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Joshua Chapter
Twenty
Joshua 20
Chapter Contents
The law concerning the cities of refuge. (1-6) The cities
appointed as refuges. (7-9)
Commentary on Joshua 20:1-6
(Read Joshua 20:1-6)
When the Israelites were settled in their promised
inheritance, they were reminded to set apart the cities of refuge, whose use
and typical meaning have been explained, Numbers 35. God's spiritual Israel have, and
shall have in Christ and heaven, not only rest to repose in, but refuge to
secure themselves in. These cities were designed to typify the relief which the
gospel provides for penitent sinners, and their protection from the curse of
the law and the wrath of God, in our Lord Jesus, to whom believers flee for
refuge, Hebrews 6:18.
Commentary on Joshua 20:7-9
(Read Joshua 20:7-9)
These cities, as those also on the other side Jordan,
stood so that a man might in half a day reach one of them from any part of the
country. God is ever a Refuge at hand. They were all Levites' cities. It was
kindness to the poor fugitive, that when he might not go up to the house of the
Lord, yet he had the servants of God with him, to instruct him, and pray for
him, and to help to make up the want of public ordinances. Some observe a
significance in the names of these cities with application to Christ our
Refuge. Kedesh signifies holy, and our Refuge is the holy Jesus. Shechem, a shoulder,
and the government is upon his shoulder. Hebron, fellowship, and believers are
called into the fellowship of Christ Jesus our Lord. Bezer, a fortification,
for he is a strong hold to all those that trust in him. Ramoth, high or
exalted, for Him hath God exalted with his own right hand. Golan, joy or
exultation, for in Him all the saints are justified, and shall glory.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Joshua》
Joshua 20
Verse 2
[2]
Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge,
whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:
Appoint —
The possessions being now divided among you, reserve some of them for the use
which I have commanded.
Cities of refuge —
Designed to typify the relief which the gospel provides for poor, penitent
sinners, and their protection from the curse of the law and the wrath of God,
in our Lord Jesus, to whom believers fly for refuge.
Verse 3
[3] That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee
thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
Unwittingly —
Heb. Through ignorance, or error, or mistake, and without knowledge. The same
thing twice repeated to cut off all the expectations that wilful murderers
might have of protection here; God having declared, that such should be taken
even from his altar, that they might be killed. It is strange that any
Christians should make their sanctuaries give protection to such persons whom
God hath so expressly excepted from it! Avenger - The nearest kinsman, who had
right or power to demand, or take vengeance of the slaughter.
Verse 4
[4] And
when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering 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 a place,
that he may dwell among them.
The gate —
Where the judges used to sit.
His cause —
Shall give them a true relation of the fact, and all its circumstances.
They shall take him — If
they are satisfied in the relation he makes, concerning the fact, otherwise it
had been a vain thing to examine.
Give a place —
Which they might well allow him, because God gave them the city with a
reservation for such persons.
Verse 6
[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 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.
Stand —
Which was the posture of the accused and accusers.
The congregation —
The council appointed to judge of these matters, not the council of the city of
refuge, for they had examined him before, verse 4, but of the city to which he belonged, or in
or nigh which the fact was committed, as appears from Numbers 35:25.
Verse 7
[7] And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in
mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.
And they appointed —
Concerning these cities note, 1. That they were all upon mountains, that they
might be seen at a great distance, and so direct those who fled thither. 2.
That they were seated at convenient distance one from another, for the benefit
of the several tribes; for Kedesh was in the north, Hebron in the south, and
Shechem between them. 3. That they all belonged to the Levites; partly that
these causes might be more impartially examined, and justly determined by them
who are presumed best able to understand the law of God, and most obliged to
follow it and not to be biass'd by any affection or corrupt interest, and
partly, that their reputation with the people, and their good counsels, might
lay a restraint upon revengeful persons, who might be inclined to follow the
man-slayer thither, and endeavour to kill him there. It was likewise an
advantage to the poor refugee, that when he might not go up to the house of the
Lord, yet he had the servants of God's house with him, to instruct him, and
pray for him, and help to make up the want of public ordinances.
Verse 8
[8] And
on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the
wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out
of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.
They assigned —
Or, had assigned or given; for they were given by Moses, Deuteronomy 4:41, etc. or, they applied them to
that use to which Moses designed them.
Verse 9
[9]
These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the
stranger that sojourneth 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.
The stranger —
Not only proselytes, but others also; because this was a matter of common
right, that a distinction might be made between casual man-slayers, and wilful
murderers.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Joshua》
20 Chapter 20
Verses 1-9
Cities of refuge
The cities of refuge
1.
The
first thought that naturally occurs to us when we read of these cities concerns
the sanctity of human life; or, if we take the material symbol, the
preciousness of human blood. God wished to impress on His people that to put an
end to a man’s life under any circumstances was a serious thing. Man was
something higher than the beasts that perish. It is not a very pleasing feature
of the Hebrew economy that this regard to the sanctity of human life was
limited to members of the Hebrew nation. All outside the Hebrew circle were
treated as little better than the beasts that perish. For Canaanites there was
nothing but indiscriminate slaughter. Even in the We have here a point in which
even the Hebrew race were still far behind times of King David we find a
barbarity in the treatment of enemies that seems to shut out all the sense of
brotherhood, and to smother all claim to compassion. They had not come under
the influence of that blessed Teacher who taught us to love our enemies.
2. Even as apportioned to the Hebrew people, there was still an
uncivilised element in the arrangements connected with these cities of refuge.
This lay in the practice of making the go-el, or nearest of kin, the avenger of
blood. Had the law been perfect, it would have simply handed over the killer to
the magistrate, whose duty would have been calmly to investigate the case, and
either punish or acquit, according as he should find that the man had committed
a crime or had caused a misfortune. It was characteristic of the Hebrew
legislation that it adapted itself to the condition of things which it found,
and not to an ideal perfection which the people were not capable of at once
realising. In the office of the go-el there was much that was of wholesome
tendency. The feeling was deeply rooted in the Hebrew mind that the nearest of
kin was the guardian of his brother’s life, and for this reason he was bound to
avenge his death; and instead of crossing this feeling, or seeking wholly to
uproot it, the object of Moses was to place it under salutary checks, which
should prevent it from inflicting gross injustice where no crime had really
been committed.
3. The course to be followed by the involuntary manslayer was very
minutely prescribed. He was to hurry with all speed to the nearest city of
refuge, and stand at the entering of the gate till the elders assembled, and
then to declare his cause in their ears. If he failed to establish his
innocence, he got no protection; but if he made out his case he was free from
the avenger of blood, so long as he remained within the city or its precincts.
