So as I said, we were talking
about this in the Sunday school last week. So Oliver and May
might know part of what I'm gonna say this morning. And I'm sure
a lot of you have heard the picture of Christ in the cities of refuge.
We're gonna go through that. There's also portions of the
cities of refuge where it is not a perfect picture of Christ,
and all that does is actually show us the even more wonderful
mercy and grace that God has for his people. And we're gonna
go through that too. So when this was given to the
Israelites through Moses, it was meant to be a literal direction
for them. Obviously it was also meant to
be something that we could eventually learn from as well. But this
was literal back then. This is exactly how they actually
ran their lives. If someone, well first of all
they set up these cities of refuge throughout the country, spread
out evenly, easy to get to, easy access. Three over here, three
over there. Matter of fact, he said in other
parts of the Bible, talks about how first there's three, and
then as they grew, they added three more. Just making sure
that they were easy to get to. And then if someone accidentally
killed someone, they had a place to go. If you think about the
way things were back then, there was no, it certainly wasn't set
up like what we're used to, where someone is innocent until proven
guilty. You can't just go to the police and be protected.
You couldn't, they needed an option if something like this
happened. So God gave it to them. So this
had a literal need for the people of Israel. If something like
that happened, where you accidentally killed somebody, you had a place
to go where you were guaranteed to be safe. Because the rule
back then is if you accidentally killed someone, the person, closest
family member or kin to the person that was killed, had every right
to find you and kill you. Again, a little different than
things are now. But that person wouldn't even have been looked
down upon if they found you and took your life because you took
one of theirs. That was the rule of the land
back then. These cities of refuge were absolutely
needed. I would not want to be living back there, and if something
accidentally happened like that, and I didn't have an option,
and I had to be on the run for the rest of my life, these were
set in place for those people. Now, obviously, there's the literal
meaning of this that was needed for them then. But as of almost
everything, well, everything in the Bible, it points to Christ.
Especially in the Old Testament, so much of what the Old Testament
shows us is just pictures of what Christ is going to come
do for his people. So we go through this again.
I'm gonna read from Joshua 20. You don't have to turn if you
want to, but I'm going to turn to Joshua. I can find it now. The cities
of refuge are explained in multiple places in the Bible. It's also
in Deuteronomy and then also in Joshua. I did not mark it,
so just give me a second here. I'm gonna find it. Here we go, the 20th chapter
of Joshua. And we'll read through verse
seven. It's a shorter version of what
he already told us in numbers. Then the Lord said to Joshua,
tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge as I instructed
you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally
or unintentionally may flee there. and find protection from the
Avenger of the Blood. That was the closest family member.
of the person who was killed. When he flees to one of these
cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate and
state his case before the elders of that city. Then they are to
admit him into the city and give him a place to live with them.
If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender
the one who was accused because he killed his neighbor unintentionally
and without malice or forethought. He is to stay in that city until
he has stood trial before the assembly or until the death of
the high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go
back to his home in the town from which he fled. So how are
these many aspects of this story a symbolism for us to learn about
Christ? First of all, who is the accused?
The person that killed somebody. Pretty obvious, but just in case,
That is anyone who has sinned. The accused, the guilty, the
person that has a reason to flee and someone to flee from. That
represents all of humanity. Every single person since Adam
is a member of this group. The accused, the one fleeing. Who are they fleeing from? Well,
according to this story, it's the Avenger who is the closest
relative or blood family member to the person that was killed.
