Deuteronomy

Flee for Refuge | Sunday, August 23, 2020

August 20, 2020 · Pastor Miles DeBenedictis

In this teaching

Examining the cities of refuge in Deuteronomy 4:41-43, Pastor Miles shows that God goes to great lengths to provide mercy to the guilty—a provision that ultimately points to Jesus Christ as our only refuge from the avenger of blood.

All Scripture, including seemingly archaic Old Testament passages, is inspired and profitable, so we should approach it expecting God to teach us about Himself.
In the midst of rehearsing His statutes, God repeatedly pauses to remind Israel of His mercy, because mercy is His default nature.
The six cities of refuge provided a place where one guilty of unintentional killing could flee from the avenger of blood and live.
Though Scripture never records a city of refuge actually being used, these cities were established at great cost as a picture of mercy for the guilty.
We are all the manslayers—guilty of the death of Christ by our sin—and only by fleeing to Him do we find refuge from the Father's just judgment.

Readable is a lightly edited reading copy; Verbatim stays close to the spoken words. The audio and video are the record of what was said.

Then Moses set apart three cities on this side of the Jordan toward the rising of the sun, that the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without having hated him in the past, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live: Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites. ()

Why would God spend so much on cities for the guilty that Scripture never records being used? Because they point to the only refuge that matters.

Approaching the Old Testament With Expectation

This morning we are continuing our study in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Bible, in which we are considering the statutes and judgments of God. These stipulations were the basis for God's relationship with the nation of Israel 3,400 years ago. The book of Exodus describes how God redeemed and rescued the people of Israel from 400 years of bondage in Egypt.

The story of Exodus is familiar in Western culture—through films like Charlton Heston's The Ten Commandments, The Prince of Egypt, or Christian Bale's Exodus: Gods and Kings—because we still live in a Judeo-Christian culture. But most conceptions of the stories of the Pentateuch have been largely mythologized in our day. Most people you interact with have a limited knowledge of these things, and what they do know they regard as archaic myths.

For the Christian, these are histories recorded for a purpose. We believe they are given by inspiration of God and are intended to teach us about Him—how and what He does, why He does it, and how we ought to interact with Him.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

This is a passage I reference often. It helps us understand why Christians for the last 20 centuries have maintained such a high regard for the Bible. We believe the Bible is inspired, infallible, and inerrant in the original autographs. This is an audacious claim, but it has been the orthodox view since the very beginning of the church—these words from the apostle Paul were penned within four decades of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Coming to the Text Expecting Relevance

I bring this up because it can be challenging to find relevance to our time in a passage like the one before us. But because of the teaching of , I come to a passage like this presupposing its relevance and application. I come with the anticipation that God has something here for me to learn about Him, how He works, and what He expects.

I hope you will do the same when you open the Bible. At the very least, pray that God would open your eyes to behold wonderful things from His law. I'm convinced that holds some wonderful things from the statutes and judgments of God—and all of that is a preface to just 71 words.

Statutes Interrupted by Mercy

We began several weeks ago talking about the law of God in Deuteronomy. As the people of Israel prepared to enter the Promised Land 3,400 years ago, Moses the great lawgiver stood before the people to remind them of the stipulations of their covenant relationship, so it would be fresh in their minds how they were to live before God in His land.

This is the same thing my wife and I do with our kids virtually every time we visit someone's home. Right before we arrive, we get their attention in the car and say, "Remember our expectations," and go through four or five things we expect of them.

Here is one of the things I appreciate about God in reading His statutes. He says, "Here are my expectations; you're my people; this is how my people are to behave." But in the midst of rehearsing His expectations, He pauses to remind them of His mercy. We saw this in verse 31:

For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.

The ultimate purpose of God's law is not our moral perfection; its ultimate purpose is to show us God's perfection and our inadequacy. God's law is a reflection of His nature—it reveals His purity and highlights our imperfection. So in the midst of revealing His perfection, He reminds us of His mercy.

God Goes to Great Lengths to Provide Mercy to the Guilty

I believe this passage teaches us that God goes to great lengths to provide mercy to the guilty. Why? Because it is His very nature. It is what He leads with when He introduces Himself in :

The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.

