Book of Joshua - Ch. 20, Vs. 1-9 (02/22/2004)

Joshua chapter 20, so I want you to turn to Hebrews 6, and David I'd like for you to read out of Hebrews 6 through 6, 1 through 6.

All right, that's in Hebrews the sixth chapter and the first six verses.

In the sixth verse, the if, John I want you to explain to me what does that mean, if?

All right, Dennis you explain it.

All right, Greg thank you.

Joy, how do you explain it?

All right, we're studying the 20th chapter of Joshua.

The if in the sixth verse of Hebrews 6, as Greg says, it puts down the dividing line.

In Joshua 20 and 1, the Lord also spoken to Joshua saying, speak to the children of Israel saying, appoint out for you cities of refuge.

Where have I spoken to you by the hand of Moses? Cities of refuge.

Now there's some questions that I left you with last week. How many cities are they?

What do they mean? Who has access to them? Dennis, have you had opportunity to study any of that?

All right, that's good. Joy, have you had an opportunity to research any of it?

Greg? Greg?

I'm sorry, but the disasters have brought you to this point.

David, do you have any thoughts as we go into this? Well, I'm sure it does.

The purpose of the cities of refuge was to protect the slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally.

Verse 3, that the slayer that killeth any person unawares, unwittingly, may flee thither and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.

Avenger of blood. Who was this person,

Dennis? All right, the one that stands closest to the one that was killed had the right to kill the one that was killed.

Kill the one that killed the one that was killed. But don't you find it strange that Christians should make their sanctuaries give protection to such persons whom

God has so expressly accepted from it? The avenger, the nearest kinsman, who has the right and power to demand or take vengeance of the slayer.

Such a person needed protection. I think we would all agree there. Against the avenger of blood, the

Hebrew word for this is gol, g -o -l, and in this context it means a representative from the victim's family charged with making sure justice is carried out against the murderer of the family member.

Now, how long must our nation be polluted by the stain of unpunished murderers?

It seems to me like, in watching the news, that there are just more and more of them.

We find Los Angeles County, on an average, they have more than five murders per day.

That's a bunch. Verse four, and when he that doth flee unto one of these cities shall stand at the entering in of the gate of the city and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city.

They shall take him into the city unto them and give him place that he may dwell among them.

Now, John, you have accidentally killed a person and you always did.

So you run to the nearest city, and of all of the cities that were established, it was only about a half a day's journey to any one of them from any place.

So according to custom now, the elders of the city would spend much time at the gates of the city.

This is where they conducted their court. At first, the preliminary court, when someone fleeing from an avenger of blood would come to the city of refuge.

He would state his case to the elders there at the city gates. After explaining the case, the fleeing person could expect to find protection within the walls of the city of refuge.

Although he would have to stay there and live in that city to have that protection.

Now, do you get the picture? I want to be sure you're with me. Here comes a man.

He has killed somebody unintentionally. He comes to the gate, presents his case, and he goes to trial.

He's found innocent, but he has to stay inside that city until the high priest that is at that time over the city dies.

Now if he goes away, goes back outside, he doesn't have any protection.

And if the avenger of blood pursues after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand, because he smote his neighbor unwittingly and hated him not before time.

So it's clearly a case of the innocent.

He killed him, yes, but he didn't intend to. He never thought of that. The city leaders of the city of refuge would be obliged to protect the one who had fled to the city.

The avenger of blood would have no legal standing to deliver the slayer over to the execution.

We see here that Israel had a rather sophisticated legal system with judgments oftentimes based on the intent and on intent and premeditation.

Verse 6, and he shall dwell in that city until he stand before the congregation for judgment and until the death of the high priest that shall be in that death of the high priest that shall be in those days.

Then shall the slayer return and come unto his own city and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.

Now, John, why the death of the high priest?

Why did that turn him loose? Well, let's see if we can find out.

After being declared innocent of murder by the proper authorities and after the death of the standing high priest, you know what that means, the slayer could go back to his home and be protected against the wrath of the avenger of blood.

And they appointed Kadesh in Galilee in Mount Naphtal and Shechem in Mount Ephraim and Kar -Jeharba, which is

Hebron in the mountain of Judah, Judea.

And on the other side, Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezaar in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Ruman and Ramoth and Gilead out of the tribe of Gad and Golan and Basham out of the tribe of Manasseh.

Now these are the cities appointed for the children of Israel. They maintained the roads to them.

They were well scattered over the country.

Everybody knew where they were and why they were. And after the stranger, the sojourners among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the congregation.

