Third City Of Refuge - Hebron Series

For today’s meditation we will study Joshua 20:1-2, “Then the LORD told Joshua to say to the people of Israel, "Choose the cities of refuge that I had Moses tell you about.” (GNB)

Moses the servant of God brought the people of Israel from their bondage in Egypt into the Promised Land that God had promised to give to them. Even before they entered the Promised Land, the Lord had given Moses several instructions regarding the land that they would inherit and of these, six of the cities were to be assigned as cities of refuge. Also elaborate instructions were given with regards to the maintenance of the roads that led to these cities, their entrance, and also details pertaining to the way those who entered the city should be looked after. Once the Israelites entered the Promised Land the Lord reminded Joshua to choose these cities of refuge as a safe place for anyone who had accidentally killed another, and had to flee from being avenged.

The reason for such details about these cities of refuge was these were a fore-shadow of the coming of the Lord Jesus who will be the refuge for all of mankind. Nothing in the bible was recorded without a purpose, but every word that is written has a reason, and there is a meaning behind them as well. Jesus became that city of refuge when He came down to the earth, took upon Himself the sins of all mankind, so that mankind will not perish, but receive the eternal life through His death and resurrection.

Names and meanings of the cities

We read about the names of these cities in Joshua 20:7-8,“So, on the west side of the Jordan they set aside Kedesh in Galilee, in the hill country of Naphtali; Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim; and Hebron, in the hill country of Judah. East of the Jordan, on the desert plateau east of Jericho, they chose Bezer in the territory of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead, in the territory of Gad; and Golan in Bashan, in the territory of Manasseh.” (GNB)

The names of the six cities have meanings that signify the character of Jesus, and explain the reason why Jesus came down to the earth.

1. The name of the first city was ‘Kedesh’ which means ‘holy’ or ‘to be set apart for the Lord.’ It is only through Jesus, and His death on the cross that people of the world are freed from their sins and set apart for the Lord. No one can be made holy or can come to the Father except through Jesus. Though many great men lived on the earth, none can be compared to Jesus as He was the only one who without sin. Only those who believe in the Lord Jesus can be made holy.

2. The name of the second city is ‘Shechem’ which means ‘shoulders’. We have studied about this in the previous message. Jesus carried the cross on His shoulders, and by His gruesome death He took our sins on Himself so that we can receive the righteousness of God.

3. The third city is ‘Hebron’ the meaning of which is ‘Fellowship or Friendship.’

We will study about this aspect of friendship and fellowship from various incidents in the bible.

The fellowship in the Garden of Eden

In the book of Genesis we read the account of God’s creation.

We read in Genesis 2:22-23, “And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."” (ESV)

God decided that it was not good for man to be alone, and so He created Eve as a suitable help for Adam. When Adam saw Eve, he immediately realized that she was perfect for him and sang her praises without any complaints whatsoever. Adam accepted God’s gift of Eve to him just as she was, and we see that there was a harmonious relationship between God, Adam and Eve. It was into this beautiful relationship that Satan entered, and created confusion.

Even today families that are in good fellowship with each other will be firmly established. Many families are broken, and the reason for this is that the Lord Jesus is not at the center of their families. Several families are in conflict because they have not put a safe fence around themselves, and have permitted others to enter into their relationship. In this relationship between husband and wife when anyone else is allowed to interfere, it could even be parents or friends, the result is that there will be confusion.

The consequence of disobedience