Joshua 20

These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwelt among them, that whoever killed a person accidentally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the congregation.

(Jos 20:9)

This was first commanded back in the book of Numbers, and now we see the Israelites obediently putting these cities into place. Can you imagine how scary it would be to run from somebody that WANTS to kill you? You would be looking for a refuge, a place where you were safe and protected from your enemy. In this passage, that is what these cities were all about. If any of the Israelites was responsible for the accidental death of another individual, these cities provided them with a place of protection.

They provide us with a picture of the refuge that we have in Jesus Christ. In many ways Jesus is our REFUGE. We are all guilty of sin; in fact, we are all guilty of sin so heinous that the penalty of it is death. We are looking for refuge, somewhere, anywhere that we can run to be protected from the certain death and judgment that awaits us. In Jesus we have a REFUGE.

So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God's inner sanctuary.

(Heb 6:18-19)

We can be confident in JESUS; the refuge that we have in Him has brought us into the very presence of God, where we not only have protection, but FELLOWSHIP with the God of the Universe. I love these verses, “we who have fled to HIM for REFUGE can have GREAT CONFIDENCE”. When we are trusting in the Lord, we have nothing to fear!