So we find that the cities of refuge were not only for the benefit of the

Israelite, but also of the Gentile. God's justice applied to all without partiality.

That's a very, very important point. Now let's compare cities of refuge as a picture of Jesus.

Dennis, as I read that, as we went through it, what pictures of Christ come to mind?

All right. John, what do you see? All right.

Good point. Joy? All right.

Greg? That's a good point.

David? What? I didn't understand your first words.

Yes, yes. Well, the Bible applies this picture of the city of refuge to the believer finding refuge in God on more than one occasion through the

Bible. In Psalms 46, 1, God is our refuge and strength, the very present help in trouble.

More than 15 other places, the Psalms speak of God as being our refuge.

Then in Hebrews 6, 18, that by immutable things in which it is impossible, which it is impossible for lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

Both Jesus and the city of refuge are within easy reach.

In the material word, they were less than a half a day's journey.

So they were within easy reach of the needy person, and they were of no use unless someone would get to that place of refuge.

They didn't do you any good until you got there. Both Jesus and the cities of refuge became a place where the one in need would live.

Do we live in Christ? You didn't come to a city of refuge in time of need just to look around.

I wonder, Greg, what would happen if somebody in that city committed a crime and killed somebody else?

Well, we know that there are no accidents. Well, let's think about it a little bit.

You live within the city, you accidentally run over somebody.

Where are you going to go? You're where you need to be.

What if you intended to kill that person? You were protected until you had your trial.

Then you were put out, and the avenger of blood to come get you.

Both Jesus and the cities of refuge are the only alternative for the one in need.

Is Christ the only alternative we have? Without this specific protection, they will be destroyed.

Both Jesus and the cities of refuge provide protection only within their boundaries.

To go outside means death. What does that mean,

David? That's right.

No need looking anyplace else. Just one plan.

With both Jesus and the cities of refuge, full freedom comes with the death of the high priest.

Now, Greg, work that around. All right.

Let me see how I wrote it down. With both

Jesus and the cities of refuge, full freedom comes with the death of the high priest.

Who is the blood avenger? John, Dennis, God himself, next of kin.

You're right. That's right.

Absolutely. In Hebrews, we have a picture of this city.

The word if means that you have not come to the city of refuge when you are guilty.

In Hebrews, we have a picture of this city. The word if in Hebrews means that you have not come to the city of refuge when you are guilty.

Is that right? So, you kill somebody on purpose and you run to the city.

I'm guilty of it, but I can seek refuge here in the city. What ultimately happens,

David? That's true.

The blood avenger is God himself. The blood shed is

Jesus the Christ, and he looks on that blood as paying the debt.

Not of everybody. As it's taught today,

God died for you, and you can say that to anybody, and it holds true.

That's wrong. He died for his people. He knows who they are.

We don't. All right. We're way short of time, but David, do you have some more comparisons?

Yes. Yes.

Yes. That's right.

That's so true. I thought of something going through there.

The death of the high priest and the death of Christ, the death of Jesus Christ.

Could that compare to the place of paradise and now it is heaven?

That's the only reason I can see for it. Mentioning the death of the high priest was because the death of our high priest, and now we go straight to heaven.

They didn't. Are you finding something else,

John? No.

All right. That's right.

That's so clear, so plain, so true. They didn't go to the city just to look around, did they?

Yes, exactly.

Does that mean that if someone kills me, and he's guilty, he cannot be forgiven by the high priest or court?

But does that mean that he cannot later be saved and under the blood of Christ?

All right. You have to accept the consequences of your own life, but in the eyes of God, he was a potential

Christian and later becomes saved, and he is saved.

I think we have examples in the

Bible of the greatest men on earth, that were on earth, and Moses, David, Paul, they all committed murder.

We have to learn to keep the physical and spiritual separated, because if I kill you, that's a physical act, and I'll be punished physically.

It has nothing to do with spiritual. Well, I think he hated the person because, yes, yes, some fun.

Well, it's false understanding on their part, but every, every, and I emphasize that, every other religious belief is wrong.

There's only one way, and that's through Christ. All of the people that are killing themselves to take others out, and they themselves go straight to heaven,

John, I wish just one of them could come back and tell the people. Dennis, dismiss us please.

Oh, where do we go? You're not going to be here next week, are you

Dennis? Will you be the week after? Next week,

I want to look at Psalms 1 and Psalms 23, and if my schedule holds, then

I want to start the book of John. We may not go all the way through, since you're teaching at other places, but we'll see what happens.

So next week is Psalms 1 and Psalms 23. 23 will be the prodigal pig.