God is Our Refuge
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
I. Mercy
I. Mercy
Mercy means extending care toward those facing need or distress.
By way of application, mercy means not getting what we deserve. That means that we have mercy on someone who is experiencing something that is a result of their own doing.
In some cases, mercy applies to those that we aid because we have the power to help them when are suffering from other circumstances beyond their control.
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble.
The word “visit” in James 1:27 is there to picture how God comes to visit us in our time of distress.
In our relationship to God and to others, we need to understand mercy as having the power to help someone change their circumstance and then doing it.
These cities of refuge picture God’s mercy towards His people.
I want you to notice some similarities between these cities and God’s Mercy
A. Appointed
A. Appointed
The Lord also spoke to Joshua, saying,
“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses,
When God sees His people in distress, He appoints mercy for them.
The word appoint in v. 2 literally means to “hand down” or to “give”.
And so, this pictures God’s mercy for those in distress because God “hands down” His mercy from Heaven so that we can receive it.
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,
although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
Paul was appointed to ministry. Not according to Paul’s goodness, but according to God’s mercy which He handed down to Paul.
Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.
There again, Paul was a guilty sinner. But through the appointed mercy of God, Paul is now in the ministry.
In the very same way, these cities of refuge were appointed by God so that ignorant sinners might find mercy.
B. Specified
B. Specified
“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses,
that the slayer who kills a person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there
Notice that there is a difference between how God will judge those that are willful in their disobedience and those that murder unintentionally.
There’s an old precept when it comes to sin. The sin of omission is greater than the sin of commission.
This means that a person who fails to do what they’re supposed to do is worse than a person who acts out of ignorance.
That’s why God says, “a person who accidentally or unintentionally kills someone may flee.” It is what we know as man slaughter.
The Bible says that if someone lies in wait and murders someone by trapping them, then God’s merciful cities of refuge will not protect them. They willfully took another’s life.
Why the distinction?
In these cities, God pictures the ignorance of the nation of Isreal and God’s great mercy for them.
Jesus is on the cross and He says, Luke 23:34
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
“They are acting in ignorance! Have mercy on them!”
But we, as it stands, are not in the days of ignorance anymore, and God expects everyone to repent.
When Paul preaches at the Areopagus he says, Acts 17:30
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
So God specifies the purpose of these cities as protection for those who ignorantly and unintentionally committed murder, just as they did when they hung Jesus on the cross.
C. Defined
C. Defined
and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
This was the purpose of the city! To protect a man who didn’t commit a capital offense from an avenger.
What was the law in that day?
“Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
If someone’s family was murdered in cold-blood, a person had a right to go and seek revenge.
In the case of the city of refuge, they were there to protect and to plead the case for someone who could be innocent.
The major distinction in these cities and how this pictures Jesus is that Jesus won’t need an investigation to determine guilt. He’ll already know.
This city of refuge was there so that people could be protected while they were being investigated.
God, in His mercy, wants everyone to have a fair chance.
That is the defining theme of these cities, that they reveal God’s mercy when it comes to His desire that all men who seek Him will be saved.
II. Grace
II. Grace
Grace means God’s goodness toward those who only deserve punishment.
In application, grace means getting what we don’t deserve which is God’s goodness. Therefore, when we think about the grace of God, we need to understand that we don’t deserve His goodness, but He gives it to us anyway.
When He gives it, He doesn’t give it out of obligation, but He gives it freely.
This is why we receive the grace of God by faith and not by works. Because the very definition of grace is getting something that we can never deserve no matter how hard we try. And the definition of faith is an eradication of self-confidence and an embrace of confidence in Jesus Christ.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest anyone should boast.
So, grace is getting what we don’t deserve from God, which is His goodness and His forgiveness freely given. To attempt to earn the favor of God removes both faith and grace from the picture.
Therefore, when we receive grace by faith…we receive:
A. Acceptance
A. Acceptance
And when he flees to one of those cities, and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declares his case in the hearing of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city as one of them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.
When we receive the grace of God and we enter into His salvation, we are accepted by Him and by His people.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Even in sin, when we come willingly and openly to the refuge found in God’s grace, we are received as one of His, we are given a place, and we dwell with Him!
Grace means acceptance.
This is relational. This is why we ask people, “Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?” We want to know if they have willingly come to the gates of Heaven to receive the grace of God for their sins so that they are accepted by Him.
But we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
That is, through the grace of God in sending Jesus Christ, we are accepted (reconciled) by God.
B. Protection
B. Protection
Then if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, but did not hate him beforehand.
“they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand”
When we come under the grace of God, we have protection from judgement.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
That is, we are under the care and protection of Jesus Christ from judgement, sin, and the accuser who is satan.
In the day of judgement, because of the grace of the Lord Jesus, He will not deliver us into the wrath of God, but He will keep us by His grace.
