Finding Refuge
Text: Joshua 20 Brutality! It amazes me that in this 21st century as advanced as humanity is with regard to technology, medicine, and communication - how terribly cruel we can be. Last week, my wife and I rented a DVD that I would highly recommend to each of you by the title of Hotel Rwanda. It is a true story of one man’s attempt to save lives during the massacres that swept that African nation in 1994. People who had lived next door to each other for years, working and playing together, sharing life turned on each other viciously and in a matter of days, a million people died - most hacked to death with machetes!
The whole thing with international terrorism reveals humanity’s capacity for cruelty, too.
∙ Palestinian leaders turn their teenagers into walking bombs that blow up Israeli buses,
who can understand that?
∙ The ongoing violence in Iraq that is killing far more Iraqi citizens than American soldiers is a puzzle, too. How do you win a war by killing your own people?
∙ What did those men who hijacked airliners and killed thousands on 9/11 think their outrageous acts would really accomplish? People who had nothing to do with geo-politics were murdered by cruel fanatics.
Lest we think that we Americans are above brutality, let me observe some of our cruel and/or violent acts. Perhaps they are not so dramatic, but these, too are evidence of human depravity.
∙ Companies layoff thousands to increase profits for share-holders by a few cents.
∙ Executives take home $millions in bonuses while pension funds for those retired are declared bankrupt.
∙ Members of street gangs gun down rivals in drive-by shootings that kill little children standing nearby.
∙ Children are victimized by sadistic predators on the Internet.
∙ Spouses drag each other through bitter divorce proceeding with little thought for the damage they are doing to their children or each other!
∙ Neighbors report each other to authorities for minor offenses.
∙ People sue others in frivolous lawsuits because they know it is often cheaper for the one sued to offer a quick settlement than it is to contest the action in court!
In all this, do you ever long for a place to run and hide? Sometimes I just have to stop watching the news for a few days. I cannot bear to hear of one more atrocity, one more fight, one more selfish act. Then, too, I pray that God keeps me from injustice, from using power or position to cause others pain.
Basic justice and mercy are issues of GREAT importance to God. If you study the OT for moral issues you will discover that there are many references to JUSTICE. Micah cried out to the people of God saying,
"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8, NKJV)
Our text for this morning tells of a way that God addressed the issues of cruelty and justice in ancient Israel. He moved His people away from brutality that was very much a part of the world by putting into place a system allowing for justice. As the people of God were taking possession of the Promised Land, Joshua directed them to set aside 6 cities that were places with unique status in a cruel world. They were called ‘cities of refuge.’
Follow along if you wish, as I read the 9 verses of the 20th chapter of Joshua. READ
To understand this passage we need to give it some social context. Israel moving into the land and settling, but there was no real system of judges or courts. The ancient law called LEX TALIONIS, the law of retribution, was in effect. It was a cruel system that did not make much allowance for accidents or unintentional results. The standard was ‘eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life!’ If a person was involved in an accident that killed another, the dead person’s family members - called ‘avengers of blood’ - were allowed to come after the one who caused the death.
In this unique instruction for Israel we read today, God reveals His concern for justice. These six cities, located strategically in the territories where the Israelites were settling so that any one of them could be reached from any spot with one day’s journey, were a step towards justice and fairness. A person who was under a threat of retribution could quickly make his way to one of these cities. There he would present his case to the Elders of the city and, if they accepted his account, he was admitted to the city for protection until a full trial could be arranged where all the evidence was considered by the city elders.
So what does this have to do with us today?
First, it is a lesson for us that GOD is deeply concerned about justice and, if it concerns Him, it must concern us!
There is another Biblical principle that needs to be aligned with this one - that there is increased responsibility that accompanies greater privilege. We who live in America with access to great wealth and at the top of the pinnacle of power in the world must be very concerned that we use our privilege in ways that produce justice!
I would like to explore some of the political implications of these wedded principles, but simply do not have time to do the kind of presentation that it would require. Let it suffice today to simply observe that as citizens of this nations, we Christians have an obligation to use the power of our vote not just to create more privilege for ourselves, but to attempt to influence national policies to care for the weak, the poor, and the powerlessness both in our nation and in the world.
Much closer to where you and I live our day to day lives, there are also issues of fairness, of justice that we cannot ignore.
It is your obligation as one belonging to God to watch out for the person who is being unfairly targeted by those in power at work, at school, or in your home! We sin when we knowing participate in systems that exploit others. My prayer is that God will create a bold streak of concern in each of us and give us the courage to stand alongside of those who are weak, to become the voice of justice.
Sadly, we live in world where it is often acknowledges that ‘might makes right.’ The worth and dignity of individual human beings is sacrificed to efficiency, production, or even beauty!
Ask a girl of lesser beauty what kind of cruelty she must endure at the hands of her peers.
Ask a child of poverty how difficult it is to navigate the hallways at his school, where he is tormented
because he does not have the latest toys and cannot wear the latest fashion.
Ask a person who belongs to a minority race or religion about the kinds of walls they must climb over to enjoy access to jobs even in our nation that claims equal access.