But according to this, it's whoever was sinned against. Who was sinned
against when we sin? I read, I was studying this yesterday,
and I came across some other people's ideas on how this story
is a symbolism of Christ, and one guy kept pushing the idea
that the Avenger of the blood was Satan. Like that's who we
need to be fleeing from. When we sin, do we sin against
Satan? No. Who is offended by our sinful
actions? Who, when we do these sinful
actions, are we spitting in the face of? I guarantee you it's
not Satan. It's God himself. So when they
talk about the avenger of the blood in the story, they're talking
about the father. They're talking about God, because
that's who is offended by sin. What was the sin? Well, in this
story, it's murder. And it says unintentional. We'll
get to that a little bit later. That seems like it doesn't fit,
right? It does. Give me a few minutes. But the
murderer really doesn't get any worse in humans' eyes as far
as what kind of sin you can have. Now, to God, sin is sin. It doesn't
matter to him. Either way, you're cursing what
he has taught us and what he has shown us and what he has
put in us and what's right and wrong. But to us, there's levels
of it. So they put in murder. It doesn't
get much worse in our eyes. So with guilty, to the most guilty
degree of the worst possible sin. All of us. There's no levels
of it. There's no, this person really
needs to get to the city of refuge a little faster than I do because
what he did is a little bit worse than what I've done. Nope. 100% guilty in the eyes of God. We need to run to that city of
refuge as fast as we can. Just like these people. Do you
think they hung out? You think back in Israel, back in these
days, if this happened and they accidentally killed somebody
and they knew the minute that their avenger or their relative
found out about it, they were gonna be hunted, literally. Do you think that they were like,
well, I'm gonna go home, I'm gonna pack up, maybe get a good
night's sleep, take off tomorrow around noon? They were beelining
it to the city of refuge where they knew they were safe. They
knew until they were there, they were not. And it was absolutely
legal for them to be hunted and killed. No one was going to stop
that for them. So there was no waiting around.
It was urgent. It's urgent for us. So that's the sin. To whom was
the sin against? We already covered this. Here
it was the avenger of blood. To us, when we sin, there's only
one person, for lack of a better
word, that we can sin against. If I do something against my
mom, because she's standing in front of me, the only person
I could think of at the moment. If I do something that's not
cool to her, that's sinful, sure, she's not gonna enjoy that, but
that sin is not to her. I'm not spurning her. I'm spurning
who created the laws that I'm sinning against. Every sin is
in the face of God. He is the avenger of those sins,
and he has every right to hunt you down for him, just like this
avenger of blood. Every right. He's not wrong in
doing it. Just like this? The Avenger had
every right to hunt you down until he found you and take your
life. And God has every right to punish us for our sin. Every
right. There's nothing wrong about it. So what is this refuge from? Well, it's exactly the same,
both literally back then and for us now. It's refuge from
death. Now, the death is not the same.
Back then, that guy just didn't want his body physically killed.
To us, we are under spiritual sentence of death, which is much
worse than this body dying. It's never ending. We can't pay
for that. We're not good enough to ever
pay for that. So our avenger is coming after our spiritual
life. And unless we get to the city of refuge, we will have
spiritual death. And it'll be right according
to God's laws. It's not a good place to be. So there's obviously the mirrors
in this are incredible. I mean, it is amazing. So then we go, okay, well, to
whom does this apply? Who can flee to the refuge of
the city of refuge? Who can go there if they find
themselves in this position? Well, it specifically says in
Numbers, these six towns will be a place of refuge for the
Israelites, the aliens, and all who live there. There's no definition of who you are. There's
no levels of community that you're in. There's no earthly reasons
to keep you out of the city of refuge. It says it's open to
everyone. So this isn't an Israel-Jew thing
only. Gentiles were accepted as well.
It says that. Everybody. Called them aliens.
Anybody that was living there from anywhere. is in Israel at
that time, if that happens and they're in this situation where
they're being chased down and hunted by the avenger of blood,
doesn't matter who you are, doesn't matter how you live, where you're
from, it doesn't matter. No earthly reason can keep you
out of the city of refuge. That's the same for us. No one
in this world is excluded from the grace of Christ. not according
to what we've done, where we're from, where we live, what tribe
we're part of. There is no exclusion. Are they hard to find? This is
very specific in the Bible every time they talk about it. Joshua,
Deuteronomy, Numbers, every single time they talk about how these
need to be spread out evenly through Israel and they need
to be easy to get to. That is not by accident. What song were we just, oh, Pass
Me Not. It's a perfect example of that.
