So let’s get our bearings of where we’re at in our discussion of the 6 Cities of Refuge.
The last time we met, we talked about two kinds of righteousness.
One kind was the earthly or physical type of righteousness that one attained through obeying the Law and having one’s sins atoned for via the Levitical sacrificial system when an unintentional sin was committed.
The other kind of righteousness was a spiritual kind of righteousness that man could NOT attain of his own efforts and had to be imputed into him by God.
In other words, no matter how perfectly man obeyed the Law and had his unintentional sins atoned for via the Levitical sacrificial system, there was still unfinished business between him and the Lord that remained.
Again, the 6 sanctuary cities reflect and give us a good picture of what this so-called “unfinished business” was all about.
Here’s the thing.
When a man killed another man, even if it was an accidental killing, it was still a sin and had to be dealt with.
Blood spilled on the land, defiled the land, period, and a remedy was required.
What was the remedy God provided?
Well, if it was indeed an accidental killing, the perpetrator had the option of being able to escape to a City of Refuge where the Blood Avenger was forbidden to touch him.
But and this is a big “but”, he was still a prisoner being held captive there and was unable to leave lest he risked being destroyed by the Blood Avenger.
Think about that for a second.
Why wasn’t he allowed to leave the sanctuary city?
Because he was guilty of sin (even if the killing was accidental) and he was the one responsible for defiling the land by spilling blood.
Sure, he could perform the proper sacrifices at the Tabernacle or Temple and receive the earthly type of righteousness that resulted from obeying the law.
But even after fully obeying the Law and making all of the proper sacrifices, he was STILL forced to remain captive inside the Sanctuary City.
Why?
Because as I’ve been saying man, there was still some unfinished business remaining between him and the Lord.
If he tried to prematurely leave the safe confines of the City of Refuge he was dwelling in, the Blood Avenger (GO’EL in Hebrew) would find him and avenge the death of his relative.
So the man who had committed involuntary manslaughter, for his own well-being, was for lack of a better expression being held prisoner inside the sanctuary city until a certain something special occurred.
And what was this “certain something special”?
It was the death of the current High Priest.
I find this amazing!
The death of the High Priest ATONED for all those being held captive inside of the sanctuary cities and allowed them to go scot free and not have to worry about any blood avengers hunting them down.
Are you grasping what’s going on here?
Before Yeshua ushered in the New Covenant via his death and resurrection, any person who died in righteousness (the earthly kind of righteousness) was quickly escorted to a safe haven known as Abraham’s Bosom.
He was safe there but still a captive.
Satan wasn’t allowed to touch him there but he was still being held a prisoner there UNTIL…
…Yeshua, our High Priest died and wouldn’t you know it, set all the captives inside the sanctuary city known as Abraham’s bosom free.
The pattern is EXACTLY the same.
See how important it is to properly deduce the patterns in Scripture?
Once Yeshua’s death freed the captives who were trapped inside of Abraham’s bosom, they were now free to leave and enter into a glorious heaven and eternity with Hashem.
Another interesting point to notice is that now that Yeshua’s death has freed the captives, Abraham’s bosom is completely unoccupied.
It’s empty and will remain so.
Therefore, in the New Testament age that we’re living in now, one who dies in righteousness by believing in the Lord’s one and only begotten son has a one-way ticket straight to the pearly gates.
There is no more having to make any intermediate stops at Abraham’s bosom.
Isn’t this awesome?
Through our faith in Yeshua, we’ve got our pardon in hand and upon passing away are instantly ushered into the spiritual dimension of heaven where the devil can never ever interfere in our lives again.
Well, there you have it.
I’ve just shown you how the 6 Sanctuary Cities are a physical or earthly reflection of God’s heavenly plan for the salvation of mankind, a plan made known way before Yeshua ever came onto the scene.
These Cities of Refuge and their spiritual counterpart known as Abraham’s bosom also gives us deeper insight into the oft quoted verse…“all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God“.
Because even if we possess the first kind of earthly righteousness attained from Torah obedience, we still have that “unfinished business” between us and God that needs to be taken care of.
Fortunately, Yeshua has taken care of that unfinished business for us.
Can I get an “Amen” in the house here?
Leave a Reply