If, however, he wandered out, he was at the mercy of the avenger. Further, he
was to remain in the city till the death of the high priest, it being probable
that by that time all keen feeling in reference to this deed would have
subsided, and no one would then think that justice had been defrauded when a
man with blood on his hands was allowed to go at large.
4. As it was, the involuntary manslayer had thus to undergo a
considerable penalty. Having to reside in the city of refuge, he could no
longer cultivate his farm or follow his ordinary avocations; he must have found
the means of living in some new employment as best he could. His friendships,
his whole associations in life, were changed; perhaps he was even separated
from his family. To us all this appears a harder line than justice would have
prescribed. But, on the one hand, it was a necessary testimony to the strong,
though somewhat unreasonable, feeling respecting the awfulness, through whatever
cause, of shedding innocent blood. Then, on the other hand, the fact that the
involuntary destruction of life was sure, even at the best, to be followed by
such consequences, was fitted to make men very careful. In turning an incident
like this to account, as bearing on our modern life, we are led to think how
much harm we are liable to do to others without intending harm, and how deeply
we ought to be affected by this consideration when we discover what we have
really done. And where is the man--parent, teacher, pastor, or friend--that
does not become conscious, at some time or other, of having influenced for harm
those committed to his care? We taught them, perhaps, to despise some good man
whose true worth we have afterwards been led to see. We repressed their zeal
when we thought it misdirected, with a force which chilled their enthusiasm and
carnalised their hearts. We failed to stimulate them to decision for Christ,
and allowed the golden opportunity to pass which might have settled their
relation to God all the rest of their life. The great realities of the
spiritual life were not brought home to them with the earnestness, the
fidelity, the affection that was fitting. “Who can understand his errors?” Who
among us but, as he turns some new corner in the path of life, as he reaches
some new view-point, as he sees a new flash from heaven reflected on the
past--who among us but feels profoundly that all his life has been marred by
unsuspected flaws, and almost wishes that he had never been born? Is there no
city of refuge for us to fly to, and to escape the condemnation of our hearts?
It is here that the blessed Lord presents Himself to us in a most blessed
light. “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest.” And let us learn a lesson of charity. Let us learn to be very
considerate of mischief done by others either unintentionally or in ignorance.
What more inexcusable than the excitement of parents over their children or of
masters over their servants when, most undesignedly and not through sheer
carelessness, an article of some value is broken or damaged? Let them have
their city of refuge for undesigned offences, and never again pursue them or
fall on them in the excited spirit of the avenger of blood! So also with regard
to opinions. Many who differ from us in religious opinion differ through
ignorance. They have inherited their opinions from their parents or their other
ancestors. If you are not called to provide for them a city of refuge, cover
them at least with the mantle of charity. Believe that their intentions are
better than their acts. (W. G. Blaikie, D. D.)
The cities of refuge
I. The right to
life. Alone among the nations stood Israel in the value set upon human life.
Its sacred book enjoined its worth. Philosophically, such a sacred value upon
life would be expected of the people of God. The value of life increases in
ratio with the belief in God and immortality. Deny immortality and you have
prepared the ground for suicide. They who say, “Let us eat and drink, for
to-morrow we die,” may voluntarily end the life before to-morrow comes. Greece
with all her learning was far behind. Aristotle and Plato both advised putting
to death the young and sickly among children. Plutarch records having seen many
youths whipped to death at the foot of the altar of Diana. Seneca advised the
drowning of disabled children--a course that Cicero commended. Heathenism gives
but a dark history. It is one of the last lessons learned that each human life
is its own master. No one can take it away except for a transcendent reason.
II. The surrender
of life to what is greater. It is a larger condition to be good than to live
wrongly. Better surrender life than do wrong. On the other hand, better be
murdered than be a murderer. Better suffer wrong than do wrong. Whether in this
late century the removal of capital punishment would increase crime we cannot
verify; but the old law of the avenger is not yet stricken from the statutes of
civilisation. No refuge in God’s sight for the hating heart. No palliation of
deliberate human deeds of wickedness. No city of refuge for a murderer.
III. The motive
marks the character. It is not the mere deed that reveals the man. Nor is it
the catastrophe that marks the deed. Every one’s motive is greater than all he
does. The man who hates his brother is a murderer as truly as he who kills. Not
always what one does, but what he would do, is the standard of his character.
Take away every outside restraint; leave one alone with himself; and his
unhindered wish and motive mark just what he is. The intentional taking away of
life makes murder; the unintentional relieves from all crime. Crime, therefore,
does not find its way from the hand, but from the heart. Thus does God look on
the heart.
IV. The divine
forbearance with human blunderings. This is what the city of refuge expressly
declares. The stain of the deed of shedding blood rests in the fact that the
life was made in the Divine likeness. The greatness of the life was evident in
its kinship with God. Death by accident does not take away the terrible sorrow
that settles like a pall. The careless taker away of life may go insane in his
despair; but the awful agony of the blunderer does not make the loss any the
less heavy. It will call out pity even for the careless one; but it will not
counterbalance the loss.
V. The conditions
of refuge. Each unfortunate held the keeping of his life in his own hands. The
provided city did not alone save the delinquent from the avenger. Mansions in it
were provided for all who should enter by right. Handicraft was taught those
who found shelter within its walls. Food and raiment were furnished by kind
hands outside the gates in addition to what they themselves should gather or
earn for themselves. They had much provided; but the conditions they must
themselves fulfil. It was not enough to rest within sight of the city; they
must enter in. They must not venture forth; only as they remained could they be
safe. We have no cities of refuge now; but God is our refuge. He is the hope of
the careless who turn to Him. The conditions we cannot disregard. He gives the
opportunities, of which we must take advantage for ourselves. We cannot set
aside His condition.
VI. The
responsibility for life in the choices we make. In a certain sense the safety
of each unfortunate rested solely upon himself. It was no time for theories; it
was the time for action; and on that action depended his own life. He held his
temporal safety in his own care and keeping. In thousands of ways we are thus
making choices that will shape our life and conduct in all future time. We have
the power to save ourselves or to destroy. Peter had the opportunity to save
his Lord even when he denied Him. Judas could have shielded his Master instead
of betraying Him. Each one of us can choose whom to serve. The choice of evil
made Peter weep, and made Judas become a suicide. We cannot choose evil and
live. If we choose God for our refuge, we shall not die. He is our city. It
rests with us to choose what we shall be. (David O. Mears.)