It's as easy as saying those words. It's as easy as saying, Savior,
Savior, pass me not. While looking upon others, don't
pass me by. Save me. That is the equivalent
of how easy it was for them back in those days to get to their
city of refuge. There's a reason that God said,
look, we need all six of these and we need them in areas that
are super easy to get to because that is a picture of how simple
this is. It can't depend on us. It can't
depend on these people back then. This guy's got 10 horses to pull,
whatever, I don't know if they had horses, but you know what
I mean. This guy has more ability to get to the city faster than
this guy. That doesn't matter, because the city's just right
there. Same here. If I need Christ, there's one
way to Him. I say to him, Lord, I need you.
I have no other path. I have no other hope. It's that
fast and that quick, and it has to be for us. Otherwise, we won't
do it. It can't depend on us in any way. And it can't be something
where someone can have an upper hand to get there. Because we're
all level. We're all even. So that's why
it's very specific about the location of these places. There
is an easy path to the city of refuge. And that's something we should
be extremely thankful for because we have a tough time following
the easy path. Imagine if it was hard. Imagine
if there were hoops to jump through. None of us would do it. I mean,
being realistic, none of us would do it. And probably wouldn't
have the strength to. Is it hard to gain entrance once
you're there? It says in Joshua, this is the part I did not mark,
when they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in
the entrance of the city gate, state their case before the elders,
and the elders are to admit them into the city. Just like that. It's they will not turn anyone
away. Ever. It doesn't say that they
gotta state their case, and if the elders decide that their
case is worthy enough, we'll let them in the city of refuge,
maybe. If you're fleeing to the city
of refuge, you don't have to worry about when you get there,
if you'll be allowed in. It specifically says that. You show up, you stand in the
gates, and you say, let me in, and they will. That's exactly what I was talking
about with pass-me-not again. We already know the answer to
the question. Do not pass me by. Okay. I won't. Same with these cities
of refuge. THE city of refuge. You come
to Christ, and you say, I am in trouble, and I have no way
out. I need you. let me in, and those
gates open. He doesn't close those gates
or leave them closed for anyone. It says that. Specifically, in
the rules back then, the elders are to admit the fugitive. Never will a fugitive be left
outside to face the avenger of blood. Are the cities always safe? Is
it a guaranteed place of safety? Back to numbers, 3525, the assembly
must protect the one accused. It says even if the avenger comes,
they will not send the accused out, ever. You are in absolute,
perfect safety. from the death you deserve when
you are in the city of refuge. That make sense? You're in absolutely
no danger. You deserve danger. You deserve
the death that's marching towards you with the Avenger. But if you're in that city, you
couldn't be safer. and that never ends, that never
changes. So these rules of the city of
refuge, like I said, were meant as literal instruction for Israel
at the time, which is why they specifically state that these
cities were for accidental murderers. Numbers 35-16. This part confused
me, to be honest, as I'm reading this. I'm gonna read 35, starting
in 16 through 21. This is, if a man strikes someone
with an iron object so that he dies, he is a murderer, the murderer
must be put to death. And it talks about a stone, same
thing. If he kills someone on purpose with malice in his heart
and forethought, he's a murderer and must be put to death. It
says the same thing about wood. And then it goes on to say that
these cities of refuge are only for people that are accidental
murderers. Does that feel, do you feel a
connection to an accidental sinner? I don't. So I thought, like, how does
this part make sense? You know what? This was meant
as literal instruction for man to follow. however many years ago this was.
Because we as man cannot pardon the truly guilty, someone had
to pay if they were truly guilty. These literal cities of refuge
cannot only help the possibly innocent, or can only help the
possibly innocent, Think about that. We are not possibly innocent in any way. Because these rules were put
in place for man to put into use, we can't forgive sin. We can't pardon someone's sin.