C. Security
C. Security
And he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the slayer may return and come to his own city and his own house, to the city from which he fled.’ ”
There is another major distinction between the picture found in these cities and the reality we have in Jesus Christ.
If a person were to leave the city of refuge before the high priest died and before he was heard by the congregation, he could be killed by the avenger of blood.
But when we enter into the city of refuge that we’ve found in Jesus Christ our High Priest, He will never die, and we will never want to leave!
We will be secure in Him by His grace and by His mercy.
But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
What we have in God’s grace is eternal security. It’s not something that we can lose and not something that is going to be taken away from us.
When we enter into the refuge of the Lord Jesus, His grace is applied to us and we have acceptance, protection, and security in His name!
III. Salvation
III. Salvation
We ought to know what it means to be saved.
To be saved means to be forgiven by God through the blood of Jesus for our sin debt.
That is, God created the world in perfection. We violated that perfection. We are now sold into the slavery of sin. Jesus died on the cross as our ransom for sin. When we trust in Him, His blood payment is applied to our account and we are set free from sin.
When we are set free from sin, we enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ instead. That’s salvation.
Most commentators make note of the names of these cities of refuge and I want to do the same here.
A. Cities
A. Cities
There are six cities that are declared to be cities of refuge. There are three on the West side of the Jordan and there are three on the East side of the Jordan.
And the names of these cities are interesting because it’s as if they each point to different aspects of God’s salvation.
So they appointed Kedesh in Galilee, in the mountains of Naphtali, Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and Kirjath Arba (which is Hebron) in the mountains of Judah.
And on the other side of the Jordan, by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness on the plain, from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh.
1. Kedesh
1. Kedesh
The name Kadesh means “righteousness”
And when we enter into that saving relationship with the Lord, we are now seen as righteous!
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.
And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”
And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.
When we cry out to God for grace and for mercy, we aren’t dressed in the filthy garments of sin, but He clothes us in His royal robes of righteousness!
2. Shechem
2. Shechem
Shechem means “shoulder.”
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.
When Jesus died for the sins of man, He carried the cross on His shoulder.
And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
That is the story of the lost sheep. When Jesus comes and brings us home, He brings us home on His shoulders.
When we are brought to Heaven, we won’t get there by our own two feet, we can only get there on the shoulders of the Lord Jesus.
3. Hebron
3. Hebron
The name Hebron means “fellowship”
The Bible says that when we have been forgiven for sin that we are back in right fellowship with God.
that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
And when we are in fellowship with God we are in a place of joy.
joy inexpressible and full of glory,
When we have this fellowship with God, we understand that He isn’t some kind of force or some kind of feeling but that He is a person. He is there in my home just as Elizabeth and the kids are in my home. He is a person that I fellowship with.
4. Bezer
4. Bezer
Bezer means “fortress” or “strong”
When we abide with God we are in a place of strength and fortification. We are protected from the threats of the enemies of God.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.
Therefore, when we encounter the storms of life we need to run into the presence of God and hide from the storms. He will not be blown away by anything that we face!
5. Ramoth
5. Ramoth
Ramoth means “heights”.
When we enter into a relationship with Jesus we automatically go to the higher places.
I Got Friends in Low Places
There’s that popular country song that titled, “I got friends in low places.”
It might be true that we are around people in low places.
I hope it’s true that you reach out to people in low places…
but we are not to live in the low places. The Bible says that Jesus has set our feet on the higher ground!
He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places.
In order for us to have fellowship with God, we have to be near Him. And to be near Him we have to be in the high places.
When we hide from the storms, we are ascending to the protection of God, not descending.
6. Golan
6. Golan
Golan means “separated”. Well, the word saint means to be set apart.
When we are with Jesus, we are to be separated from the world. We are to be holy. We are to be set apart.
What is the effect of being set apart?
When we are set apart from sin, we are able to have inner joy that provides peace and security in our lives. We are able to, as the Bible says, run the race with endurance, knowing that Jesus is the author and the perfecter of our faith.
These are the names of the cities, but I want you to note their qualities.
B. Open to All
B. Open to All
These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwelt among them.
These cities were to be clearly marked. The roads were to be clear and free from obstruction.
When John the Baptist came, what did he preach?
As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.”
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ ”
That is, “clear the way! Open your hearts to receive the One that’s coming!”
Now listen, Jesus has done this very thing with God. He has fixed the road signs, and He has paved the way, all we have to do is walk on it.
All we have to do is trust in the the road sign of God’s word to lead us to the foot of the cross. To lead us to salvation.
C. Permanent
C. Permanent
These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwelt among them, that whoever killed a person accidentally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the congregation.
We are permanently saved.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In Jesus we have a permanent dwelling of refuge from the effects of sin.
Conclusion
Conclusion
