Joshua 20:1-9: a reflection

1The LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 2“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses, 3that the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refuge from the avenger of blood. 4He shall flee to one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his case in the ears of the elders of that city. They shall take him into the city with them, and give him a place, that he may live among them. 5If the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver up the man slayer into his hand; because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, and didn’t hate him before. 6He shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days. Then the man slayer shall return, and come to his own city, and to his own house, to the city he fled from.’” 7They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. 8Beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh. 9These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the alien who lives among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stands trial before the congregation.

As God establishes the cities of refuge, he provides not merely a place to escape to, but a place to belong. The one who had killed unintentionally could flee to a city of refuge, and there, the instruction says, they shall take him into the city with them, and give him a place, that he may live among them. The refuge was not only protection from the avenger; it was a place to dwell, to belong, to live among the people of the city. The one who fled there was taken in, given a place, made to belong; the refuge provided not only safety but a home among those who received him.

Notice that the refuge gave not only safety but a place to belong. The one who fled was not merely sheltered behind walls; he was taken into the city, given a place, made to live among the people there. The refuge provided a home, a belonging, not just an escape. He was received, taken in, given a place to dwell among them. The refuge was a community that took him in, not merely a wall that kept the avenger out. And in this, the refuge points to Christ, who is not only our protection but our home, who does not merely shelter us but takes us in and gives us a place to belong. The refuge that gave a place to dwell foreshadows the refuge who takes us in as his own.

That is worth resting in, for in Christ we have a refuge that not only protects but takes us in and gives us a place to belong. We can think of refuge as mere escape, a shelter from danger; but the cities of refuge took the one who fled into the city, gave him a place, made him belong. And Christ, our refuge, does not merely shelter us; he takes us in, gives us a place, makes us belong as his own. When you flee to Christ for refuge, you find not only safety but a home, a place to belong. Rest in Christ, your refuge, who not only protects you but takes you in and gives you a place to belong as his own, as the cities of refuge took in the one who fled and gave him a place to live among them; for our refuge in Christ is not mere escape but a home, and he does not only shelter us but receives us as his own and gives us a place to belong.

Lord, as you establish the cities of refuge, you provide not merely a place to escape to, but a place to belong. The one who had killed unintentionally could flee to a city of refuge, and there, the instruction says, they shall take him into the city with them, and give him a place, that he may live among them. The refuge was not only protection from the avenger; it was a place to dwell, to belong, to live among the people of the city. The one who fled there was taken in, given a place, made to belong. Show me that the refuge gave not only safety but a place to belong. The one who fled was not merely sheltered behind walls; he was taken into the city, given a place, made to live among the people there. The refuge provided a home, a belonging, not just an escape. He was received, taken in. And in this, the refuge points to Christ, who is not only my protection but my home, who does not merely shelter me but takes me in and gives me a place to belong. Let me rest in that, for in Christ I have a refuge that not only protects but takes me in and gives me a place to belong. I can think of refuge as mere escape, a shelter from danger; but the cities of refuge took the one who fled into the city, gave him a place. And Christ, my refuge, does not merely shelter me; he takes me in, gives me a place, makes me belong as his own. When I flee to Christ for refuge, I find not only safety but a home. Help me rest in Christ, my refuge, Lord, who not only protects me but takes me in and gives me a place to belong as his own.