Joshua 20:1-9 – Soul Asylum
A young lady who occasionally walked through the park after work, stopped to have her picture taken by a photographer on this particular day. She was very excited about her picture being taken. As she walked out of the park, she looked at the Polaroid picture in total amazement. She turned and headed back to the cameraman.
When she got there, she yelled at him. She protested, "This is not right! This is not right! You have done me no justice!"
The photographer looked at the picture and looked at her and stated, "Miss, you don’t need justice. What you need is mercy."
Today, as we continue through our series on the book of Joshua, we will look at God’s mercy, His compassion and kindness, in the form of cities of refuge. Let’s read Joshua 20:1-9.
Now, this was a system conceived of by God. These cities of refuge were meant to be places of safety. In those days, the justice system was sadly lacking. What these cities of refuge did was provide a real step in that system. If a person accidentally killed another person – the head of their axe went flying off and struck someone, or whatever – that person could run away from the victim’s family, while waiting for the priest to declare him or her not guilty. After all, a person wants to avenge their loved one’s death. And if you haven’t already got some sort of legal system in place, revenge was the most natural way to go.
So, these cities of refuge were God’s plan to show mercy to those who needed it. It’s not that justice would not be served. It’s that the cities were intended to show God’s mercy. What the cities show, in fact, is that God’s mercy extends a lot further than other people’s mercy.
I want to share with you 3 things that can be seen about God’s mercy from the cities of refuge of Joshua 20. The 1st truth about God’s mercy is this: 1) Jesus is our refuge. This seems like a no-brainer to people to know the Bible, but it’s true nonetheless. Jesus is our refuge. Jesus is our place of safety. Jesus is where we find mercy.
The New Testament uses the phrase “in Christ” many times. It pictures our relationship with Jesus as being safe in Him, or as Phil.3:8 says, as being found in Him. We are secure in Him. Romans 8:1 says that there is no condemnation for those who are in Him. While we remain in Him, and He in us for that matter, God will not condemn us for our failures. He will not count our sins against us. Not to say that everything Christians do is wonderful and should be applauded, but it means that we are free to ask forgiveness, and God won’t hold it against us. We are declared “not guilty” when we are in Him.
It’s what Hebrews 6:18-19 speak about: “We who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” This hope that the verses speak about is that Jesus has made a way for us to be right with God, and that God keeps His promises. We can flee to take hold of the hope that Jesus gives us mercy. This hope will keep us stable and firm.
Hebrews 4:14 says, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Because Jesus walked where we walk, and was tempted in every way that we are, He knows what we go through. He is kind and patient and merciful to us.
The Bible paints such a picture of how merciful Jesus is, how He provides such a refuge for us. 1 John 2:1 says He is our advocate, our defender and supporter, one who speaks up for us when we need it. Luke 10 pictures Him as a good Samaritan, one who would offer mercy when we didn’t do anything to deserve it. 1 Timothy 2:6 calls Him a ransom, the price paid to get someone out of bondage.
And Isaiah 21:4 uses plenty of descriptions: “You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.” A refuge, a shelter and a shade. All of these show the mercy of our God, how we can turn to Him when the world seeks to destroy us or mock us or intimidate us or pressure us. Even if all the world is against you, God is for you, and He wants to strengthen you in your weakness and pain. Jesus is your refuge.
There’s a town in South Dakota called Spencer, which was hit by a tornado in May 1998, and it was the deadliest and most destructive tornado in South Dakota history. Among the many losses, including six victims, was St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church. The day after the tornado a group from the church walked with their pastor through the remaining rubble of that community. It was an unbelievable sight. There was a grain elevator twisted and fallen, a water tower toppled, vehicles and other heavy things thrown around. Whole buildings just gone from their foundations.
When they neared the site of the church someone called out, "There’s the statue, there’s Jesus!" Sure enough, there it was the traditional white statue of Jesus with His arms outstretched. It was a beacon to all that was left of the 100-year old church. The white paint on the statue was nearly gone and the arms were cracked. But one observer that day said, “I didn’t notice the damage, it was just so remarkable, so moving and so fitting to look up from the chaos around us and see Jesus, arms outstretched, welcoming, and loving his people.”
