City of refuge Numbers 35:6-28

The city of refuge is a place of mercy.  It was a place that a person could run to for refuge if he had accidently killed someone.  As you read the above reading, you read about the avenger of blood.  This person exacted the demands of the law- an eye for an eye.  This person looked after the deceased and made sure that justice was exacted.  There was also a limitation placed on the city of refuge.  The person would be safe as long as the High Priest was still alive.

In our cities today, God still provides cities of refuge.  Those places are the churches.  It is to the church that people can flee for mercy.  The Law of God points out our sins and reminds us that the wages of sin is death and the soul that sins, it shall die.  Satan accuses us and rightly points out that we do not deserve God's mercy.  Death is the judgment that awaits us all.

Thanks to God.  We have a High Priest who will never die.  Jesus is the High Priest who assures us that we will be kept safe from those who pursue us.  Jesus reminds us that through His death, the demands of the Law have been met.  Jesus assures us that in spite of Satan's accusations, the cross and the empty tomb are evidence that Satan has been judged and he no longer has any claim on our lives.  Jesus has conquered death so that even if we die, we shall live with our God.

When people come through your church door, assure them that they are in a city of refuge.  They are in a sanctuary from the avengers who are bringing them turmoil in their lives.  They are in the presence of the High Priest who will never die and consoles them with the grace and mercy of God.  They now walk in the confidence that they are protected by the grace and love of God.