He does not overlook sin or acquit the guilty, but He is by default merciful. is a manifestation of His mercy in the midst of His statutes and judgments.

When we get into chapter 5 we'll consider the Ten Commandments. This will be the second time Moses rehearsed these commandments—that's why the book is called Deuteronomy, which literally means "second law." The first time was 40 years prior, in .

The Sixth Commandment and Its Provision

One of the Ten Commandments, the sixth, is "You shall not murder," recorded in and again in . I don't think any rightly minded individual would disagree that murder is wrong. Its wrongness is evidenced by the strict sentence given to murderers in : "He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death." Whatever your personal opinions about capital punishment, the Old Testament sentence for murder was death.

But that's not the whole story. Moses had more to say:

However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.

God goes to great lengths to provide mercy to the guilty, so He gives this interesting provision. Moses clarifies it further in Numbers 35:

When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall appoint cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person accidentally may flee there... You shall appoint three cities on this side of the Jordan, and three cities you shall appoint in the land of Canaan, which will be cities of refuge.

The Avenger of Blood and the Cities of Refuge

Essentially, God provides mercy for the one guilty of unintended killing—what we would call manslaughter. In ancient times, if you killed someone you could expect to be killed for your crime. It was the custom in the ancient Near East that the one guilty of killing another would be killed by a near-of-kin family member of the deceased. This person was referred to in as the avenger of blood. It sounds like a comic book character, but God, because He is merciful, made provision for the one who killed another unintentionally.

So in , Moses makes good on this provision by establishing three of the six cities of refuge on the east side of the Jordan. The six cities—three east, three west—were spaced so that they were effectively a day's journey from anywhere in the land, so one who killed unintentionally could flee there.

even gives an example: imagine you're cutting down a tree with an axe, and the axe head slips off the handle and hits your neighbor so that he dies. It wasn't intentional, but he's dead, and under the law you're dead too—unless you flee to the city of refuge. Once there, a trial would be held before the elders. If it was determined to be manslaughter, the manslayer would remain alive in the city.

But there was refuge only inside the city. If he left, he could be killed. He had to remain there as long as the high priest of Israel was alive. When the high priest died, those living in the cities of refuge were free to return home in peace.

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... and he shall dwell in the 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... to the city from which he fled. ()

Great Expense for a Provision Never Recorded as Used

Each of these six cities was established and maintained by the priestly tribe, the Levites, who were provided for by the tithes—really the taxes—in Israel. So these cities were provided for from the national treasury. The roads and signs leading to them were to be well kept. God expected great care and expense to provide refuge and mercy, because He goes to great lengths to provide mercy to the guilty.

Here's what I find fascinating. In all my study of Scripture, I can find no record of a city of refuge actually being used in the biblical record. I'm not saying they were never used—I'm sure they were. The law required two or more witnesses for capital punishment, so a person involved in a death with only one witness would have been safe only in the city of refuge. But it was rare enough that it is never recorded in the Bible.

If you lived in ancient Israel, you probably never thought about the cities of refuge—and when you did, you might have thought, "That's a lot of energy, money, time, and prime real estate wasted for a bunch of criminals." Whether you lived three thousand years ago or live today, you might be forgiven for thinking, "Irrelevant. This doesn't apply to me."

And you would almost be right—until the day you stand gazing into the open eyes of a lifeless body at your feet, your racing heart telling you something awful has happened and that somehow you are to blame. Suddenly you remember the words of Moses, "Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge," and one little word begins to repeat in your head: Run.

We Are the Manslayers, and Christ Is Our Refuge

So what a waste—or not. Two thousand years ago, an innocent man was brutally beaten and killed on a hilltop outside Jerusalem, a hill called Calvary, and He died because of your sin and mine. We are to blame. We all want to be the superhero avenger of blood, but the reality is we're all the manslayers. We have His blood on our hands. Unintentional though it may have been, we are guilty—and the One who died because of our sin has a near-of-kin avenger of blood, a Father who has every right to avenge the blood of His Son.

