Cities of Refuge
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
[READING - Deuteronomy 19:1-13]
1 “When the Lord your God cuts off the nations, whose land the Lord your God gives you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses, 2 you shall set aside three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which the Lord your God gives you to possess. 3 “You shall prepare the roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the Lord your God will give you as a possession, so that any manslayer may flee there. 4 “Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he kills his friend unintentionally, not hating him previously— 5 as when a man goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the handle and strikes his friend so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live; 6 otherwise the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in the heat of his anger, and overtake him, because the way is long, and take his life, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously. 7 “Therefore, I command you, saying, ‘You shall set aside three cities for yourself.’ 8 “If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give your fathers— 9 if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in His ways always—then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. 10 “So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and bloodguiltiness be on you. 11 “But if there is a man who hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up against him and strikes him so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13 “You shall not pity him, but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with you.
[PRAYER]
Exposition
Exposition
#1: The Purpose of the Cities of Refuge (vv. 1-3, 8-10)
#1: The Purpose of the Cities of Refuge (vv. 1-3, 8-10)
1 “When the Lord your God cuts off the nations, whose land the Lord your God gives you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses, 2 you shall set aside three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which the Lord your God gives you to possess. 3 “You shall prepare the roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the Lord your God will give you as a possession, so that any manslayer may flee there.
8 “If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give your fathers— 9 if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in His ways always—then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. 10 “So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and bloodguiltiness be on you.
[EXP] The purpose of the cities of refuge is found in v. 10, “So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of the land…”
The murderer was guilty of shedding innocent blood and so deserved to be punished.
The manslayer, however, was not guilty of shedding innocent blood like the murderer.
The manslayer didn’t intend to kill anyone.
The manslayer didn’t hate the individual killed.
But if the manslayer was treated like the murderer (i.e., if the manslayer was put to death as the murderer was put to death), innocent blood would be spilled in the land—the blood of the manslayer.
If that happened, bloodguiltiness would be on Israel.
To prevent that sin, cities of refuge were to be established in the land.
These cities protected the manslayer from the perhaps impulsive vengeance of the avenger of blood—a close relative of the one killed; an individual responsible for securing justice for the deceased.
These cities were to be centrally located throughout the Promised Land, so that everyone in the Promised Land had equal access (v. 3).
These cities were to increase in number as the Promised Land expanded—an expansion that was contingent upon Israel’s love and obedience to YHWH (v. 9).
Earlier, three cities of refuge were established among the Israelites who remained east of the Jordan river.
The cities referenced here in Deuteronomy 19 were to be west of the Jordan in the Promised Land proper, bring the total number to six. These cities are named in Joshua 20:7…
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.
Future expansion of the Promised Land to the limits first promised to Abraham would have brought the total number to nine but that never happened because Israel didn’t remain faithful to YHWH.
[TS] …
#2: The Proper Use of the Cities of Refuge (vv. 4-7)
#2: The Proper Use of the Cities of Refuge (vv. 4-7)
4 “Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he kills his friend unintentionally, not hating him previously— 5 as when a man goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the handle and strikes his friend so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live; 6 otherwise the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in the heat of his anger, and overtake him, because the way is long, and take his life, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously. 7 “Therefore, I command you, saying, ‘You shall set aside three cities for yourself.’
[EXP] Cities of refuge were normal cities except that a manslayer could flee to them to find help when being pursued by the avenger of blood.
A manslayer was one who had killed his friend.
A manslayer was one who had killed his friend unintentionally.
A manslayer was one who had killed his friend without hating him previously.
These three reasons are given in defense of the manslayer’s innocence, but a trial would “judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood,” (Num. 35:24).
An example is then given in this passage.
Two friends go out into the woods to cut wood. As one swings the axe, the axe head slips off and kills the other.
The two were friends.
The killing was unintentional.
The killing was without hate.
A manslayer, if he were being pursued by an avenger of blood, must then flee to the a city of refuge.
The elders would hear his case.
A trial would determine if he was guilty of manslaughter or murder. This is what the cities of refuge were for “so that the one who kills someone will not die until he stands trial before the assembly,” (Num. 35:12).
Was this supposed manslayer really a friend?
Was this killing really unintentional?
Was this killing really without hate?
These are the kinds of questions that would be answered in the trial.
If the killing was manslaughter, then the manslayer “must live there until the death of the high priest,” (Num. 35:25).
If the killing was murder, then the murder was “to be put to death at the evidence of witnesses, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. Moreover, you shall not take ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death,” (Num. 35:30-31).
The manslayer must flee to a city of refuge because if he did not, the avenger of blood in the heat of his anger might overtake him.
This is why the cities of refuge had to be accessible and why the way to those cities had to be maintained (v. 3), so the manslayer would not be overtaken and killed and the sin of bloodguiltiness be on Israel.
If the manslayer died, it would be a tragedy since the manslayer wasn’t deserving of death because he had not hated his friend.
