Imagine being on the run. You are being chased by people who would kill you if they found you. You are on foot. It is through perilous canyons and scattered hills that you run. There is little vegetation to hide behind. Your mouth is dry. Your feet hurt. The road you are on does not intersect with any others. The wilderness that surrounds you is dangerous. You must stay on the road. You do not know how far behind you the pursuers are. You dare not rest for a moment. Night falls. You keep going until you cannot see. There are no lights but the stars. You have fallen repeatedly and are now forced to stop running for the night. You try to find a small cove to hide in. You feel marginally safe, but you cannot help but think that at any moment your pursuers will be upon you. Fear grips your heart. There is no way you can fall asleep. You begin to get cold. You wrap your cloak around your legs and your breathing slows. You are awaken by that cold, gripping fear. The sun has risen. Your brow is slightly damp from the perspiration of the early morning sunshine. You glance around you expecting to see your pursuers. You see and hear nothing. Without thinking twice, you jump up and begin running down the road again. After what seems like hours, you turn a bend and see up ahead a large city wall perched on a tremendous hill. It is like a mirage in your eyes. Is it real? You stop and stare at it. Can it possibly be true? Is it a civilized place among the wasteland? Your spirits rise as you begin running again. The city is getting closer. It is getting bigger. Finally you approach the city gates. You feel like dropping to your knees out of exhaustion, but you remain standing. You have reached your goal: the city of refuge.

In ancient Israel, there were six cities of refuge provided for the people. These cities of refuge were implemented in order to balance justice and mercy. Murder in Israel was a capital crime that had immediate and permanent punishment. When someone was murdered the next of kin was called the avenger. The avenger had the legal right to avenge the death of their loved one by killing the murderer (or by having them killed). This simple system of justice was an effective way of preventing rampant crime. Accidental murders, or manslaughter, was something that had to be dealt with. Killing someone accidentally was not a punishable crime. The cities of refuge were built for just that situation.

Joshua 20:1-6 – Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘Appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, 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. 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. 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. 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.’”

The elders or judges of the city would sit on the gates and listen to the pleas of the accused, who remained standing. If they believed his story, they would then protect him. Think of what the cities would be like. Think of the marketplace. Any number of people who you ran into on the street would have possibly been murderers. By today’s standards, we might think of these cities as wretched hives of scum and villainy (like Mos Eisley?). Yet go back to being that person running. Now you are safe. You are in the city. You can rest. You can sleep. You feel… forgiven. You now have someone on your side.

Of course I believe there is a parallel to our lives as believers in Christ. We have been rescued from our sin. We were forgiven when Christ died on the cross. We receive eternal life through His resurrection. We are now NOT GUILTY. We have righteousness that comes through faith in Christ (Philippians 3:9).

So, my friends, reflect on the refuge you have found.

-z

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This entry was posted by zac on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at 8:11 am and is filed under Weekly Jib Jab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.