Blood-guiltiness removed from the Lord’s host; or, the cities of
refuge
I. A beneficent
political institution. In ancient Greece and Rome there were asylums and
shrines where the supposed sanctity of the place sheltered the blood-stained
fugitive from righteous retribution; and it is probable that here, as in
innumerable other instances, the pagan institution was but an imitation of the
Divine. In our own country, too, there were, in former times, similar
sanctuaries. But how different the copy from the pattern--the one institution
how pernicious, the other how salutary! By the so-called sanctuaries all that
was unsanctified was promoted, for here wilful murderers were received, who,
after a short period, were permitted to go forth to repeat a like violence with
a like impunity. Not thus was it with him who fled to the city of refuge. We
have heard of Indian savages who, when one of their people is killed by a
hostile tribe, will go out and kill the first member of that tribe whom they
may meet. We have heard, too, of those who for years would cherish
vindictiveness and deadly hate against some enemy. Quite opposite to any such
spirit of retaliation is that which was to stimulate the Goel in his pursuit.
The express command of God placed a sword in his hand which he dared not
sheathe. As one entrusted with a prisoner of war, so was it, as it were, said
to him, “Thy life for his if thou let him go.”
II. A type of
Christ. Each person concerned, each regulation for the direction of the various
parties, each circumstance of the case finds its counterpart in the gospel
antitype.
1. To begin with the unfortunate homicide himself--he represents the
sinner in his guilt and danger, under the wrath of God.
2. Does any one doubt the efficacy of God’s way of saving sinners?
Would any one fain flee to other refuges? Ah, they are but refuges of lies.
3. Money could procure no remission; nor will riches avail “in the
day of the Lord’s wrath.”
4. Mercy could not be shown unless the prescribed conditions were
observed.
5. Up, then, and flee, thou yet unsaved one! Wait not vainly till
others bear thee thither perforce. Complain not of thy God as an austere judge
because He saith, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die”; but bless Him for His
clemency in preparing thee a place of safety.
6. This terrible Goel--the avenger of blood--whose fatal purpose no
reward, no argument, no entreaty can turn aside, is but an impersonation of the
righteous anger of the Lord against the sinner.
7. That we may more fully perceive the appositeness of the
illustration which the cities of refuge furnish of the person and work of the
Redeemer, let us notice their position in the country--“in the midst,” not in
the borders, or in the corners of the land (Deuteronomy 19:2).
8. The very names of the six cities are, to say the least, in
keeping with the symbolism of the subject.
9. The cities of refuge were not open to native Israelites only, but
“the stranger” and “the sojourner”--in fact, “every one” among them was
accepted (Numbers 35:15). Thus none is accounted an
alien who, owning himself a sinner, flies to Christ.
10. There is a beautiful lesson in the fact that not only the city
itself, but the very suburbs, afforded safety.
11. The isolation, the restrictions, and the privations experienced
by him who was confined within the city of refuge may be compared to the
separation of the Christian from the world and the things of the world; but
what, after all, are temporary trials, if the precious life be spared?
12. We have spoken of the danger of delay in seeking the refuge. Let
us earnestly bear in mind the danger of the opposite kind, namely, of
afterwards quitting the safe retreat.
13. At the death of the high priest the manslayer was set free.
14. Before the homicide could be received as a permanent inmate of
the city of refuge, a trial was appointed. If he was acquitted, he was admitted
there; but if condemned as a designing murderer, he was given up to the avenger
for summary execution. This condemnation may be read in two ways.
It suggests--
1. A blessed contrast. We have been tried, and found guilty. Our
sins are of crimson dye. Yet the door of mercy stands still open; nay, more, it
is the full admission of our guilt, and not the profession of our innocence,
that is the condition of our entrance thereat.
2. A solemn comparison. Though it be so, that for all sin there is a
pardon, yet the Scripture speaks of “a sin that is unto death.” The case of a
deliberate murderer, in contradistinction to an unwitting manslayer,
illustrates that of one whose sins are not the sins of ignorance, but
presumptuous sins, namely, who has deliberately and persistently sinned against
light and knowledge. From this depth of wickedness, for which no city of refuge
is provided, and for which there is no forgiveness, either in this world or the
next, the Lord graciously preserve us! (G. W. Butler, M. A.)
The cities of refuge
I. The appointment
and use of these cities. It is very often said by thoughtless and ignorant
persons that the laws of the Old Testament were barbarous and cruel. To this
two answers might be made: First, that they were a great advance upon any other
legislation at the period when they were given, and were full of wise sanitary
provisions, and of tender care for human life and welfare; secondly, that the
objection urged does not lie against Moses, but against the human race at that
stage of its history. We are apt to forget that the laws of Moses were
adaptations to an existing and very low order of society, and were designed to
be a great training-school, leading children up into manhood. The cities of
refuge were a merciful provision in times of lawless vengeance, and the entire
legislation in regard to them was founded on an existing and very imperfect
condition of society, while it looked towards a perfect state, towards the
heavenly Jerusalem.
II. The reasons for
the appointment of these cities.
1. All men at that early day recognised the right to kill an
assassin; all exercised the right, or refrained from doing so, at their will;
but Jehovah gave a positive command to Israel, without alternative. It should
be blood for blood; and it certainly rests with the opposers of capital
punishment to-day to show when and how this original law was abrogated. How it
should be carried out was a matter of secondary consequence; that it should be
observed was the first thing. When the law was given, the blood-avenger did
what we to-day remand to courts of law. It was a step, surely, beyond an
utterly lawless vengeance to appoint one person to carry out the Divine will
that life should be forfeited for life.
2. But while this was the general rule, it was not a merciless and
blind one; for the law distinguished between voluntary and unintentional
homicide. It judged an act by its motives, and thus lifted tile whole question
of punishment out of the sphere of personal revenge and family spite. Here at
the very threshold of civilisation how clearly man is treated as a free moral
agent, responsible for his acts, and yet judged by his motives! The materialism
of to-day, which endeavours to sweep away this primitive morality, has human
nature against it.
3. Then, in a system intended to train a nation into habits of self
restraint and righteousness, it was necessary very early to bring in the
lessons of mercy. God had always declared Himself the real avenger of blood. “I
will require man’s blood,” He said, when He gave the law for the death of a
murderer; “vengeance is Mine: I will repay.” The unintentional act was not to
be treated like that of malice aforethought. The accidental homicide had
certain rights; and yet the mercy offered him was conditional. It was only a
chance. It was not left as a small thing for a human life to be taken, even
unintentionally: hence the limitations placed about the right of asylum in the
cities of refuge.
4. But this was not all: the law demanded an expiation for the
wrong, even when it was done without intent. Still it was a wrong; blood had
been shed, and the Divine government never grants forgiveness without
atonement. God cannot be tender and forgiving without at the same time showing
His holiness and just claims upon the guilty. This principle found expression
in a singular way in the cities of refuge, in the provision that, whenever the
high priest died, the prisoners of hope should go freely back to their homes.
The priest was in some sort a sacrifice for the sins of the people, even in his
natural death. Here we find what we might call a constructive expiation, Thus
from age to age death was associated in the public mind with deliverance from
punishment, the death of successive high priests setting forth the death of
Christ on the Cross.
III. The cities of refuge
are a type of christ. Their very names have a typical meaning--Kedesh, “holy”;
Shechem, “shoulder”; Hebron, “fellowship”; Bezer, “refuge”; Ramoth, “high”; and
Golan, “joy.” (Sermons by the Monday Club.)
Christ our city of refuge
I. There is an
analogy between our situation and the situation of those for whom the city of
refuge was designed. It was not intended for the murderer. The law respecting
him was that he should immediately be put to death, however palliating might be
the circumstances connected with his crime, and however sacred the place to
which he might flee for protection. Even the law respecting the manslayer bore
in some points a resemblance to that which referred to the murderer. While
provision was made for his safety if he chose to avail himself of it, it was
also enjoined that should he be overtaken by the avenger of blood his life was
to be the forfeit of his negligence. He had shed the blood of a fellow-man; and
should he disregard the means of safety which were furnished to him, no guilt
would be incurred, although by him whom he had injured his blood also should be
shed. Now, all of us are chargeable with having transgressed the law of God. In
one important respect, indeed, the comparison between us and the manslayer does
not hold. He deprived his fellow of life without having meditated the deed, and
therefore he did not contract moral guilt; for although the motive does not in
every case sanctify the deed, it is to the motive that we must look in
determining the virtuous or vicious nature of an action. We, however, have
sinned against the Divine law voluntarily. We have done it in spite of
knowledge, conviction, and obligation. Involved, then, as we are, in this
universal charge of guilt, the justice of God is in pursuit of us, and is
crying aloud for vengeance. And the condition of those whom it overtakes is
utterly hopeless: death is the forfeit which they must pay. Let us guard
against the callousness of those who, though they readily enough admit that
they are sinners, seem to imagine that no danger is to be apprehended, and
soothe themselves with the vague expectation that, since God is good, they
shall somehow or other drop into heaven at last, and be taken beyond the reach
of all that is painful. Oh! is it not infatuation thus to remain listless and
secure, when God’s anger is provoked, and equity demands the execution of the
threatening? Would it have been folly in the manslayer to have deluded himself
into the notion of his safety, at the very time that his infuriated enemy was
in hot pursuit? and is it wise in the sinner, when Divine justice is about to
seize him, to remain insensible to the hazard of his situation? But let us not
despair. Our sin, it is true, has veiled Jehovah’s face in darkness; but
through that darkness a bright beam has broken forth, revealing to us peace and
reconciliation.
II. There is an
analogy between our prospects and the prospects of the manslayer under the law.
By Joshua six cities of refuge were appointed, three on either side of Jordan,
that the distance might not be too great which the man-slayer required to
travel. Now, in Christ Jesus we have a city of refuge to which we are
encouraged to repair for protection from the justice which is in pursuit of us.
This refuge God Himself has provided; so that He whom we have injured has also
devised and revealed to us the method by which our salvation may be effected.
“Deliver,” He said, “from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom.” Nor is
this divinely-provided deliverance difficult of being reached. Christ is ever
near to the sinner, and no tiresome pilgrimage requires to be performed before
He can be found. All obstructions have been removed out of the way which leads
to His Cross, and everything has been done to facilitate our flight to its blessed
shelter.
The cities of refuge
I. The persons for
whom the cities of refuge were provided were in circumstances of imminent
danger.
1. The danger of man arises from sin and transgression against the
authority of that law which God revealed for the personal rule and obedience of
man, it being an essential arrangement in the Divine government that the
infraction of the law should expose to the infliction of punishment.
2. The peril of man which thus arises from sin affects and involves
his soul, which is pursued by justice as the avenger, and is exposed to the
infliction of a future state of torment, the nature and intensity of which it
is beyond the possibility of any finite mind to conceive, and the duration of
which is restricted by no limits, but is coeval with eternity itself.
3. The peril of man thus arising from transgression and affecting
and involving his soul applies not to a small portion, but extends to every
individual of the species.
II. The persons for
whom these cities of refuge were provided were furnished with ample directions
and facilities to reach them.
1. The clearness with which the offices of the Lord Jesus Christ, in
their adaptation to the condition of man, are revealed.
2. The nature of the method by which in their saving application and
benefit the Saviour’s offices are to be applied.
III. The persons for
whom cities of refuge were provided became on reaching them assured of
inviolable security.
1. The grounds of this security; it arises from sources which render
it unassailable and perfect. There is the faithfulness of the promise of the
Father, which God has repeatedly addressed to His people; there is the efficacy
of the mediation of the Son; and there is the pledge of the influences of the
Holy Spirit.
2. The blessings involved in this security. And here we have not so
much a comparison as a contrast. He who fled for refuge, after he had become a
homicide, to the appointed asylum in the cities of Israel, became by necessity
the subject of much privation. He was secure, but that was all, inasmuch, it is
evident, that he was deprived of home, of kindred, of freedom, and of all those
tender and endearing associations which are entwined around the heart of the
exile, and the memory of which causes him to pine away, and oftentimes to die.
But in obtaining, by the mediation and work of Christ, security from the perils
of the wrath to come, we find that the scene of our security is the scene of
privilege, of liberty, and of joy.
IV. If the persons
for whom the cities of refuge were provided removed or were found away from
them they were justly left to perish. There is a Saviour, but only one; an
atonement, but only one; a way to heaven, but only one; and when once we have
admitted the great fact with regard to the reason of the Saviour’s incarnation
and sacrifice on the Cross and His ascension into heaven, we are by necessity
brought to the conclusion and shut up to the confirmed belief of this truth,
that “neither is there salvation in any other, for there-is none other name,”
&c. (James Parsons.)
Cities of refuge
I. Notice a few
points in which there is no correspondence between these cities provided for
the manslayer and the protection which the gospel provides for the sinner
1. The cities of refuge afforded only a temporary protection for the
body. The gospel, on the contrary, is a protection for the whole man, and for
the whole man forever.
2. The cities afforded protection only to the unfortunate, whereas
the refuge of the gospel is for the guilty.
