“But thus the eternal counsel ran: ‘Almighty love, arrest that man!’” (Jehoida Brewer)
So there they were—six cities strategically placed throughout the Promised Land, three on each side of the River Jordan. God told them, “You shall prepare roads for yourself” (Deut 19:3), to provide good accessibility to the cities. A man fleeing the avenger had no time to waste. The cities must be set high on hills to provide visibility, and the gates left open day and night for unbroken reliability. How relieved a man would be, after the trauma of the last few hours—inadvertently causing the death of a neighbor, furtively fleeing under cover of darkness, just a few steps ahead of the avenger—and now safe within the city walls. Have you made such an escape? I have. I’ll never forget the moment, though only a child, when I realized to my horror that I was guilty of the death of the Son of God! It was because of who I was, a sinner, and what I had done, that He had died. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). Not only so, but I knew I had sinned intentionally, and the ancient cities of refuge in Israel would be no help to someone like me. I was being chased by “the avenger of blood” (Deut 19:6), the stern justice of God. Was there any place to hide? I found in Christ the only place of safety because, as Jehoida Brewer wrote in his classic poem, “On Him almighty vengeance fell, Which must have sunk a world to hell. He bore it for a sinful race, And thus became their Hiding Place.” Or in the beautiful words of Scripture, “we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus…” (Heb 6:18-20).