Joshua and Judges: The refuge cities - a fair criminal justice system is necessary for the prosperity of a nation; Jos 20.

Title: Joshua and Judges: The refuge cities - a fair criminal justice system is necessary for the prosperity of a nation; Jos 20.  

 

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Jos 20:1 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,

 

Jos 20:2 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'Designate the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses,

 

Jos 20:3 that the manslayer who kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood.

 

Jos 20:4 'And he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and state his case in the hearing of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may dwell among them.

 

These towns (6) were to serve for a refuge from the avenger of blood, that the manslayer might not die before he had taken his trial in the presence of the congregation.

 

The number of cities was fixed at six, three on the east side of the Jordan, and three on the west side in the land of Canaan, to which both the children of Israel, and also the foreigners and settlers who were dwelling among them, might flee.

 

 

Each of these cities are Levitical cities. They were not at liberty to select any cities that they pleased. Remember that the inheritance of the Levites was the priesthood and there were not given an allotment of land but various cities throughout the entire land from which to minister to the people. In each of these cities there would have been a sanctuary in which the priests served and to which the manslayer could flee.

 

God even instructed in Deu 19:3 that roads be built and maintained that led to these cities so that the manslayer could get there quickly.

 

God made sure that the journey to the nearest refuge city would not be long or burdensome, since if they were, any avenger may with time overtake him and slay him before he could have his day in court. The idea was that once the event happened the unintended killer could quickly flee to the nearest of the six cities and find refuge before any avenger could overtake them.

 

A nation cannot prosper without a fair criminal justice system. If laws are not fair and citizens are not protected under the law then the nation will be corrupt and eventually erode from within.

 

This is a wonderful example of innocent until proven guilty, the importance of human life, and a justice system that is compassionate and merciful and where justice is blind to race, color, ethnicity, gender, economic status, or social status.

 

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird a young black man, Tom Robinson, is accused of beating and raping a white girl in the American south during the depression. Atticus Finch defends the black man and is able upon cross examination of the girl to reveal that her testimony is inconsistent and that she is lying. Tom Robinson's testimony throws further doubt upon the testimony of the girl and the fact that he has no use of one of his arms throws even more doubt that he could have physically done what he was accused of. Despite not one shred of physical evidence and the questionable testimony of the girl, Tom is found guilty and he is killed. This novel, written by Harper Lee and based upon real events in her own life when she was a young girl, was written in order to shine light on racism in the south, but it also shows us something about the criminal justice system. If the people of that small town were able to have their way, Tom would have been executed without trial due to the ignorance, passion, and blood lust of the people. This would occur in any nation where there isn't a fair criminal justice system. God is sure to provide such a system in His client nation.   

 

There have been numerous examples in history of nations, kingdoms, city-states where leaders have attempted to retain power through injustice. The only ones who successfully retain power are the ones who are excessively harsh.

 

The cities of refuge not only protect the manslayer but also the soul of the avenger from the tragedy of bloody revenge upon the innocent.

 

In passion an man may seek revenge and have it blood, but once his passion condenses and reason returns the tragedy of his guilt may destroy him.

 

Also, when the accused is standing before the elders of a city that is not his home city, he is more likely to have unbiased opinions in his judgers. As Christ said, "A prophet is not without honor except in his home town, and in his own household." A day in court in a foreign city is a way of ensuring fairness and removing bias. Justice is supposed to be blind.

 

Jos 20:5 'Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him beforehand.

 

Jos 20:6 'And he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the manslayer shall return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.'"

 

If the manslayer was acquitted by the congregation [elders of the city] then he was to remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Therefore there was still a punishment for unpremeditated murder by the exile of the defendant from his home and family.

 

A most curious instruction is given in that the defendant, innocent of premeditated murder, must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest, upon which he may return home. Why is this so?

 

The high priest was anointed with the holy oil which represented the Spirit of God upon him as he interceded for the people. He is a type of Christ and so when he died he became a type of the redemption of Christ and His propitiation of the Father for the sins of the world. The high priest interceded for the people and offered the sacrifice for the people on the Day of Atonement. Christ is the High Priest who interceded for the sins of the whole world.

 

When the high priest died all manslayers in refuge not guilty of premeditation were released. This is a type of Christ.

 

Jos 20:7 So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

 

Jos 20:8 And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.

 

Jos 20:9 These were the appointed cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.

 

Joshua 21: Appointment of the cities for the priests and Levites.

 

Jos 21:1 Then the heads of households of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of households of the tribes of the sons of Israel.

 

Jos 21:2 And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, "The Lord commanded through Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasture lands for our cattle."

 

Calvin concludes that in all the business of organizing the land distribution that the Levites were forgotten, and so they had to come to Joshua personally and demand their cities. This is no where implied and something that we would find quite improbable. Their tribe has received the priesthood, but they were cursed with Simeon for the murder at Shechem. Their proper place is at the end of the line and from the lands already given there will be cities designated to them along with their suburbs so that their animals can graze.

 

The Levites will receive 48 cities with their surrounding pasture lands throughout the twelve territories.

 

The six cities of refuge were given to them and then 42 cities were determined for each major division in the tribe of Levi. The Levites were not the sole possessors of the cities, but simply received a number of dwelling houses and surrounding land for their animals.  

 

Jos 21:3 So the sons of Israel gave the Levites from their inheritance these cities with their pasture lands, according to the command of the Lord.

 

Josh 21:4 Then the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites.

 

All of this should have been a joyous and exciting time with the added anticipation of journeying to your very own land and taking possession of it and cultivating it.

 

The list of the cities and to whom they are given is recorded for all time.

 

Jos 21:41 All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel were forty-eight cities with their pasture lands.

 

Jos 21:42 These cities each had its surrounding pasture lands; thus it was with all these cities.

 

Jos 21:43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it.

 

Jos 21:44 And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand.

 

This is the fulfillment of the promise:

Deu 12:10

When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security,

 

Jos 21:45 Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.

 

The promise given to Joshua at the beginning of the book is fulfilled. Joshua was strong and courageous and God gave every land where his foot stepped into his possession.

 

Jos 1:5 No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life.

 

It is true the Canaanites were not all exterminated; but those who were left had become so powerless, that they could neither accomplish nor attempt anything against Israel, so long as the Israelites adhered faithfully to their God, or so long as Joshua and the elders who were his contemporaries were alive, because the Lord had overwhelmed them with fear and terror before the Israelites.

 

Any remaining Canaanites lived in great fear of Israel, and this would be the norm if Israel continued to live in fear of Jehovah, but after the death of Joshua and his elders, they did not.

 

Naturally this will make for a lot of unnecessary suffering upon Israel, which is the second part of our study, the Judges. It is unnecessary because it was deserved.

 

Jud 2:6 When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land.

 

Jud 2:7 And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

 

Jud 2:8 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten.

 

Jud 2:9 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

 

Jud 2:10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.

 

That they did not know the Lord would not be the fault of the prior generation not teaching them. They did not "hear O Israel."

 

Due to their apostasy Israel never came into possession of the whole land promised by God, and for some this means the annulment of the promise to them and that it was always a conditional promise. God's promise to Abraham was an unconditional promise. Remember that Jehovah alone passed through the pieces of split animals in Abraham's vision. Possession of the whole land by the nation of Israel will occur in the future. It will take Christ to do it, just like everything else.