3. The protection which the cities afforded involved the sacrificing
of certain privileges; that of the gospel ensures every privilege.
4. Those who enjoyed the protection of the cities would desire to
return to their former scenes; not so with those who enjoy the protection of
the gospel.
II. Notice some of
the more illustrative features of resemblance.
1. The cities of refuge were of Divine appointment; so is the
protection offered in the gospel.
2. The cities of refuge were provisions against imminent danger; so
is the gospel.
3. The cities of refuge were arranged so as to be available for all
the manslayers in the country; so is the gospel provided for all sinners.
4. The cities of refuge were the exclusive asylums for such cases;
so is the gospel the only way of salvation.
5. The cities of refuge were only serviceable to those who by
suitable effort reached them.
The cities of refuge
I. Let us, then,
look at the people who dwelt in them Who were they? They were not exclusively
rich people, nor were they exclusively poor. Poverty or wealth was no title to
a residence there. Nor were they even educated people, or illiterate people.
Some other plea than these must be urged in order to get an entrance there.
They were guilty people. Upon their hands must be the mark of their foul sin.
They must be avowed man-slayers, or else the gates were closed against them,
and admission refused. I think I hear the Pharisee reply something like this:
“I am a religious man--a respectable man. This is a religious city established
by God, kept by His priests--the peculiar care of Jehovah. There is a certain
fitness between that city and myself. I mean to enter there, because I think it
is a good thing to dwell in such a place.” But they speak to him and say, “Sir,
you have made a mistake. Let us ask you one question--Have you ever done any
harm?” He looks at them, amazed at the question. “Done any harm? No, sirs, mine
has been a blameless life. Taken the life of another? Why, I would not hurt a
fly.” “Then, sir,” they say to him, “this city cannot be your dwelling-place.
It, with all its privileges, is for the man-slayer.” Ah, sinner, now I know why
you are not saved. You are not guilty: you do not believe it. But let me point
out to you another mark of these people who dwelt in the cities. They were
something more than guilty: they were conscious of their danger. They had found
out that they had slain a man. They knew the penalty of the law: they believed
it. They did not dare to doubt it, and they fled for their very lives. Sinner,
would to God that we could get you to flee for your life! Oh, sinner, to-night
you see it not, but there behind you is the keen, two-edged sword of that law
that you have broken--that law that you have defied. It is very near to you.
God says, “Fly, fly for thy life to the city of refuge.” And you--what are you
doing? Why, you do not even hear the voice of God. You have no consciousness of
your danger. One other word about these people: they were responsible,
absolutely responsible, for their own safety. I think I see that man again. We
have watched him, and we have spoken to him; he left us and ran; but we say to
each other now, “What is the matter? Our friend has stopped running. Look! He
is sitting down by the road-side, and from that wallet behind his back, which
we did not see before, he has taken out some bread. He is eating it leisurely,
quietly. He must have made a mistake. Surely, the avenger of blood cannot be
after him. Surely he cannot be guilty.” We go up to him and we say, “Friend,
you told us just now that you were flying from the avenger of blood. How is it
that you are taking your ease?” “Well,” he says, “the fact is I have been
thinking over the matter, and I have changed my mind. Quite true, I have done
wrong; quite true, I have taken a life; quite true, the avenger of blood is
after me. But look here, sir. The logic of the matter is this: if I am to be
saved I shall be
saved.” “What folly! You may be saved if you flee; but, as God liveth, unless
you get within its walls you never will be saved.”
II. Look to some
remarkable points about the cities of refuge themselves. Well, the point that
strikes us, and which shows forth Jesus Christ and His willingness and power to
save, is this: these cities were all easy of access. God took all the
difficulties out of the way.
1. They were all upon the level plain. If you read chapter 20., and take the map,
as I have done, and look at the land, you will be struck with this, that not
one of them was built upon a mountain. What does it mean? Why, it means that an
anxious and fleeing man--fleeing for his life--must have no weary mountain to
travel up. There, upon the level plain, is the city whose welcome walls invite
him for refuge. You have no hill of experience or of works or deeds to climb
up. And then observe another fact about them, proving the ease of access which
God had arranged for them.
2. If you were to look at the land of Palestine you would observe
that it is divided nearly longitudinally--that is, from north to south--by a
river at times broad and wide and deep, and with a mighty current--the river
Jordan, Now, we will suppose that God had put the cities of refuge, we will
say, on the other side. Here comes a poor man-slayer; he is flying for his
life, and he reaches Jordan. There is no bridge; he has no boat; he cannot
swim; and yet there within sight of him is the welcome city. “Oh,” he says in
his bitter despair, “God’s promise has brought me so far only to mock me.” But
no, God arranges otherwise. God said, “Let there be six cities, three on each
side of the river; one north, one in the middle, one in the south, on one side;
one in the south, one in the middle, one on the north on the other side.” What
does it mean? Why, it means this, that wherever there could be a poor, guilty
man-slayer there was a city of refuge. Oh, “The Word is nigh thee,” &c.
3. May I add, too, that the gates were always open. Eighteen hundred
years have the gates been open. Man’s infidelity and opposition have never
closed the gates.
4. Observe, too, about these cities, that they were all well known.
That was of the very greatest importance. God ordained that there should be
six. Their names were given. I think the mothers of Israel must have taught
their little children those six names by heart. It would never do that by and
by their child should be in danger, and know not where to escape. We are told
by Josephus that where cross-roads met there were always finger-posts
established, having these words, “To the city of refuge.” And I often think
that persons like myself, or even the most distinguished ministers of Christ,
cannot save a soul, but they may be fingerposts pointing clearly to Jesus, and
saying in life and ministry and deed, “To the city of refuge.” Let me point out
to you another fact of great importance about these cities--the most important
fact of all, without which all other facts would be useless. Within these walls
was perfect safety. God had said it: Jehovah’s word was staked to it. Perfect
safety. God’s honour was at stake. Every man who fled inside that city should
be saved. (J. T. Barnardo.)
Refuge
Life is full of alleviations, shelters, ways of deliverance. So
that however gloomy things look at times, the worst never comes to the worst.
At the moment when all seems lost the gate of the city of refuge opens before
us, and friendly hands are held out to draw us within its sanctuary.