Now, what’s neat about this story is that it leads us into the 2nd point about God’s mercy: 2) The church is part of God’s plan to provide refuge. The cities of refuge were chosen from among the people. They weren’t on any outskirts. They were part of the land. The refuge came from within. Going back to the tornado story, what that group of church members learned later was that two young girls had something to do with it. They had been helping a relative, who lived nearby, to clean up his property. They had found some things that had belonged to the church scattered around the area, and they wanted to take it back. When they saw the statue lying in the rubble, they figured everyone in Spencer needed to know that Jesus was still there. So, they stood him up for everyone to see.
You see, even though Jesus is our refuge, it’s up to us to provide that refuge in His name. To be a refuge, to be His hands and feet, to people here and now. Not to replace Him, but to reflect him. I’m afraid that many people don’t actually find much refuge in the church.
Philip Yancey writes this story: “I recounted a story told to me by a friend who works with the down and outs in Chicago. A prostitute came to him in wretched straits, homeless, her health failing, unable to buy food for her 2 year old daughter. Her eyes awash with tears, she confessed that she had been renting out her daughter – 2 years old! – to men.. to support her drug habit. My friend could barely bear hearing the sordid details of her story. He sat in silence not knowing what to say.
At last he asked if she had ever thought of going to a church for help. “I will never forget the look of pure astonishment that crossed her face,” he later told me. “Church!” she cried. “Why would I ever go there? They’d just make me feel worse then I already do.”
Folks, I think there is something wrong with us. People like this would have fled to Jesus, but today they avoid the church. Why? We maybe can blame it in part on huge mistakes our forefathers made: the Crusades, the Inquisitions, forced conversions, and so on.
But most people don’t have a good handle on history. All they know is what they see, and they don’t like what they see. They don’t feel welcome. They feel like they’ll be preached at. They’ll feel unworthy of being there. And that’s so different from how people felt around our Lord. How does the church respond when someone is hurting? What are our typical answers, even if these exact words aren’t used?
1) “You have done something to deserve it.” You brought it on yourself. You made your bed, now this is lying in it. Instead of just showing mercy and compassion, we end up preaching.
2) “God is punishing you.” This is the same flavor as #1. God is trying to teach you a lesson, and you’re not listening. This is a lot like Job’s friends’ advice, which didn’t do him a lot of good either.
3) “You should have done something differently.” Now, understand, this may be true, as might the other ones too. But right in the middle of a truckload of pain is not the time to say it. If you had prayed more, or obeyed better, or tried harder, this wouldn’t have happened.
So, what winds up happening is that people who need mercy and compassion often feel like they can’t or don’t or won’t find it at church. You’ll notice often that people who need help the most are the ones who stay furthest from church. They don’t want to face others. They feel lost when they are here. They wonder if anybody cares. They are afraid of what people will say. Friends, this should not be.
Think about people you know who are hurting. What do you say to them? Do you preach, even if it’s with the best intentions? Or do you just say, “I’m sorry. Can I help?” I know the challenge of saying the right words to hurting people, afraid of saying something wrong. But then we wind up staying away and glossing over it. Saying nothing is not wrong, as long as we still let hurting people know we care. How can we as a body of believers let people know that they can turn to us for help, that we are a safe place?
Well, the 3rd truth about mercy from this passage is simple and short: 3) Not everybody will accept refuge. Apparently, there is no record of the cities of refuge ever being used. Mercy is wonderful, but not everyone wants it. You can offer it, you can share it, you can show compassion and grace, but not everyone wants it. I’ve read of convicted prisoners refusing a pardon.
Folks, the point is, we need to show compassion and mercy anyway, even if it’s refused. We need to let people know that God loves them, even if they don’t care. Their refusal is not necessarily because of a mistake on your part. Whatever the result, show compassion anyway. And point to Jesus as the great mercy-Giver. There is no other way.
