Deuteronomy 19:1-10 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 19:1-10. Let’s go!
Deuteronomy 19:1-10 (NIV)
1 When the LORD your God has destroyed the nations whose land he is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses,
2 then set aside for yourselves three cities centrally located in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
3 Build roads to them and divide into three parts the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that anyone who kills a man may flee there.
4 This is the rule concerning the man who kills another and flees there to save his life–one who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought.
5 For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life.
6 Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought.
7 This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.
8 If the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he promised on oath to your forefathers, and gives you the whole land he promised them,
9 because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today–to love the LORD your God and to walk always in his ways–then you are to set aside three more cities.
10 Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the LORD your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.
On verses 1-10: Here Moses tells the Israelites that when God leads them into the land He has promised them, they are to set aside three cities as “cities of refuge”. What was a city of refuge? It was a place where an individual who had killed someone by accident could flee for safety until they were given a fair trial. By staying in the city of refuge, that individual could not be killed by the “avenger of blood” (v16), that is, the person who was assigned the task of executing anyone who was guilty of murder.
Just as God wanted three cities to be set aside as cities of refuge for the Israelites to flee to, God set aside Jesus Christ to be our city of refuge. When we sin, we can run to Jesus and find refuge from God’s wrath. The cities of refuge in the Old Testament point us forward to the protection we have in Jesus Christ.
Also, why does Moses tell this current generation of Israelites that if God enlarges their territory, they are to set aside three more cities as cities of refuge (v8-9)? It’s because God wants to make His grace and mercy easily accessible to people everywhere, regardless of where they are. Just as the cities of refuge were meant to be easily accessible no matter where people were in the land, so the safety and protection we have in Jesus is so easily accessible. All we have to do is call on Jesus’ name, regardless of your past or your background.
Praise God for the amazing, accessible protection we have in Jesus. That is why Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”
Thank You, Jesus, for being my city of refuge, the One I can run to whenever I mess up, whether willfully or accidentally. Thank You that I am always safe in You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