I. I want to give
some illustrations of this, and, first of all, from what we may call the
ordinary arrangements of the providence of God--the means of refuge which this
God-made world provides within itself against the commoner ills. The daily round seems so
trivial, our cares are so petty, the things that we are working for so utterly
unworthy of beings laying any claim to greatness, that we should be tempted to
forego our claim and settle down in mechanical acceptance of the humdrum and
the commonplace if we did not avail ourselves of means of escape into a higher
realm of thought and feeling. To some of us the culture of music affords a city
of refuge from the drearier side of life. The transformation of Scott’s
“wandering harper, scorned and poor,” under the potent spell of his own music
is repeated a thousand times a day.
“In
varying cadence, soft or strong,
He
swept the sounding chords along
The
present scene, the future lot,
His
toils, his wants were all forgot.
Cold
diffidence and age’s frost,
In
the full tide of song were lost.”
Others
find their city in the contemplation of great pictures. A man, crusted over
with the sordidness of his daily task, will get away into a picture gallery. He
will sit down tired and uninterested before some great masterpiece, and after a
while it will begin to take hold of him. As he sits there, passively yielding
to its influence, just letting it lay itself against his spirit, there will
gradually steal over him a great restfulness and calm. Presently a deeper life
will wake up. He will pass from the passive to the active state. Imagination
will become alive; thought will stir; a new world will grow into realness
around him--a larger, higher, finer world, not less real, but more real; not
foreign to him, but more truly native to him than the world whose dust he has
just shaken from his feet. And a greater number, perhaps, find their way of
escape by the door of good books than by either music or pictures, or both
together. And it is more than a merely temporary refuge. If books are really
great, if the art is really elevating, we get something more than a short
respite from an unfriendly world. When we go back to it the world is changed.
The avenger of blood is no longer there. But there are tenser forms of evil to
be saved from than the dull pain of a prosaic and uninspiring existence. There
are sharp strokes of misfortune, the sudden loss of health, an overwhelming
catastrophe in business, or bereavement. It is marvellous how at such a time
people find themselves ringed round with friends. The story of Naomi is the
story of the destitute in every age. What could have been more hopeless than
the outlook for her? Yet she got through. She found friends among the
foreigners; and when after the long years of exile she returned to Bethlehem,
she found herself taken to people’s hearts. And Ruth the Moabitess was
befriended also. There are many who could say with old John Brown of
Haddington, “There might be put upon my coffin, ‘Here lies one of the cares of
Providence, who early wanted both father and mother, and yet never missed
them!’” So true is this that of late years we have begun to hear in tones of
complaint and foreboding of “the survival of the unfit.” The world, it seems,
is too kind. There is too much providence. That complaint need not distress us.
But it is a confirmation of the Christian view of the world under God’s
fatherly administration from a somewhat unexpected quarter; and it is none the
less valuable for the source from which it comes. God is love, and He will be
yet more fully known in the world’s palaces of science as a refuge. But we
cannot think long on the subject without being sorrowfully conscious that there
are other foes of the soul against which the ordinary providence of God offers
no defence; and our sorrow is only turned into joy when we recognise that in
these cases a still better refuge is provided. “God Himself is our refuge, a
very present help in time of trouble.”
1. For example, there is sin. It is possible for men to go through
life without any distinct perception of sin as an enemy of their happiness, But
whenever the conscience is truly awakened, from that moment sin stands forth as
the saddest fact in life. It is the one foe that peace cannot dwell with. Other
evils we may escape, leaving them still in possession of the outer suburbs,
while we retreat into the inner citadel of the soul. But not with sin. For the
awfulness of that is that its very seat is in our inmost soul, so that the more
deeply we live the more vivid is the fatal consciousness of its presence. And
whether you count the burning shame of it, the self-contempt it breeds, the
vague but awful terrors which of necessity dwell with it, or the feeling of
helplessness which grows upon us as we realise how impossible it is to escape
unaided from its power, as soon as its burden presses upon a man it is felt as
the heaviest burden of life, different, not only in degree but in kind, from
every other, intolerable, and yet never to be shaken off by any human strength.
Here is an avenger for which earth provides no city of refuge. Great books,
great pictures give no relief now; they aggravate. Mother Nature with her
healing ministries has no balm for this wound. Thank God there is deliverance.
The troubled conscience comes to peace in Jesus Christ.
2. Another case in which God alone in His own person can be a refuge
for us, is when we are oppressed by the sense of finiteness that comes to us
some time or other in our experience of all things earthly. There are times
when we seem to see round everything. We have reached the limit of our friends’
capacity to satisfy us; music is nothing more to us than a combination, more or
less faulty, of sounds that jar upon the nerves. “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity
and vexation of spirit.” And all human goodness is as the morning cloud. “All
men are liars,” you say in your haste. And if not that, then at least, “I have
seen an end of all perfection.” Blessed is the man who in that hour knows the
way to God. The secret of the Lord is with him, and the water that he drinks of
shall be in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.
3. Death and deliverance. And then there is death. There are those
who through fear of death are all their life-time subject to bondage. Well, God
delivers us from that spectre. When we walk through the valley of that shadow,
we fear no evil for He is with us. We who have fled for refuge to the hope set
before us find ourselves holding by an anchor that enters into that within the
veil.
II. Now, it will be
a great help to us if we recognise in every lightening of the burdens of life
the sign that god has been going before us preparing deliverance. Do not let us
shut God out of the alleviations that spring up out of the earth as we pass
along. There were six cities of refuge appointed for the Hebrews, and now one
and now another of these cities would offer a practicable way of escape from
the avenger. And God fulfils Himself in many ways. The doors of hope that seem
entirely earth-fashioned and of human provision are equally of God’s
appointment with that heavenly door by which alone we can find deliverance from
the deeper sorrows. Your God-given way of escape is not always along the path
of extreme religious fervour. A week of rest at the seaside will do you more
spiritual good sometimes than a week of revival services. A hearty shake of the
hand from a genial unbeliever will give you a mightier lift than a lecture from
a saint. And you are to use the means of escape that lies nearest you, and is
most suitable--and see God’s gracious provision in it whatever it is that gives
you effectual relief. I don’t mean that all ministries are of the same order,
or intrinsically of equal worth. But then all troubles are not of the same order
either. Paul is equally the minister of God when to the gaoler crying, “What
must I do to be saved?” he says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved”; and to the sailors worn out with long battling with the storm,
he recommends, not prayer, but to take food.
