“So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechemin 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
From verse 7, we’re given a list of the 6 cities that were to be set aside as Cities of Refuge.
3 were to be located inside the Promised Land and 3 were to be located outside of it.
The 3 sanctuary cities that were to be INSIDE of Promised Land territory were…
…KEDESH,
SHECHEMIN…
(also known as “Shechem”)
…and…
…KIRIATH ARBA
(also known as “Hebron”).
And the 3 sanctuary cities that were to be located east of the Jordan River OUTSIDE of the Promised Land were...
…BEZER,
RAMOTH…
…and…
…GOLAN.
Note that Kadesh was located in Galil or Galilee and Shechem should have a familiar ring to it seeing that it’s a considered to be a very popular historical or legacy site for anyone who would call him or herself a Hebrew.
Finally, the last city located on the western side of the Jordan River was Hebron.
Hebron should also be familiar to all of us because that’s the location where many of the Patriarchs were buried including Abraham’s wife.
Onward.
Next, let’s examine the 3 sanctuary cities located on the east side of the Jordan River.
On the east bank of the Jordan River, we’ve got Betzer, southwards we have Ramot and dead center in the northern part, we’ve got Golan.
Hmm…Golan?
Doesn’t that name have a familiar ring to it?
Well, it should.
Why?
Because this is that same notorious Golan Heights that Israel took back from Syria in the 6-day war that will go down in history as one of the greatest military upsets of all time.
And of course, Israel’s enemies want their Golan back again and depending on who the Prime Minister is at the moment, Israel’s leadership, more often than not, seems to be vacillating back and forth like a confused mouse caught between two pieces of delicious cheese on the matter.
Before I close, here’s something really fascinating I want you to think about.
Isn’t it interesting that a whopping total of 5 out of the 6 sanctuary cities are being claimed by the Arab world as their own…
…and that our current government in the US as well as the UN are taking a stand against Israel and saying that territory belongs to the Palestinians?
Boy, if Israel ever gives back land that rightfully belongs to them, the Lord ain’t gonna be pleased and the outcome is just as certain as the sun setting and rising tomorrow.
In other words...
ALL FREAKIN’ HELL IS GONNA BREAK LOOSE!
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN JOSHUA CHAPTER 21
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