So what can we do? There is only one answer, found in the only place the word "refuge" is used in the New Testament:

We... might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. ()

Our only hope and only refuge as guilty sinners is to flee to Christ for shelter from the avenger of blood, for "there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." The Father demands justice for the death of His Son, but gives mercy to all who are in Him. Don't wait another moment. In Christ alone is refuge and mercy. He is our High Priest forever.

These Things Were Written for Our Learning

When we come to a passage like this, we need to understand Paul's teaching in —that all these things that happened to Israel happened as examples for us, written for our instruction who are living in these last days. Even if we can't find anywhere these cities were used, they point to the refuge available to us in Jesus Christ.

So as we close, I encourage you that these passages we can read in seconds—only 71 words here—deserve that we pause and pray and ask God what He wants to teach us about Himself. For one, God goes to great lengths to provide mercy to the guilty, and you and I are guilty. We are guilty of the death of Jesus Christ by our sin. He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might receive His righteousness. Apart from the refuge we find by putting our trust in Him, we are open season for the avenger of blood—the Father in heaven who will one day execute just punishment upon those not in Christ. So put your faith and trust in Jesus. Flee to Him for refuge today.

Closing Prayer

Father, I pray that You would take these words from this passage of Scripture and cause them to go deep into our hearts. I'm sure there are some watching this morning who don't attend church, who would never go into a church building, but who have no problem clicking on a link a friend texted them. God, I pray that You would speak by Your Spirit and soften a heart, that the one who has been running away from You would turn and flee to find refuge in You.

Lord, we thank You that You have gone to great lengths to provide mercy for the guilty—not just in what You commanded Moses, Joshua, and the nation of Israel to do in constructing the cities of refuge 3,400 years ago, but You went to even far greater lengths in sending Your Son so that we could find refuge in Him. So God, I pray that You draw people to Yourself, to trust in You and find refuge in You. Even though You demand justice for the death of Your Son, You give mercy to those who put their trust and faith in Him. We thank You for that today. In Jesus' name, amen.

Let praise be a weapon that silences the enemy. Let praise be a weapon that conquers all anxiety. Let it rise; praise arise! We sing Your name in the dark, and it changes everything. We'll sing with all we are, and we claim the God of breakthroughs on our side forever.

If faith be the song that overcomes the raging sea, let faith be the song that calms the storm inside. We'll see You break down every wall; we'll watch the giants fall. Fear cannot survive when we praise You, the God

We've raised you, God. We praise You, Lord.

This is what living looks like. This is what freedom feels like. This is what heaven sounds like. We praise You. We praise You.

This is what living looks like. This is what freedom feels like. This is what heaven sounds like. We praise You. We praise You.

This is what living looks like. This is what freedom feels like. This is what heaven sounds like. We praise You. We praise You.

This is what living looks like. This is what freedom feels like. This is what heaven sounds like. We praise You. We praise You.

We pray we'll see You break down every wall. We'll watch the giants fall. It cannot survive. We praise You.

Good morning, Cross Connection Church at Home family. Before we cut over to Pastor Anthony and our worship team to lead us in worship this morning, I would ask that you send a text message to a friend or a group of friends to invite them to join us for church online. All you have to do is send them the link live.cccchurch.com so that they can connect with us.

Now, let's go over to Pastor Anthony as they lead us in worship. Let's pray.

Oh God, we thank You for today. We are so encouraged, Lord, that You are for us. We can believe Your Word; we can believe Your truth. Lord, we agree with the Word that says Your love is better than life. God, we thank You for the victory that we have in Your Son, Jesus. Would You do a work in us? Would You sing songs over us, songs of peace and songs of deliverance? Would You sing over Your congregation, Lord, as we minister to You? Bless Your name. In Jesus' name, amen.

Let's worship.

I searched the world, but it couldn't fill me. A man's empty praise and treasures of faith were never enough. Then You came along and put me back together. Every desire is now satisfied here in Your love. Oh, but there's nothing better than You. There's nothing better than You. Nothing is better than You.

I'm not afraid to show you my weakness, my failures, and flaws. Lord, you've seen them all, yet you still call me free.