III. Let me direct
your minds to a duty which god laid upon the Israelites in relation to their
cities of refuge. “Thou shalt prepare thee a way and divide the coasts of thy
land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that
every slayer may flee thither.” That is, there shall not only be a city of
refuge, but there shall be a road to it. And these roads were to be kept in
order. And it came afterwards to be a law that finger-posts should be placed
wherever other roads crossed the road to the city of refuge, so that a man in
search of it might the more easily find his way. Now the meaning of this in the
larger bearing which we are giving it all, is that we should make ourselves
familiar beforehand with the means of access to the doors of deliverance which
God has provided. We are bidden to have resources. We must know the use of
pictures and of great books; we must know the way to Nature’s treasure-house,
or be able, like Boethius, to solace ourselves amid the disorders of the world
by contemplating the Divine order of the stars. In the day of comparative
prosperity we are to prepare for adversity. And this is a counsel of tremendous
significance when we think of the supreme needs of the soul, those needs which
nothing short of God can meet. “Thou shalt prepare thee a way.” One of the most
pathetic stories in the Old Testament is that which relates how King Saul, who
had gone his own timeserving, politician-like way all his life, came at last in
his extremity to feel his need of God, and did not know how to come to Him.
“Acquaint thyself with Him.” “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy
youth”--in the springtime of life, when all is bright and hope-inspiring. Now
is the time to make a path for yourself to Him. (C. S. Pedley, M. A.)
The Christian’s cities of refuge
I. Our first city
of refuge is prayer. Whatever trouble comes to us, we can run to prayer for
help, as the man of old ran to the city of refuge.
II. Our second city
of refuge is the bible. When Jesus was tempted three times by the devil in the
wilderness to do wrong, every time His heart ran to the Bible as a city of
refuge and quoted some precious promise.
III. A third city of
refuge is sacred song. If our hearts and voices are full of sweet and pure
songs about God, and heaven, and doing good, they will keep away a great many
wicked thoughts and evil words.
IV. The fourth city
of refuge is trust in God as our father. A child was asked the question, “What
is faith?” She answered,” God has spoken, and I believe it.” That is a part of
what it means to trust in God.
V. Our fifth city
of refuge is the holy spirit as our guide.
VI. The sixth city
of refuge, the last one and the most precious, is Jesus as our saviour. (Christian
Age.)
The number of the cities of refuge
These were doubtless sufficient to answer the exigencies that
might arise; but why six were appointed, and not seven, the perfect number, we
may conceive was the reference they all had to one other, the only perfection
of types, the Lord Jesus, and in whom alone security can be found. The
perfection of the covenant and of every covenant blessing is found in Him. In
whatever trouble, whether in first convictions or after-trials, the Christian,
as the prophet, with thoughts raised to Christ, may exclaim, “O Lord, my
strength and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction.” (W.
Seaton.)
The situation of the cities of refuge
In the division of land east and west of Jordan which was nearly
equal the Lord made equal provision for both, that it might be no disadvantage
on which side soever any dwelt who were within the extent of the inheritance.
Christ is for general benefit, wherever men live, within the sound of His
gospel; so that it matters not where that is, in what part or quarter of the world.
How great a mercy to be stationed near this refuge! and how great a sin to
neglect or despise its security! (W. Seaton.)
The cities of refuge illustrative of Christ’s redeeming work
How illustrative of the way of life, the facilities grace has
given to sensible and alarmed sinners to flee from the wrath to come!
I. In the gospel
of Christ is found nothing to impede or discourage an immediate application for
salvation, but the way is set before men under directions so plain and obvious
that hardly any one can err, except through wilful ignorance and determined
rebellion. Faithful ministers are designed to answer the end of
directing-posts; they are to stand in byways and corners, to distinguish the
right way from the wrong, and thereby, if possible, to prevent any from
proceeding to their own destruction. Mercy has placed them on the road to life
purposely to remind sinners of their danger, to direct the perplexed, and to
admonish the careless. How important is simplicity in a matter that involves in
it the concerns of life and death! What if the line of inscription, “To the
City of Refuge,” had been in any other language than the one generally
understood? and what if gospel ministers express themselves in a way that few
only can reap the benefit of their instructions? They ruin more than they save,
and cannot avoid a fearful charge in the day when every work will be brought
into judgment.
II. Next, consider
the requirements made of the man who had occasion to avail himself of the
provision appointed; and as if having witnessed the act of slaughter, follow
him to the gates of the city. His first and obvious duty, and that to which
necessity compelled, was to leave the dead and run for his life, to rise from
his bleeding neighbour and betake himself, with all possible haste, to the
nearest refuge. This was to be voluntary, for no one could compel him. Another
requirement was that he who had set out should make all possible haste till he
had got within the walls of the city; for security was not in the way, but at the end;
not while escaping, but when refuged. And what shall be said of them who,
professing to flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before them in
Christ, think neither of danger nor security, but are taken up, as their chief
concern, with the pleasure and pursuits of the world?
III. The internal
constitution of these cities, like the way to them, and the requisitions made
of those for whose benefit they were instituted, instructs us in the knowledge
of many evangelical truths. Let us enter for examination, or rather consider
ourselves as needing the security they give. Refuge was not allowed till after
judicial investigation. They were no asylum for murderers, but for those guilty
of manslaughter only. In this the legal refuge came short of that the gospel
sets before us: it was wisely and necessarily so; for no typical institutions
could be ordained contrary to public justice and security, or that would have
perpetually endangered the life and peace of society. Herein the pre-eminence
of the gospel appears, and the infinite merit of Christ’s blood, which has
efficacy to atone for the worst of crimes. The government under which these
cities were placed must not be forgotten; they were given to the Levites, and
though distinct from those they were to inhabit, yet they were numbered among
them. This denoted an appointment of mercy, namely, that all the privileges
peculiar to them, the security, residence, and provision there afforded, were
all the fruit of priestly merits, and under the regulation of sacerdotal
dominion. The streams of mercy from Christ flow to sinners through the
prevalence of His atoning sacrifice and the exercise of His availing
intercession. Again, safety was nowhere but within the city--not only was the
manslayer required to flee to it, but to remain there the life of the high
priest. Expressive appointment! Who out of Christ can be safe? One cannot but
remark the deficiency of the type, as to the liberty as well as security which
every believer obtains through Christ. As long as the high priest lived the
slayer of blood was deprived of liberty beyond the bounds of the city. With all
the mercy there provided, it must have been no little inconvenience to have
been compelled so suddenly to give up connections, occupations, inheritance,
and family for so uncertain a period, Nevertheless we are left to admire the
wisdom of the Divine procedure, in that regard to the ends of public justice
and social right, ever observed in even those institutions which were
principally designed to set forth the unbounded grace of Christ. While the life
of the high priest typified the security of Christ, the death of the high
priest was to express the redemption of the forfeited possession. “After the
death of the high priest, the slayer shall return to the land of his
possession.” His life was a blessing that protected the slayer from the
avenger, but his death unmistakably greater, for that secured liberty with
life. The death of Christ has not only availed to deliver us from all the
penalties of a broken covenant, burro interest us in all the positive blessings
of the new; not only to save from all the sorrows of guilt, but to restore to us all
the joys of innocence. (W. Seaton.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》
20 Chapter 20
INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 20
The
contents of this chapter are the renewal of the order to appoint cities of
refuge for such that commit manslaughter ignorantly, to flee unto, and have
shelter in from the avenger of blood, Joshua 20:1; and
the execution of this order, Joshua 20:7.