We weren't sinned against. So these were literal for man
to follow. God is so much greater than that. God who delights in mercy created
a real city of refuge for the truly guilty. It is so different
than these. For the worst of the worst, Jesus
is the greatest city of refuge. It is not for those that are
possibly innocent. Jesus is the city of refuge for
the 100% guilty. He is not only the place of guaranteed
safety, Jesus didn't come here to live in this place and suffer
to the highest possible degree to save the possibly innocent. It says in 1 Timothy, Jesus came
into the world to save sinners. Doesn't get more black and white. If you are guilty, Every woman
and child that has ever lived is being hunted by the avenger
of blood. Because we're all guilty to the
10th degree. And we deserve to be hunted by
the avenger of blood. Because we sinned against him. So just let that sink in for
a second. Every person that has ever lived
is being hunted by the creator of all things because of the
sins upon them. And they deserve it. And if they're
given death, it's exactly what they deserve. But God who delights in mercy. And if this isn't proof that
he delights in mercy, I don't know what is. He set aside a
city of refuge to give hope to his people. You have a close easily accessible
city of refuge that will guarantee your safety from the Avenger. It's as easy as asking. And your safety is guaranteed.
Just like it was back then. Now think about this. When you are in your city of
refuge, when you are in Christ, and that Avenger shows up to
your city to give you exactly what you deserve, your city of refuge doesn't just
sit there and hold you close. Think about this. Your city of
refuge goes out to meet the Avenger. and doesn't fight for you, he
lets that Avenger kill him so that you won't be killed. He's not out there to battle
on your behalf or to fight and win a battle for you. He meets
the Avenger to die. That is the difference between
the cities of old and our city. It's not just a place of safety,
it's a place that actually paid your debt. Our city is Christ. The safest place, but also the
lamb slain for you. We deserve the death that's coming. We can't still be guilty inside
the city of refuge. We can't just go in there and
the avenger is standing out there and that penalty is never given. That is not how it works because
God doesn't get stopped. If God is the avenger, he doesn't
sit out there and go, well, all that sin happened, I guess nobody's
gonna get punished. He can't let you just be inside
the perfect city of refuge still guilty. Sin must be dealt with. And our
city, our Christ, knows that. He brings us in and doesn't just
stand there holding us. He goes and meets our doom. We are being hunted by the avenger
of blood, and you're not anymore. The avenger has been satisfied. And you didn't have anything
to do with it. That's why it says in Numbers
35-28, the accused must stay in the city of refuge until the
death of the high priest. Does that, in a worldly way of
looking at it, make any sense? Does it make sense? Like, if
you were reading this back then, and you're like, well, so I have
to stay in the city of refuge until the high priest dies, and
then I'm innocent? That doesn't make any sense.
Worldly. But man, in the picture of Christ,
is that not perfect? He is our high priest. And it
says this thousands of years before he was born. The accused
must stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Then they may return home. It's the gospel. And the death of the high priest
has already happened. We are already free. We're just
waiting to go home. It says in Hebrews 2.17, Jesus
is our merciful and faithful high priest. What mercy is shown
to us that there was a city of refuge. Not only a safe place
to go, but a place that will give his own life. so that we
don't have to face what we deserve. His death has made us innocent. His death has made us free. We no longer have to stay in
these boundary. It's over. We are innocent. And we were not. We were as guilty
as it gets. There is no more avenger. We
are no longer being hunted. He has been satisfied by our
Lord. What he has done for us is something
that I cannot put into words. But God has helped us understand
it through so many things, so many parts of the Bible. These
cities of refuge, the city of refuge, is such a beautiful picture. Never again can we be hunted. But this is for God's people.
This is not for everyone. If you haven't run to your city
of refuge, run there now. Because the race is on. The sins have been committed
and the next of kin has been notified. You are being hunted
now. The race could end today. Run to your city of refuge as
fast as you can. Run to Christ. Ask to be saved. And he'll let you in with no
questions asked. You'll be kept perfectly safe.
And the death you deserve, the judgment coming your way, will
be laid upon him. You'll be innocent. and you'll
be free. And if the Son sets you free,
you'll be free indeed. Let's pray. Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for
being our city of refuge, for being our place to run to,
our cleft in the rock to hide in, and our sacrifice that took away
all of the guilt we have and all of the death we deserve, and satisfied our avenger, that we are free and innocent
because of your mercy and grace and your power to do it. We thank you for these pictures,
Lord. We pray that you'll remind us of them every day. We thank you for everything. We
pray this in your name. Amen.