The God of the mountain is the God of the valley. There’s not a place your mercy and grace won't find me again.

Oh, there's nothing better than you. There's nothing better than you, God. There's nothing—oh no, it's true.

You turn mourning to dancing. You give beauty for ashes. You turn shame into glory. You're the only one who cares.

You're the only one who cares. There's nothing better than You. Nothing is better than You.

Hey, Cross Connection Church! Welcome to church this morning. We would love to be able to pray for you. We are a church that loves to pray, and to have us pray for you, we need to know how to pray. You can go to prayer.lifeinconnection.com to give us your praise reports and prayer requests so that we can get our prayer team on top of that. We have a prayer team that loves to pray for you, so please visit prayer.lifeinconnection.com.

For any other points of connection, you can go to lifeandconnection.com. That's where you can find all kinds of information.

Now, in just a moment, Anthony is going to lead us in a song. This is the time that we've set aside to give back to God for our tithes, offerings, and things like that. There are several different ways you can do that. You can text "give" to 84321 and you can give any amount there. You can also go to give.lifeinconnection.com, or you can mail it to us here. The address will be listed below.

Awesome! Today, on mission, we are getting behind the Good News Clubs as they start up with the new school year. This is a very strange time; I don't have to tell you that things are very different and quite weird. Please pray for them, that they would have wisdom and the opportunity to minister to kids throughout Escondido.

Alright, guys, God bless you! Love you, and see you soon. You are able to provide; you are faithful. I am your protection; it never fails. Each day, I will say, "I surrender my whole life; I am Yours." God, my peace.

Jesus, God of love, God, my love for You. I'm bigger than all my dreams. God, my hope, God, my peace. Whatever will come my way, through each day I will say, through each day I will sing.

Lord, thank You so much that through all of these uncertain times, we can trust You. Even when we don't understand what's going on around us, Lord, we know that You go before us. We know that You see all, and Your plans are good. You have everything in Your control, Lord, and we are so thankful for You, our Father. We love You so much. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

I hope that you were able to catch our broadcast last week. This morning, we are continuing a study in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, which is the fifth book of the Bible. In this study, we are considering the statutes and judgments of God. The stipulations we are considering were the basis for God's relationship with His people.

The people and nation of Israel, 3,400 years ago, are described in the Old Testament book of Exodus, which is the second book of the Bible. It details how God redeemed and rescued the people of Israel from 400 years of bondage and slavery in Egypt. You may be familiar with this story if you saw the classic Charlton Heston film, The Ten Commandments, or if you grew up with the Disney version, The Prince of Egypt. Perhaps you battled your way through Christian Bale's 2014 film, Exodus: Gods and Kings.

The story of Exodus is one that, as I said, is familiar in Western culture because we still live in a Judeo-Christian culture. However, most conceptualizations of the stories of the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Bible—have been largely mythologized in our day. This means that most people you will interact with have a limited knowledge of the things written in the Old Testament. What they do know, they often think of as archaic myths that tell us little more than what literature and worldviews were like two and a half millennia or more ago.

For the Christian, these accounts are histories recorded for a purpose. In fact, Christians believe that these things are given by inspiration of God and are intended to teach us about Him, how and what He does, why He does it, and how we can and ought to interact with Him. These and many more insights are, I believe, given to us in Scripture. In the New Testament, we read that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

For those of you who have been connected with Cross Connection Church for any length of time, you know that this is a passage I reference often. This passage helps us to understand why Christians for the last 20 centuries have maintained such a high regard for the Bible. We believe that the Bible is inspired, infallible, and inerrant in the original autographs, and we hold that all that we ought to believe and how we ought to live before God is given to us in the pages of Scripture. This is an audacious claim, I know, but it has been the orthodox view of Scripture for Christians since the early days of the Church.

