Over the last several weeks, I have been preaching a sermon series on finding Jesus in the Old Testament. It has been a rewarding study that has reminded me that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection weren᾽t an accident of history; they were the focus of God’s redemptive plans from the beginning.
By posting a summary of the cities of refuge and their parallels with Jesus, I᾽m starting in the middle of my series. But since I preached on it last weekend, it᾽s fresh on my mind. (I hope to deal with the previous studies in later posts.)
What Were the Cities of Refuge?
The Old Testament addresses the Cities of Refuge in Numbers 35:1-28, Deuteronomy 4:41-43, Deuteronomy 19:4-13, and Joshua 20:1-9.
The Levites didn᾽t receive territorial grants during the conquest of Canaan like the other tribes of Israel—instead, God granted them 48 cities. He commanded that they set aside six of these as cities of refuge. (They designated Kedesh, Shechem, Hebron, Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan.)
If someone accidentally killed someone else, he could run to a city of refuge to seek safety there. Upon arrival, he would be tried by the authorities of that city. If he was found guilty of murder, he would be sent away to face justice. If he was found guilty of manslaughter—meaning it wasn’t intentional or premeditated—he would be admitted to the city.
Why Were the Cities of Refuge Needed?
God’s Law in the Old Testament emphasizes His justice. When someone committed murder, His Law upheld the sanctity of human life by imposing the ultimate penalty. Sometimes, this penalty could be imposed by a close relative of the victim (the “avenger”). Driven by emotions and unconcerned with due process, the avenger might act without regard to the circumstances of the case and deal with manslaughter the same way as murder.
The Cities of Refuge allowed God’s justice to be upheld—not only by holding the line on murder, but also by ensuring the right of the accused to a fair hearing before a more impartial group of elders in the City of Refuge. It was also a carveout of mercy in the midst of justice, extending mercy to those who were technically guilty of taking a life.
How Do the Cities of Refuge Point Us to Jesus?
Now, the ancient Israelites would not have deduced the Gospel from the Hebrew Scriptures’ accounts of the Cities of Refuge, however, these cities (like so many other Old Testament concepts) offer parallels to Jesus. Concepts introduced in the Old Testament and engrained in the Israelites’ worldview formed the foundation of the Gospel message; viewing the parallels in hindsight show us how God was at work all along to bring the ultimate Redemption to His people.
To see the parallels, we have to recognize a few types in the story. First, the “manslayer” of the Old Testament represents the sinner in the New. Second, the “avenger” of the Old Testament represents the eternal consequences of sin in the New. (By saying one “represents” the other, I don’t mean to suggest the Cities of Refuge are allegories. These are real historical events that reflected a historical need, but God was able to use them to point us to an additional spiritual reality.) With this in mind:
- Hebrews 6:18 describes how believers “have taken refuge” and have a “hope set before us” as a result. The context of the passage is clear, that our hope and salvation are found in Jesus Christ.
- This passage is drawing the attention of first-century Jewish readers to the Old Testament concept of fleeing to a city of refuge to point out that Jesus is our City of Refuge. When the condemnation of our sin chases us down, we flee to Jesus as our only escape.
- As a manslayer was safe from the avenger inside the city of refuge,1 we are safe in Jesus from the condemnation of sin.2
- As the manslayer stood condemned outside the city of refuge,3 we are condemned apart from Jesus by default.4
- As the Cities of Refuge were spread out so that one was always nearby,5 Jesus is nearby for all of us to call upon.6
- As the Cities of Refuge were open to the Jews and Gentiles alike,7 Jesus has made God’s salvation available to all who will believe.8
A Bonus Point
A bonus point in the text deals with the death of the high priest. I exclude this from the list above because in this analogy, Jesus is not the city of refuge but the High Priest.
In Joshua 20:6, it mentions that the manslayer had to stay in the city until the death of the High Priest in order to be protected.9 After the death of the High Priest, he was free to leave and resume his old life, and the avenger could not touch him.
Our High Priest is Jesus.10 He not only protects us, but by His death, he set us free once and for all.11 Because the High Priest has died, the avenger has forever lost the right to put us to death.
Conclusion
In light of the statement from Hebrews 6:18, the Cities of Refuge demonstrate to us that it has always been God’s plan to carve out a place for grace amid His justice and offer Jesus as our only Refuge from the condemnation of sin.
See the full message below: