Cities of Refuge
“The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.” - Joshua 20:1-3
Some people view the Old and New Testament as two sides of a coin, insofar as God in the Old Testament is seen as a stern, jealous disciplinarian while the New Testament paints a picture of a God of love and forgiveness. This view could not be more mistaken. One of many examples of this can be found in God's instructions to the Israelites to designate Cities of Refuge amongst the possessions of the Twelve Tribes.
Under the legal system imposed by God on the Israelites, the penalty for killing another person was that of death (as in 'eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth' style justice that is so haughtily dismissed today). Such is a just punishment as defined by the issuer of laws (though the killer and relatives may disagree). Yet even the stern, jealous disciplinarian that some love to paint saw fit to provide mercy when circumstances asked for it. As we read in the above passage, those who killed by accident and without prior malice were able to seek sanctuary in a City of Refuge to escape the just punishment that would no doubt be meted out by the relatives of the slain person.
Of course, such a merciful provision does not come without its costs. The provision of mercy came with a sentence in itself – the slayer was bound to live in the City of Refuge until the passing of the High Priest that was alive at the time that the killing occurred – this could have been as little as two years, or as many as twenty or more! Effectively, the killer in saving his life was sacrificing his possessions, status in his community and livelihood. Even if the killer was able to return after a number of years to the community from whence he fled, the reality is that he would have to start from scratch.
This is an interesting parallel to our own salvation story. As the Bible clearly states, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23); the just punishment for a life of sin meted out by the righteous judge who issued the laws which we so willingly disobey. Yet in his loving mercy he has provided a place of refuge for us in the sacrifice of his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, that we might save our lives and join with him in eterneity. Yet though he has done this, we must still face our physical death, just as the killer who flees to the City of Refuge must sacrifice his livelihood and possessions to save his body. Nobody ever said that mercy meant that we did not have to face some of the consequences for our actions, even if we do not receive that which, by the very laws we have transgressed, we deserve.
How odd though, that such a parallel may so easily be drawn? Perhaps not. The assumption that each Testament of the Bible reveals a different nature of God is based on faulty reasoning. The Old and New Testaments, rather than being two different sides of each other, or a type of theocratic behavioural dichotomy, are really two parts of a story of love loss, redemption and reconciliation that began in eternity past and will consummate in the time to come. The existence of the Cities of Refuge give us evidence of this timeless mercy revealed to us completely by the Cross. Let us remember that next time we try and divide the Old and New Testament in such an artificial and inarticulate manner.
