Second City Of Refuge - Shechem Series

Today’s meditation is taken from 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)

Even during the days of Moses, the Lord had commanded him that when the Israelites reached the Promised Land, they were to designate six of the cities as cities of refuge. These were meant for anyone who would accidentally kill another, and therefore would have to run to safety from anyone who sought to avenge them for their mistake. There were also instructions as to where each of these cities should be situated, details about the upkeep of the roads that led to these cities, and also matters pertaining to the safety measures that needed to be followed. The reason for such detail regards these cities of refuge was because this was a foreshadow for the coming of Jesus who was to be city of refuge for all of mankind.

As we continue our study on the names of these cities of refuge, we will be able to understand how these are closely related to the attributes that were found in Jesus.

We read 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)

In the previous message we studied the name of the first city named ‘Kedesh’ which meant ‘holy.’

For this message we will study the name of the second city ‘Shechem’ which means ‘shoulder.’

The parable of the Lost Sheep

The first thought that came to my mind about shoulders was from the parable that Jesus taught in Luke 15. When Jesus was on earth often he used parables to teach the crowds that followed Him. A parable was a story that was from events on earth which conveyed a deep spiritual truth.

We read in Luke 15:3-4,“So He told this parable to them, saying, “Which man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it?” (TLV)

A man who owned a hundred sheep went searching after the one sheep that he had lost. The man could have thought as to why he should go seeking after one lost sheep, when the ninety nine were still safe under his care. That one sheep might have gone deliberately away from the flock or could have been a rebellious one that moved away from the flock. Nonetheless, the owner went searching high and low for that lost sheep, and must have made enquiries from several others too as to the whereabouts of that sheep.

When we misplace something at home, we will sometimes ask our children to search for the same. Invariably, the children will after a few minutes of searching, give up and tell us that they can’t find it either. Not so the owner of the sheep, for he kept on searching until he found that sheep.

The sheep was on his shoulders

We read in Luke 15:5,“When he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” (ESV)

As soon as the owner found the sheep he was not annoyed with it, but rather he rejoiced over it.

Often times when people do wrong, they walk away from the Lord, and believe that God is angry with them. This is not true for even if the wrong choices lands us in trouble, we have a God who comes searching for us, and His heart is filled with love and compassion for us. Moreover, when we are found by God, He rejoiced over us.

The next thing that the man did was to put the sheep on his shoulders. This picture filled my heart with awe for the lost sheep had a privilege to be on the shoulders of his master that the ninety nine sheep did not experience. Also the man did not think it a burden to have the sheep on his shoulder, but rather was rejoicing over it.

Shoulders represent a place of safety. When we are on God’s shoulders it means that no harm can come near us, and Satan will have not be able to attack us. It doesn’t matter as to how far away you have gone and even if you have done things that are against the Lord, remember that He is willing to take you back, and will bear you on His shoulders. There are things that you may have done ignorantly or even deliberately, but remember that with the Lord there is forgiveness if you turn your hearts toward Him.