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
Adam and Eve disobeyed the command of God and ate of the forbidden fruit. The consequence was that Genesis 3:11-12, He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." (ESV)
As Adam and Eve hid from the Lord, the Lord questioned Adam as to how he became aware that he was naked, and then perceived that they had eaten of the fruit that God had commanded them not to eat. Adam should have responded with a yes or no answer, but Adam did not take responsibility for his disobedience. The first thing Adam did was to blame God by saying that He was the one who was responsible for giving Eve to him. Next, Adam blamed Eve for the predicament that he found himself in.
Maybe you too have been blaming God or someone else for the difficulties that you are facing. Let me remind you that the loneliness you are facing is because of your own choices. It is the nature of humans to blame God for all the miseries that come upon them, and then there are those who always blame others. There are husbands who constantly accuse their wives for their troubles and vice versa. The fact is the problem is not outside, but most often from within. We must own up for our mistakes, and realize that we chose the wrong friends or made bad decisions that ended us up in trouble. There are many who are hurt, and living in solitude with much grief.
If you are in a place of loneliness, and feel that there is none to care about you or to comfort you
this is what the word of God says in Jeremiah 30:17,“For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the LORD, because they have called you an outcast: 'It is Zion, for whom no one cares!'” (ESV)
To the one who is destitute, with much sorrow and hurt, the Lord promises to bring health and healing. This is not the words of men, but the word of God to us. Sometimes we can be with our family, be at work with many other colleagues, or even be in church worshipping with many others, and yet feel all alone. You may be feeling rejected, but the Lord assures you that He can bind up your wounds, and bring healing and wholeness to you. If you have blamed God or others for your problems, repent and confess to the Lord that the fault lies with you, and not with anyone else. Anyone who realized this and makes a change will be rid of their loneliness, and God will bring them back into fellowship with others.
Adam and Eve are a great example for this. As long as they were in fellowship with God they had an amicable relationship with each other, but once this was broken by sin, they began to blame each other.
Let me share two other examples from the bible.
The loneliness of Hagar
• Hagar ran away
We read in Genesis 16:7-10, “The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai." The angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her." The angel of the LORD also said to her, "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude."” (ESV)
The Angel of the Lord met up with Hagar who was the slave of Sarai, in the wilderness near the spring on the way to Shur. When Sarai thought the promise of God to bear a child would never be fulfilled, she and Abram decided that they would have a child through Sarai’s maid Hagar. Hagar conceived through Abram, but things got complicated, and the family lost their peace. On having conceived Hagar got haughty, and began to disrespect Sarai. In response to this Sarai began to treat Hagar harshly which made Hagar run away into the wilderness. The Angel of the Lord met up with Hagar, and enquired of her as to where she had come from, and where she was going. Hagar explained that she was fleeing from her mistress Sarai.
Generally when we ask someone where they are coming from, and where they are going, they will have an answer for both. However, for Hagar she was just running away from her mistress, but had no idea where she was going. All that she had in mind was to run as far away from Sarai as she possibly could.
Whenever the Lord questions us, it is only because He wants us to realize that we have done something amiss, and not because He does not know what is happening in our lives. There are many husbands who tell their wives that they want to leave the home and go away elsewhere, and so also there are many wives who respond in the same way to their husbands. Also, there are some who would wish to die to escape some trying situations. Let us remember that our life is a gift from God, and may we never ever even in anger desire to die so as to escape the problems we are facing. Today it is becoming common for many to run away from home when things get tough. If you have entertained such thoughts or done such things repent and seek God’s forgiveness for the same. If you are trying to run away from relationships that God has kept you in, do not do so. That is not a solution to your problem.
• Hagar is asked to go back
The Angel of the Lord advised Hagar in Genesis 16:9 to return to her mistress Sarai, and to submit to her authority.
Today many are finding hard to submit to this authority that God has placed over them. Children cannot submit to the authority of their parents, wives do not want to submit to the authority of their husbands, husbands are not willing to submit to the authority of God and His word to be loving to their wives. The consequence of this lack of submission is that there is confusion in relationships.
• The promise to Hagar
We read in Genesis 16:10, The angel of the LORD also said to her, "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude."” (ESV)
Hagar went back, and was submissive to her mistress Sarai, and the Angel of the Lord promised her that her offspring too would multiply so that they could not be numbered.