Listen carefully, unless you and I rise to defend the aging, I predict that killing those who are infirm near the end of life will be as common in 20 years as abortion is today! Just like the shame of taking the life of a defenseless baby while it is the womb is shrouded in words that hide the horror, so this society will invent language that attempts to make euthanasia an acceptable choice when the cost of caring for the elderly begins to have an impact on the lifestyles of those who are empowered.
We must stand alongside of those whose lives are threatened, becoming a city of refuge to them! This has been the role of true Christians since the beginning of the Church.
The church as a place of refuge.
My vision for this church is that we will be a safe place, a place where people with broken lives can run for refuge! Too often, the Bible-believing has been known more for wielding the Sword of Truth than for administering the balm of healing. We are so good at pointing out the sins and failures of others, but not nearly so good at creating a place that helps them find a healed life through the power of the Holy Spirit of God.
Those who are full of tears need a place to weep, without being judged. The broken need a place where their needs are acknowledged with something more than a pat on the back or a joyful song that points out that ‘the sun will come up tomorrow!’
America is a lonely place! We rush from appointment to appointment, place to place, and then disappear into our living rooms where our best friend is often the TV. Extended families are often shattered by divorce or unable to function because the members are scattered across the country.
That is why this church must be a home, a place where ALL people matter. But this requires real sacrifice. It means you won’t always get your way, your needs won’t always be addressed even if you’re the bigger contributor, and your seat might be filled by someone who looks different from you. It means that real tears will be shed here, tears that make us uncomfortable.
The church is to be a modern city of refuge!
∙ Can the divorced mother bring her little ones here without feeling like she’s judged?
∙ Can the young man who is struggling with an addiction sit among us and sense we care that he lives?
∙ Can the homosexual find love here among us without us feeling a need to speak to his sexuality until we have shown we really love him as a person?
∙ Can the rebel teen who dresses to shock us still feel love or only our stares?
∙ Can a person who is unsure if God even exists stand in our church and be allowed to question without being met with anger?
Our witness to the Truth must be matched by a commitment to the quality and kind of love that was modeled by Jesus as he ministers to those who were broken, failing, hopeless, or alone!
Let me be direct - perhaps painfully so. Sometimes it appears that we find it easier to love a ‘sinner’ than we do that person who worships alongside of us week after week. Christians need a city of refuge, too. Why is it that we are so quick to criticize, so ready to tell that other person how they should straighten out their life, to cast the glance of condemnation towards the Believer who is fighting to survive in a world full of temptation?
Christians can be quite uncharitable towards each other! I’ve heard people in our own fellowship harshly criticize others for just ‘being human.’ In this regard, we don’t do much better than those who make no claim to know Christ’s love or to be filled with the Spirit.
Believers, why can’t we just love each other?
Why can’t we accept each other with gentleness, respect, honesty, and a charitable spirit?
Why do we allow ourselves to be so sensitive to personalities, quirks, and the bad days of another’s life?
Why do we try to re-make everybody else meet our expectations and jump through our hoops before we will love and accept them?
The truth is, and it is my final point today, an impoverished experience of God’s love leaves us without the ability to love the people in the world and in the church that surround us.
Our lack of concern and compassion is not their problem, but rather reveals our own spiritual poverty!
The ultimate refuge is found in Jesus Christ. When we are in danger of spiritual death, Jesus Christ throws open the gates of His love and takes us to Himself, giving us safety from the penalty that would be ours. He does so, not because we deserve protection or acceptance, but because He is loving and gracious.
Sadly, many of us sitting in this room, with our shirt neatly pressed and our lives, at least on the surface, set in order- feel so little need of God’s loving grace! Let me tell you a story that Jesus first told....
The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn’t pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market.
The poor wretch threw himself at the king’s feet and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt. “The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, ‘Pay up. Now!’
The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ But he wouldn’t do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king.
The king summoned the man and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn’t you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?’ The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that’s exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn’t forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy.” " (Matthew 18:23-35, The Message)
The point? God has spared us, provided us with mercy – therefore, how can we do less as we deal with others?
Have you entered the city of refuge through the door opened by Christ Jesus?
Have you accepted His offer of love and let it soak deeply into you being? If so, the fears that keep you from loving people who are different, who are threatening, who are sinful will be erased. John tells us that ‘we love because He first loved us.’
And what kind of person does a deep experience of God’s love produce? Let the Bible tell you directly —
This is the message we have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was right. So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to eternal life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another Christian is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.
We know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us. And so we also ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters. But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help—how can God’s love be in that person?
Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions."
(1 John 3:11-18, NOT)
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The cities of refuge were amazing evidence of the mercy of God and His concern that justice triumph over vengeance. I pray that the short chapter of Joshua causes us to examine our own lives -
Here are several key questions I want to leave echoing in your mind today....
1- Have I entered into God’s refuge, been extended the protection of Jesus Christ?
2- Am I a person of compassionate mercy, who is actively involved at every level with seeking
justice and defending those who are weak, poor, or rejected?
3- Am I helping my church to become a city of refuge where people will readily run when they are in need, are distressed, or in need of compassion?
Amen