[TS] …
#3: The Periodic Abuse of the Cities of Refuge (vv. 11-13)
#3: The Periodic Abuse of the Cities of Refuge (vv. 11-13)
11 “But if there is a man who hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up against him and strikes him so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13 “You shall not pity him, but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with you.
[EXP] Not everyone who killed someone in the Promised Land was a manslayer. Some were murderers.
16 “If anyone strikes a person with an iron object and death results, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. 17 If anyone has in his hand a stone capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death. 18 If anyone has in his hand a wooden object capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death. 19 The avenger of blood himself is to kill the murderer; when he finds him, he is to kill him. 20 Likewise, if anyone in hatred pushes a person or throws an object at him with malicious intent and he dies, 21 or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood is to kill the murderer when he finds him.
These murderers hated their neighbors (i.e., those they killed).
These murderers had lain in wait to pounce on their neighbors.
These murderers struck their neighbors so that they died.
The murderer might try to cover his tracks by fleeing to a city of refuge pretending to be a manslayer. By pretending to be a manslayer, he would be hoping to get away with murder.
But the elders of the city of refuge (i.e., the cities leaders) would try the individual and, if found guilty, had the murderer over to the avenger of blood.
The avenger of blood would serve likely as prosecutor and definitely as executioner.
The murderer would be put to death.
No one was to pity him.
The blood of the innocent had to be purged from the land so that God would continue to bless Israel.
[TS] …
Illustration
Illustration
As far as I know, we have no record of anyone in the Bible fleeing to a city of refuge looking for asylum, but before cities of refuge were established, those seeking asylum could flee to the altar and grasp the horns of the altar in order to find refuge.
Adonijah was the oldest son of King David. He wanted to be king in place of his younger brother, Solomon. He made moves to that end, but when it didn’t work out, he took hold of the horns of the altar hoping that he would find refuge from Solomon’s wrath (1 Kgs 1:50).
It didn’t work because the horns of the altar (like the cities of refuge) only saved the innocent.
Adonijah was put to death.
Joab was a general who had followed Adonijah as he tried to steal the throne away from Solomon. When Solomon came to power, however, he too fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns of the altar (1 Kgs 2:28).
It didn’t work for him either because the horns of the altar (like the cities of refuge) only saved the innocent.
Joab was put to death.
The cities of refuge (like the horns of the altar) offered no refuge for the guilty.
[TS] …
Application
Application
As we think about these cities of refuge, think about the necessity of justice.
As we think about these cities of refuge, think about the necessity of justice.
For justice to be just, there has to be a clear distinction between right and wrong, between innocence and guilt.
For justice to be just, there has to be a process to determine guilty and innocence when the distinction isn’t so clear.
For justice to be just, justice has to be available to all.
For justice to be just, the innocent must be protected and the guilty must be punished.
We see all of that in these commands on cities of refuge.
[TS] …
As we think about these cities of refuge, think about the sacredness of life.
As we think about these cities of refuge, think about the sacredness of life.
God breathed life into man.
Life is sacred because it is a gift from God.
This is what makes the murderer deserving of death.
The murderer forfeited his life when he intentionally took another life.
This is what makes the manslayer deserving of protection.
The manslayer must keep his life because he did not intentionally take another life.
[TS] …
As we think about these cities of refuge, think about the presence of God.
As we think about these cities of refuge, think about the presence of God.
In Numbers 35:33-34, Moses wrote…
33 ‘So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. 34 ‘You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.’ ”
The big problem with the sinful spilling of blood in the Promised Land is that it defiled the land—the land were God dwelt. If the land continued to be defiled in this way, the God would not continue to dwell there. Therefore, atonement had to be made.
The manslayer would have to live in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Some think that the death of the high priest in some measure atoned for the death of the one accidentally killed.
The murderer would atone for the life he had intentionally taken by giving up his own life.
As bloodguiltiness was atoned for in this way, God could continue to dwell among the people.
[TS] …
As we think about these cities of refuge, think about the teaching of Jesus.
As we think about these cities of refuge, think about the teaching of Jesus.
21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
We read these commands about cities of refuge and perhaps think to ourselves, “I surely would never be guilty of murder. Maybe manslaughter if some tragic accident happened, but even if so I’d be protected.”
But these laws regarding cities of refuge in the Promised Land won’t work in our sinful hearts.
In our hearts, we are all guilty of murder.
In our hearts, we are all adulterers.
In our hearts, we are all liars.
Because of the murder in our hearts, we all deserve death.
But though we are guilty, we do not have to pay the price for our own sin.
Jesus gave His life to pay our price.
He atoned for our sin so that we could live in the presence of God.
[TS] …
Conclusion
Conclusion
There are no cities of refuge today. There’s no place you can run to find protection from the avenger of blood.
But there is Savior.
As we live in Him by faith, we are forever protected from the wrath to come.
[PRAYER]