To be submissive means to be humble. Sometimes we don’t want to talk to someone who treated us badly or spoke to us disrespectfully. We do this simply because we think highly of ourselves, and find it hard to accept insult of any sort.
• Hagar’s revelation of who God is
We read in Genesis 16:13,So she named the LORD who spoke to her, "You are El-roi"; for she said, "Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?" (NRSV)
Hagar was one who named the Lord who met her in the wilderness. She called Him El-roi, the God who sees, and also had compassion on her to let her live after seeing Him.
If Jesus is not in our relationships, there will be no peace. Only through Jesus we can have peace with God, and Jesus was revealed to bring about this fellowship between us and God, and between us and our fellow-men. No wonder then that the city of refuge was called Hebron which meant fellowship or friendship.
The loneliness of Moses
We read in Exodus 3:1,“Moses was taking care of the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. As he led the sheep to the far side of the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”(GW)
When we study the life of Moses we realize that he too faced a lot of lonely times in his life. As a little baby, Moses was born in a strange time when the King of Egypt commanded that all the Israelite male babies be thrown in the River Nile. The parents of Moses tried their best to keep him safe, but after three months this became an impossibility. Moses’ parents made a basket of reeds, coated it with tar and pitch, and left the baby alone in the River Nile. We see that Moses experienced this loneliness even as a little baby.
As Moses was found by Pharaoh’s daughter the princess, and brought up in the palace, he was brought up as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. At forty years of age, when Moses went to oversee the land, he knew in his heart that he was a Hebrew, and not an Egyptian. When Moses saw an Egyptian ill-treat an Israelite, Moses was angered, and killed the Egyptian. However, when the news of this reached the ears of Pharaoh, Moses had to flee from Egypt. Once again Moses had to face this loneliness as he fled from Egypt, and settled in the land of Midian.
For forty long years Moses lived in Midian, got married, and spent his years looking after the sheep of his father in law in the wilderness. Here again Moses had a lonely life.
If you are wondering as to why you have to face these seasons of loneliness over and over again, the Lord is encouraging you to not grumble because the Lord can transform your situation. Maybe close relations have hurt you deeply, and have abandoned you to a life of loneliness. God reassures you not to worry because you have a great future ahead of you.
Moses sent back to Egypt
The words of the Lord to Moses as found in Exodus 3:10,Now I am sending you to the king of Egypt so that you can lead my people out of his country."(GNB)
God’s promise to Moses
We also read in Exodus 3:12,God answered, "I will be with you, and when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will worship me on this mountain. That will be the proof that I have sent you." (GNB)
Though Moses was separated from everyone, and lived in loneliness for many long years, the Lord brought him back into the fellowship of His people. The very place that Moses fled from in fear, God sent him back to accomplish His purposes.
Moses obeyed and went back to Egypt. Hagar obeyed and went back to her mistress Sarai. They humbled themselves and gave honor to God’s word.
People may forget about us, but the Lord will never do that. God is watching over us, and He intervenes so that we can fulfill the purpose for which He created us. If you feel you are living a life of loneliness with no purpose, the Lord reassures you that He has a specific plan for your life. As a child of God remember that your loneliness will not continue on.
Jesus restores our relationships
We read in 2 Corinthians 5:18,“God has done all this. He has restored our relationship with him through Christ, and has given us this ministry of restoring relationships.” (GW)
The name of the city we are studying about is “Hebron’ which means ‘Fellowship.’ Jesus Christ was revealed in this earth for the sole purpose so that He could restore our relationship with God the Father.
We also read in Ephesians 2:13-14,“But now through Christ Jesus you, who were once far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. So he is our peace. In his body he has made Jewish and non-Jewish people one by breaking down the wall of hostility that kept them apart.” (GW)
The Almighty God wanted to reconcile us to Himself, to make peace with us so that we could be His children, in fellowship with Him, and so He sent His son Jesus. Jesus took on Himself all of our sins and curses so that our lives can be totally changed. When our relationship with God is restored through Jesus all other relationships will be smoothened out as well, so we can be rid of our loneliness, and be in fellowship with one another.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by Sis. Esther Collins