The very beginning of the church, in fact, those words written by the Apostle Paul were penned within four decades of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. I bring all of this up this morning as it can sometimes be challenging for us, when looking at a passage of Scripture like the one before us, to find relevance to our time. However, because of the teaching of Second Timothy chapter three, which I just read a moment ago, I come to a passage like this presupposing its relevance and application. This means that when I approach a passage like this, I do so with the anticipation and expectation that God has something here for me to learn about Him, how He works, and what He expects. I hope that you will do the same when you open the Bible to read or listen to the Scriptures. At the very least, you should do so praying that God would open your eyes to behold wonderful things from His law.

I am convinced that this passage in holds some wonderful insights from the statutes and judgments of God. So, all of that is a bit of a preface to just 71 words in Deuteronomy this morning, beginning in verse 41 of chapter 4. There we read, "Then Moses set apart three cities on this side of the Jordan toward the rising of the sun, that the manslayer might flee there who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without having hated him in the past. By fleeing to one of these cities, he might live: Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites."

We began several weeks ago talking about the law of God in Deuteronomy, which we will be looking at much more in depth in the coming weeks. I have entitled this series of studies "Statutes and Judgments" because this section of Scripture contains just that. As the people of Israel prepared to enter into the Promised Land 3,400 years ago, Moses, the great lawgiver and leader of Israel, stood before the people to remind them of the stipulations of their covenant relationship. He is doing this so that it will be fresh in their minds how they are supposed to walk and live.

Before God, as His people in His promised land, this is the same thing that my wife and I do with our kids virtually every time we go to be guests at someone's home. Right before we get there, we get their attention in the car and say, "Remember our expectations." Then we go through four or five different things that we expect of them when we go to someone's home.

Now, here's one of the things that I appreciate about God. When reading through His statutes and judgments here in the Old Testament, He says to His people, "Listen, here are my expectations. You're my people; this is how my people are to behave." But in the midst of rehearsing His statutes and expectations, He pauses to remind them of His mercy. We saw this several weeks ago in verse 31. There we read, "For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not forsake you, nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them." God is gracious.

The ultimate purpose of God's law is not our moral perfection; its ultimate purpose is to show us God's perfection and our inadequacy. It is really good at that. God's law is a reflection of His nature; it reveals His purity and highlights our imperfection. So, in the midst of revealing His perfection through His law, He reminds us of His mercy. That's what we have here in verses 41 through 43.

I believe that, among other things, this passage teaches us that God goes to great lengths to provide mercy to the guilty. Why does God do this? Because it is His very nature. It is what God leads with when He introduces Himself in , verse 6. There we read, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin." He does not overlook sin or acquit the guilty, but He is, by default, merciful.

How do we see that in this passage? Well, -43, is a manifestation of God's mercy in the midst of His statutes.

When we get into chapter 5, we will consider God's statutes and judgments in the form of the Ten Commandments. This will be the second time that Moses rehearsed these commandments before all of Israel. That's why Deuteronomy is called Deuteronomy; the word literally means "second law." The first time Moses rehearsed the Ten Commandments before all of Israel was 40 years prior to this in .

To make sense of all that is happening in these verses in , let me remind you that one of the Ten Commandments, the sixth commandment, is "You shall not murder." It is recorded in , verse 13, and we will see it again in . I think we all agree that this is a good commandment. I don't think there is any rightly minded individual who wouldn't agree that murder is wrong. The wrongness of murder is evidenced by the strict sentence given to murderers in . , verse 12, says, "He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death."

Whatever your personal opinions are about capital punishment, it is very clear that the Old Testament sentence for murder was death. But that's not the whole story. When Moses spoke those words to Israel in , he had more to say on the subject. There again in verse 12, it states, "He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death." However, if he did not lie in wait but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar that he may die.

Remember, God goes to great lengths to provide mercy to the guilty, so He gives this interesting provision. Moses provides further clarity on this later in the fourth book of the Bible, the Book of Numbers. , beginning at verse 9, states, "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall appoint cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person accidentally may flee there. They shall be the cities of refuge for you from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation in judgment.'"

Of the cities which you give, you shall have six cities of refuge. You shall appoint three cities on this side of the Jordan and three cities you shall appoint in the land of Canaan, which will be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be for refuge for the children of Israel, for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills a person accidentally may flee there. The whole of the 35th chapter of Numbers gives further explanation about this. I'm not going to read through all of it right now; you can do so later if you'd like.

