"Then the Lord said to Joshua: 'Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood." (Joshua 20:1-3) A person who caused the death of another was innocent until proven guilty and they could flee to a city of refuge to await trial and to be protected from the next of kin of the deceased person. At trial it would be decided whether the death was caused accidentally or on purpose, but in the meantime the dead person's next of kin was prevented from carrying out vigilante justice. This protected both parties because a person who did not intend to kill anyone would not lose his life and the dead person's next of kin would not have to bear the guilt of having killed an innocent person.
The person referred to as "the avenger of blood" had the right to execute someone who deliberately caused the death of his relative because the Lord said, "Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed," (Genesis 9:6a), and, "The killer shall be sent for by the town elders, be brought back from the city, and be handed over to the avenger of blood to die." (Deuteronomy 19:12)
But if the accused person did not cause the death intentionally, he must be sheltered by the elders of the city. "When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state their case before the elders of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them. If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed the neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled." (Joshua 20:5-6)
Even though found innocent, the fugitive is not free to go on with his life as normal. He must remain in the city of refuge until the high priest, who presided over his trial, dies. Only then can he go back to his hometown. If the avenger of blood takes his life after he is free to return to his hometown, the avenger of blood is guilty of murder. But if the fugitive leaves the city of refuge before the high priest dies, neither the high priest nor the elders of that city are responsible for what happens to him and neither is the avenger of blood. (Numbers 35:26-28)
Why is the innocent person not allowed to resume normal life after he is found not guilty by the court? I consulted a number of commentaries and found no answer that completely satisfied my curiosity but two primary opinions struck me as having the most merit. The first was that this law illustrates the sanctity of life. Although the person did not intend to cause the death of another, the fact that he could not leave the city of refuge for a specified time (until the death of the high priest) underscores the gravity of the taking of human life, whether the taking of the life was accidental or on purpose. It was perhaps intended to cause every person to take heed to his ways and to think about how his actions affect those around him. A person being careless or inattentive on the job or while going about their daily lives is probably not intending to cause anyone's death but another person's death may occur as the result of carelessness or inattentiveness.
The second opinion I found---and I'm especially partial to this one---is that this law is intended to illustrate the redemptive death of Christ: our great high priest. Let's look at the explanation for this theory. The Old Testament sacrifices had to be made over and over and over because none of those sacrifices was perfect enough to forever pay for the sins of man. Those sacrifices provided a temporary "city of refuge" (a refuge from wrath) so to speak, but they had to be repeated again and again. When Christ came, His death on the cross was enough to save forever those who place their trust in Him. He does not have to offer Himself over and over and over, so the law we are talking about in today's passage may be a metaphor to us being set free by the death of our great high priest, just as the fugitive in the Old Testament was set free by the death of the high priest. In Christ we have refuge forever from wrath; we have been set free of our sins and set free from the penalty for sins.
We'll conclude our chapter with a list of the cities of refuge. "So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly." (Joshua 20:7-9)
The Israelites settled on both the east side of the Jordan and on the west side of the Jordan. This is why there are cities of refuge on both sides. Also the cities were spaced out in such a manner that a person did not have too far to travel to reach one; this helped him to evade the avenger of blood if that person was in pursuit of him. The Lord is so merciful! He wants to provide refuge to man! He wants us to come to Him with our sins and our failures and our doubts and our fears! He has not made it difficult for us to approach Him but invites all to come to Him to repent and receive forgiveness. In addition, the Lord not only made it possible for the Israelites to find refuge in Him, but He made it possible for Gentiles to find refuge in Him too. Just as foreigners could flee to cities of refuge, we who are Gentiles by heritage are invited to flee to the Lord for refuge. Blessed be His name! My ancestors were heathen idolaters but, because the Lord invites one and all to come to Him for redemption, I too am of the family of God! I am not shut out from His grace because I am not an Israelite. I am not separated from His mercy because I am not an Israelite. Because of His great love toward all mankind, I have a place at His table too.
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