Chapter XI: To the City of Refuge

WEARY and spent, the man ran; traversing the hot desert roads in the daytime; and hurrying on through the night if perchance there were a moon or stars to guide him; or else crouching in some corner behind some rock, till daylight enabled him to hurry forward once more!

Why was the man running over the ground at his topmost speed? Was he carrying a message, or bringing bad news, or what could it be?

No, he was hurrying to a place of safety!

But why? you may ask. Was he being pursued, or what was it?

Yes, he was being pursued by a man who was called "The Avenger of blood."

For God's law was, that a man who had hated his neighbour and had planned to kill him and had carried out his purpose should surely be put to death.

So if any one was killed among the Children of Israel, at once "the Avenger of blood" hurried to the spot and seized the murderer, who was then examined before the priests and the judges; and witnesses were called to give evidence as to whether the prisoner had intended to kill his neighbour, so that the judges might decide whether he were guilty or not. God's law made it necessary that there should be more than one witness before a man could be condemned.

But if a death were caused by an accident, God provided a way of escape for the manslayer, and it is this way of escape that I am going to tell you about.

When the Children of Israel had wandered in the wilderness for forty years—for their murmuring and disobedience, as God had said—they came at length to the land of Canaan; and here God told Moses to divide the land among the different tribes, and instructed him to separate Six Cities in different parts of the land, three on one side of the River Jordan, and three on the other side.

These six cities were to be called "cities of refuge," and God told Moses to make good roads leading to them, so that if any one killed a man by accident or at unawares, he might flee to one of those six cities, at his utmost speed, and not lose his way in his haste; for when once there, he would be sheltered, and in safety, so that the Avenger of blood might not catch him and kill him.

You will find in the 19th chapter of Deuteronomy the wonderful directions which God gave Moses about these cities.

God said, that any one who killed his neighbour ignorantly, and had not intended to hurt him, might flee to the city of refuge, and be safe.

If a man and his neighbour went into a wood to cut down a tree, and the axe-head of one of them flew off and struck the other man, so that he died, then the manslayer as he was called could flee to one of those cities, and live! Or if a man let a stone fall upon his neighbour by accident, and it killed him, he could flee to the city of refuge, and live!

As soon as he entered the city of refuge, the elders of the city came forward and inquired into the circumstances which had made him fly there; and so soon as they were satisfied that the death of his neighbour was an accident, and that he was not worthy of death, they made him welcome to their city, and henceforward the city of refuge was to be his shelter.

But if any man hated his neighbour, and laid in wait for him, and rose up against him, and smote him mortally, so that he died, and were to flee into one of these cities, then the elders of his city should send and fetch him from there, and deliver him unto the hand of the Avenger of blood that he should die. These were the rules which God made.

The man who hurried to that city of refuge knew in his own heart whether he was guilty or not; and if he knew that it was an accident which had happened, then when he reached the city how gladly did he pass the gate, and get safely inside!

You can imagine how he sank down breathless and faint within that portal, and how thankful he was in his own heart that God had provided a way of escape for him!

In this city of refuge, he must stay; nor was he free to leave it for a single moment, till the death of the High Priest who might be living in those days. It might be many years, or it might be only a short time; but whether long or short there was no safety for him outside those walls. If he ventured out, if the Avenger should meet him, he would certainly be killed.

And it seems to me that there are one or two lessons which we may learn from this story, which God has written for our learning.

May we not think of Jesus Christ our Saviour as our City of Refuge?

And if He is, shall we not, beneath the Sheltering Walls of His Salvation, be at rest from all our fears?

We read, in the 6th of Hebrews: "That . . . we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us."

That man, running from the Avenger, wanted life!

And if we fly to Jesus Christ to get life, we find that He, Himself, is the Way—the plainly marked, loving path to safety.

He is the Truth, for His promises are faithful.

He is the Life, for there is no eternal life apart from Him.

How tenderly He says to us: "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you Rest."