of a capital crime. Until there was an investigation, there was a “city of refuge” nearby that the “manslayer” could flee to for safety until a trial.   These cities of refuge are a beautiful picture of our salvation in Jesus Christ, to whom we "have fled for refuge" (Hebrews 6:18). The lost sinner, of course, is in danger of judgment because "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). The avenger of blood is after him or her! God's appointed Savior is Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12), but the sinner must come to Him by faith in order to be saved (Matt. 11:28-30; John 6:37).   Today, if you have not yet been saved, please flee to Jesus Christ for salvation and safety!   God bless!