Essentially, God here provides mercy to the guilty—mercy for the one guilty of unintended murder, or what we would call manslaughter. In ancient times, if you killed someone, you could expect to be killed for your crime. It was the custom in the ancient Near East that the one guilty of killing another would be killed by a near of kin family member of the one who was killed. This near of kin family member was referred to in as the avenger of blood. It sounds kind of like a comic book character, but God, because He is merciful, made provision for the one who killed another without premeditation, unintentionally.

What we have in is Moses making good on this provision by establishing three of the six cities of refuge on the east side of the Jordan River for any manslayer in the land. We will see this again in and once more in the book of Joshua, chapter 20, years from now when we get there. These six cities—three on the east side of the Jordan and three on the west side of the Jordan—were to be spaced so that they were effectively a day's journey from virtually anywhere in the land, so that one who killed another unintentionally could flee there.

even gives an example of what might happen. Imagine you are in the woods, and you're cutting down a tree with an axe. The axe slips, or the axe head slips off of the handle and hits your neighbor, so that he dies. It wasn't intentional; it wasn't premeditated, but he's dead. As a result, under the law, you're dead too unless you flee to the city of refuge. Once in a city of refuge, a trial would be held before the elders of the city of refuge, and if it was determined that the death was manslaughter, then the manslayer would remain alive.

The city of refuge was a place where the manslayer could find mercy and live. However, if he left the city of refuge, he could be killed. There was refuge and mercy only within the city. The manslayer would have to remain there for the rest of his life or as long as the high priest of Israel was alive. When the high priest of Israel died, those living in the cities of refuge were free to return to their homes in peace.

In , beginning in verse 2, we read: "Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, that the slayer who kills a man accidentally or unintentionally may flee there, and they shall be for your refuge from the avenger of blood." When he flees to one of those cities and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city, declaring 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 to dwell among them. If the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand because he struck his neighbor unintentionally and did not hate him beforehand. He shall dwell in the city until he stands before the congregation for judgment and until the death of the one who is the 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.

I realize that this is a lot of information, but remember that God goes to great lengths to provide mercy to the guilty. Each of these six cities was established by Israel and maintained by the priestly tribe, the Levites. The Levites were provided for by the tithes, or really the taxes, in Israel. Thus, these cities were funded from the national treasury, if you will. The roads and the signs that led to each of these cities were to be well-kept and well-maintained. God expected great care and expense to be apportioned to provide refuge and mercy.

Why? Because God goes to great lengths to provide mercy to the guilty. However, here's the fascinating thing: in all my study of Scripture, and I have studied the Scriptures for a very long time, I can find no record of a city of refuge being used in the biblical record. Now, don't misunderstand; I'm not saying...

That they were never used? I'm sure that they were. If someone was killed and there was only one witness, the Old Testament law required that the killer not be capitally punished. Capital punishment could only be levied upon an individual according to the testimony of two or more witnesses. So, a person involved in the death of another, where there was only one witness, would probably have been safe only in the city of refuge.

I'm sure that there were cases of manslaughter in ancient Israel. I'm sure that the cities of refuge were used, but it was rare enough that it is never recorded in the Bible. If you lived in ancient Israel, you didn't really ever think about the cities of refuge. When you did, you probably thought, "That's a hell of a lot of energy, money, and time wasted—prime real estate for nothing and for a bunch of criminals."

So, whether you lived three thousand years ago or you live today, you might be forgiven for thinking it irrelevant. This doesn't apply to me, and you would almost be right—until the day that you stand there, gazing into the open eyes of a lifeless body lying at your feet. The race of your heart tells you that something awful has happened and that somehow, in some way, you are to blame. Suddenly, you remember the words of Moses: "Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge." Then one little word begins to repeat in your head: run.

But there's no record in the Old Testament that the cities of refuge were ever utilized, at least not in Scripture. So, what a waste? Or not? Two thousand years ago, an innocent man was brutally beaten and killed on a hilltop outside of Jerusalem, a hill called Calvary. He died because of your sin and mine. We are to blame.

We all want to be the superhero avenger of blood, but the reality is we're all the manslayers. We have blood on our hands; we have His blood on our hands. You and I, unintentionally though it may have been, are guilty. The one who died because of our sin has a near of kin, an avenger of blood—a Father who has every right.

To avenge the blood of His Son, what on earth can you and I do? There's only one answer, and it is found in the only place where the word "refuge" is used in the New Testament. In , beginning at verse 18, we read, "We can have strong comfort who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor for our soul, both sure and steadfast, which enters the presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

Our only hope and refuge as guilty sinners is to flee to Christ for shelter from the avenger of blood. For there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. The Father demands justice for the death of His Son but gives mercy to all who are in Him. Don't wait another moment; in Christ alone is refuge and mercy. He is our high priest forever.

When we come to a passage of Scripture like this one in -43, we see it again in Numbers, in Exodus, and a little bit in Joshua. When we encounter passages that seem irrelevant to us, we need to understand the teaching of Paul's words in the New Testament book of First Corinthians chapter 10, where he says that all these things that happened to the nation of Israel, like those in the book of Deuteronomy, happened as examples for us. They are written for our learning and instruction, for those of us living in our time in these last days.

As we prepare to close today, I want to encourage you that these passages, which we can sometimes read over in a matter of seconds—it's only 71 words here in —require us to pause and pray. We should ask God, "What is it that You want to teach me about Yourself, about Your nature and Your character here in this?"

There are important truths to be found in this passage of Scripture. God goes to great lengths to provide mercy to the guilty, and you and I are guilty. We are guilty of the death of Jesus Christ by our sin. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might receive His righteousness. He died on that cross because of your sin and mine. Apart from the refuge that we find by putting our trust and faith in Him, we are open season for the avenger of blood, the Father in Heaven, who will one day execute just punishment upon those who are not in Christ.

I want to encourage you to put your faith and trust in Jesus and to flee to Him for refuge today. Father, I pray that You would take these words from this passage of Scripture and cause them to go deep into our hearts. I am sure that there are some who are watching this morning who may not attend church. They probably would never go into a church building, but they have no problem clicking on a link that someone texted them from YouTube.

God, I pray that You would speak, and by Your Spirit, You would soften the heart of that person who has been running away from You. May they turn and flee to find refuge in You. Lord, we thank You that You have gone to great lengths to provide mercy for the guilty, not just in what You commanded Moses, Joshua, and the nation of Israel to do in constructing the cities of refuge 3,400 years ago, but You went to even far greater lengths in sending Your Son for us so that we could find refuge in Him.

I pray that You draw people to Yourself to trust in You and to find refuge in You, because even though You demand justice for the death of Your Son, You give mercy to those who put their trust and faith in Him. We thank You for that today. In Jesus' name, amen.

In the darkness, we were waiting without hope, without light, till from Heaven You came running.

There was mercy in Your eyes to fulfill the law and prophets. To a virgin came the Word from the throne of endless glory to a cradle. Praise the Father, praise the Son, praise the Spirit, three in one, God of glory, my destiny. Praise forevermore.

You reconciled the lost to redeem the whole creation. You did not despise the cries, for even in Your suffering, You saw to the other side, knowing this was our salvation. Jesus, praise the Father, praise the Son, praise the Spirit.

Till that stone was moved for good, for the Lamb had conquered death, and the dead rose from their tombs. The angels of all who come...

To the Father are restored the Church of Christ. For the love of Jesus, God, praise forever to the King of Kings.

God, we thank You that You are the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I pray that You would be the Lord in our lives and that Your lordship in our life would be evident in the way that we follow You and serve You. We should not only know the things of Scripture but also do the things of Scripture. God, enable us to do just that by Your power, by Your Holy Spirit.

Lord, be with Your Church wherever they are at this moment. Encourage their hearts and strengthen them as they draw near to You. Even though we are not able to be in fellowship with one another during this time, pour out Your Spirit upon Your Church, we pray.

And now, the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May He lift up His countenance upon you and give you His peace. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Can I get some lukewarm water, 78 degrees? Diva, you.