Verse 1
The Lord also spake unto Joshua,.... Out of the
tabernacle, at the door of which he with the high priest and princes were; the
Lord had spoken to him before concerning dividing the land among the tribes, Joshua 13:1; and
this being done he speaks to him again:
saying:
as
follows.
Verse 2
Speak to the children of Israel, saying,.... Whom the
affair concerned the Lord spake to Joshua about, they having now the whole land
divided among them:
appoint out for you cities of refuge; of the name,
nature, use, and number of these cities; see Gill on Numbers 35:6,
whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: Numbers 35:1.
Verse 3
That the slayer that killeth any person unawares, and
unwittingly, may flee thither,.... Who through mere accident, and without
design, killed a person, friend or foe, one of his own kindred, or a stranger,
without any malice against him, or intention to take away his life:
and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood; from any of
the relations of the deceased, who might be stirred up to avenge the blood of his
kinsman on the slayer; see Numbers 35:12.
Verse 4
And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities,.... Any one
of them, that was nearest to him:
shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city; for he might
not rush in without leave:
and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city; lay before
them the whole matter, how that he had killed a person unawares, by what means
it came about, and that it was merely through error, without any malicious
design, and was a mere accident:
they shall take him into the city unto them; directly,
lest the avenger of blood should come and seize on him, and kill him; and they
were to take him into the city, not only to prevent that, but to examine him
still more closely about the matter, and get further satisfaction; and being
satisfied, were to continue him in it:
and give him a place, that he might dwell among them; until his
death, or the death of the high priest, if that was first. Kimchi observes from
their Rabbins, the he was not to hire a house all the time of his dwelling
there, but was to have one freely, because it is said, "and give
him", &c.
Verse 5
And if the avenger of blood pursue after him,.... To the
city of refuge, whither he is fled, and demand him:
then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hands; to be slain
by him, but shall protect him:
because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not
beforetime; See Gill on Numbers 35:22; see
Gill on Numbers 35:23, and
See Gill on Deuteronomy 19:6.
Verse 6
And he shall dwell in that city until he shall stand before the
congregation for judgment,.... That is, until his cause was heard in
the court of judicature in his own city, or in any other to which the avenger
of blood should appeal: see Numbers 35:24; who
if they found him guilty of death, they put him to death; but if only guilty of
accidental manslaughter, then they delivered him up to his city of refuge for
safety, where he was to abide
until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days; see Numbers 35:25,
then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto
his own house, unto the city from whence he fled; and live with his family
in the enjoyment of his possessions and estates, honours, and privileges
belonging to him, as before; see Numbers 35:28.
Verse 7
And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in Mount Naphtali,.... Of which
see Joshua 19:37; the
appointment of this and the two cities following was made by the children of
Israel at this time:
and Shechem in Mount Ephraim; called Sichem, Genesis 12:6; and
Shechem from a prince of that name that possessed it, Genesis 34:2; it
fell to the lot of the tribe of Ephraim; its name in the New Testament is
Sychar, John 4:5; and it is
now called Neapolis, or Naplouse:
and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah; it stood in
the hill country of Judea, Luke 1:39; of which
see Joshua 14:15. There
seems to be a difficulty here, since this city was before given to Caleb, Joshua 14:13; and
yet afterwards given to the Levites, and appointed a city of refuge. The Jews
reconcile this by observing, that the city and suburbs were given to the
Levites, and fixed for a city of refuge; but the villages and fields, and
country around it, and belonging to it, were given to Caleb, Joshua 21:12; and
Abarbinel makes no doubt that the children of Judah gave something else to
Caleb in lieu of it. As these cities of refuge were typical of Christ, as has
been observed on Numbers 35:29;
their names are applicable to him. "Kedesh" signifies
"holy" or "holiness"; Christ is holy in both his natures,
divine and human; and so abundantly qualified to be the Mediator, Saviour, and
Redeemer; and is the fountain of holiness to his people, and is made
sanctification to them, Psalm 16:10 1 Corinthians 1:30;
and "Shechem" signifies the "shoulder"; and not only the
government of the church and people of God is on the shoulder of Christ, but
all their sins have been laid upon him, and bore by him; and every particular
soul in conversion, every lost sheep, is looked up by him, and taken up and
brought home on his shoulder, Isaiah 9:6 Luke 15:4.
"Hebron" signifies "fellowship"; in the effectual calling,
the saints are called into fellowship with Christ, and their fellowship is with
the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ; through him they have access to God, and
communion with him now, and shall have uninterrupted communion with him to all
eternity, 1 Corinthians 1:9 John 17:24.
Verse 8
And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward,.... In the
country possessed by the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of
Manasseh:
they assigned Bezer in the wilderness, upon the plain, out of the
tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in
Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh; of these places, and the
signification of their names, and of the application of them to Christ, the
antitype of the cities of refuge; see Gill on Deuteronomy 4:43.
These last cities were not appointed now, they were appointed in the times of
Moses, and severed by him, Deuteronomy 4:41;
nor are they here said to be appointed, but to be assigned or "given"F3נתנו "dederunt", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator. ; they were now delivered up into the hands of the
Levites for cities of refuge, for they were before severed for that use; they
were not, according to the JewsF4Misn. Maccot, c. 2. sect. 4.
Maimon. Hilchot Rotzeach, c. 8. sect. 2, 3. , made use of as such, until the
other three were appointed.
Verse 9
These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel,.... For the
common use of them all, and not for that tribe only in which they stood:
and for the stranger that sojourneth among them; not only for
the proselytes of righteousness, but for the proselytes of the gate also, as
well as for the natives of Israel; Christ is a refuge for Jews and Gentiles,
for all sinners that flee to him:
that whosoever killeth any person unawares might flee thither; and find
shelter and safety:
and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood; getting
thither before he could overtake him:
until he stood before the congregation: either before
the congregation, the elders of the city, or court of judicature in the city of
refuge, or before the court of his own city, from whence he fled, if summoned
thither.
──《John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible》