Cities of Refuge | Part 2

God gave Moses and Joshua an assignment to designate six cities as a refuge for six of the twelve tribes of Jacob. This raises questions about why those tribes and cities were chosen, their significance today, and how they relate to our own sense of purpose. 

The concept of manslaughter—specifically, unintentional acts—connects to these refugee cities, suggesting we reflect on the impact of our words and thoughts in our lives. Are they acceptable to God? Are we judging? Are we condemning? Or are we unifying through the love of God that he's given to us? There is the literal act of taking a life, but with Scripture, it begins with our thoughts. 

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV). “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Proverbs 18:21 KJV).

Let's go back to the Old Testament, to the book of Joshua, chapter 20. In the last chapter, I gave you all six cities, and then I broke down the three cities located on the east side of the Jordan River found in the lands of Ruben, GAD, and half of the tribe of Manasseh. 

On the west side of the Jordan River, we have the city of Kadesh, which is in the Galilee of the land of Naphtali. We have Shechem in the land of Ephraim, and Hebron in the land of Judah. 

Hebron is where the patriarchs are buried: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, and Leah. An interesting fact is that Rachel, whom Jacob loved, is not buried here. Only the six mentioned are buried here. Today, people can still visit this burial ground. It is honored and sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims because it recognizes Abraham as a father.

The city of Kadesh, located in Galilee, is a beautiful symbol of a sacred place, as an entrance, a welcoming porch, or gate that also points northwest, symbolizing righteousness. The name of the city means ‘holy or set apart.’ 

Shechem is a holy city in the hills of Ephraim, who was the younger son of Joseph. When Jacob blessed his sons before he died, he purposely crossed his hands when he placed them on the heads of his grandsons Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh was the older son, but Ephraim, the younger son, was given the blessing of a firstborn (Genesis 48:14) 

The word Shechem means ‘shoulder,’ relating to carrying loads, whether physical labor (Genesis 49:15) or spiritual responsibility, like the priests bearing the names of Israel on their shoulders (Exodus 28). This city has a long history of biblical significance and of the strategic pivoting moments God uses. 

• Abraham's Arrival & Promise: God first appeared to Abraham at Shechem, promising him the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:6-7).

• Jacob's Settlement: Jacob bought land near Shechem and built an altar (Genesis 33:18).

• Dinah's Defilement: Jacob and Leah's daughter, Dinah, was violated by Shechem, the local prince, leading to a violent retaliation by Jacob's sons (Genesis 34).

• Joseph's Bones: Joseph's bones were eventually buried at Shechem (Genesis 50:25, Joshua 24:32). 

Conquest & Judges (Joshua & Judges)

• Covenant Renewal: Joshua gathered the Israelites at Shechem to renew their covenant with God, with blessings proclaimed from Mount Gerizim and curses from Mount Ebal (Joshua 24).

• Abimelech's Reign: Abimelech, Gideon's son, was crowned king at Shechem, but later destroyed the city and its people in conflict (Judges 9). 

United & Divided Monarchy (1 & 2 Kings) 

• Division of the Kingdom: After Solomon's death, the tribes met at Shechem, where they rejected Rehoboam, leading to the division of Israel into Northern and Southern kingdoms (1 Kings 12).

• Capital of Israel: King Jeroboam fortified Shechem and made it the capital of the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 12:25). 

New Testament Connection

• Jesus & the Samaritan Woman: While not in the city proper, the Gospel of John mentions Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at "Jacob's well" near Shechem (John 4). 

So, I mentioned Kadesh and Shechem, and the third city on the west side of the Jordan River was Hebron, in the Hills of Judah. Hebron means "beloved of God," "Merciful friendship," and "love." This is where the patriarchs are buried. So, with all of that in mind, I want to ask myself, what does this mean for me? Besides that, these are simply interesting places to think about.

Let's begin with the Passover season and the feast days of the Lord, including the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the first fruit. After Jesus arose from the grave, He walked on the earth for 40 days. My biggest question is what was his path? Where did He walk? He was encountered, according to Paul, by over 500 people, yet after that encounter, only 120 of them at Pentecost ended up in the upper room to start the church. Why do we need to know from this occasion after the resurrection that Jesus appeared to over 500, yet about 380 of those people didn’t join the 120 in the upper room? 

When Jesus appears after the resurrection, He is sometimes seen in a literal fleshly body and sometimes as many facets of light and love, in ways that go beyond appearing as a literal man who walked on the earth before the cross. However, most people are looking for the return of Jesus as the literal coming of the Lord in a glorified human body. They look to the sky for a man riding a white horse, coming down from somewhere in space and landing on the earth. We create visions of what Jesus looks like today from films and movies set in Biblical times, yet if we Google pictures of Jesus, there are hundreds of faces. 

The heart of the matter is that God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are three in One. If we know we have the Holy Spirit in us, we also have God and Jesus in us now. Jesus comes in the Spirit realm within the body of Christ, which has many members or cells. 

Saul, also known as Paul, encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus in the form of a blinding light. He did not encounter him as a fleshly man. “Saul said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,” (Acts 9:5 AMP). So, when we start to recognize and say, "How did these disciples encounter Jesus during this resurrection time?" we want to go back to the cross and the resurrection and realize that they were in an upper room while the whole city was in chaos.

Jerusalem was in turmoil, with a lot of tension. Yet it was also during the season from Passover to Pentecost, the 50 days between the two Old Testament feast days of the Lord. It was customary for the sons of Israel to appear in Jerusalem during this time, a 50-day period of celebration and honor to God, along with the weekly Sabbaths. There was much to prepare, and most of the crowd planned to stay in Jerusalem for the 50 days. They stayed with family and/or on the outskirts of Jerusalem, but within the vicinity. And oftentimes, because of the 50 days, they would bring their families. So, there were large crowds and a lot of tension. And then, of course, what was going on with the crucifixion turmoil taking place, with lots of hatred and bitterness. The disciples were scared.

Peter’s denial of knowing Jesus three times illustrates for us how strong the fear of persecution was among them. Yet, it's also Peter who acknowledged the name of Christ up at Caesarea Philippi. “Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16 KJV). 

Picking back up with these refugee cities on the west side of the Jordan River, we first go to Kadesh in the Galilee. We know that when the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River, they first went to Jericho. Jericho was the gateway city of Jesus’ heart while He walked the earth. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus goes through this city on His way to Jerusalem. It is the city that signifies living water prophesied by Elisha. “The people of the city said to Elisha, 'Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad, and the land is unproductive.” “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So, they brought it to him.

Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’” And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken” (2 Kings 2:19-22 NIV). The name Jericho means ‘fragrance.’ Jesus is our living water and the sweet fragrance of the Father upon the earth. 

So why Kadesh? It’s a refugee city whose name means ‘holy or set apart.’ After Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples, they left singing a new song and traveled to the Mount of Olives. It was there that Jesus told them, “But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee,” (Matthew 26:32 KJV). The disciples didn’t have a clue what Jesus was talking about, except possibly to consider that, with all the festival celebrations taking place in Jerusalem, Jesus would just meet up with them after Pentecost, somewhere around the Sea of Galilee.

Remember, there are feast days going on. It's a Passover celebration, and there's a lot of energy in this city at the same time. It's a Sabbath ritual of what they had to encounter. So, for them, this was just a conversation about Jesus getting up from sitting down, to close out being with them, and to let them know we will meet again in about a month and a half, after all the celebration is over. Similarly, when people meet regularly, they take a break between Thanksgiving and Christmas and meet again after the New Year. They did not even consider that Jesus was talking about going to the cross, being buried, and then being raised from the grave on the morning of the Feast Day called First Fruit and Unleavened Bread. 

There was a lot of spiritual hostility, anger, bitterness, and tension throughout the city, creating negativity through the thoughts and words people were saying. This is manslaughter at its highest, not necessarily literally to the flesh, but the tension of manslaughter taking place, where all it took was the thought, the mind, the heart, and the words to activate manslaughter upon Jesus. “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” (Matthew 27:22-23 NIV). So, the act of actual manslaughter would be simple: just finishing the job. The deed had already been done in their hearts.

In Matthew 28:7-10 NIV, the women were told by an angel when they went to the tomb on the day of First Fruits to go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, AND behold, He goes before you into Galilee; there, you shall see Him.  They thought it was an angel giving them instructions, but as they went to tell His disciples, they met Jesus. They came, embraced His feet, and worshiped Him. Jesus told them not to be afraid but go tell my brethren that they should go to Galilee, and there they shall see Him. 

Jesus gives the disciples a new commandment: They are to go into all the earth, teaching all nations, and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. He shares that He is always with them, even until the end of the world or the cosmos (Matthew 28:16-20 NIV). 

Baptizing was already familiar to the disciples through John with water, but what Jesus is saying is that it is in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. They didn't know what the situation with the Holy Ghost was. Let alone calling God Father. That's what Jesus was being accused of tormented to death. If someone said they were doing their father's work, it meant the father’s DNA was in them. Jesus was establishing that God and Himself were one, and that we were included in that oneness. That meant that you're a Christ one. How do you say those kinds of things? This was huge in what Jesus was telling them. Today, we use these kinds of words, but we don't understand the power of the words that we're using.

We refer to God as our Father, but what does that mean? Someday, when I go to heaven. Is He going to open the gates of heaven and tell me I’m His child? Or does it mean something more for today that as He is, so am I today in this world 1 John 4:17 NIV).

 The first refuge city Jesus told his disciples to go to from Jerusalem was in Galilee. This would have been the city of Kadesh because it meant 'holy' and 'righteousness'. It was in the land where God told Moses to go claim the land flowing with milk and honey, but instead the spies came back giving Moses a report based on fear (Numbers 13:25-27 NIV).

Each refuge city was governed by the Levitical priesthood, receiving its orders from Jerusalem through the high priest. Jesus had to fulfill each refuge city in a personal way. This is the first place He cleansed and sanctified as the resurrected life presence on earth. Jesus conquered death, hell, and the grave so all creation could be restored through the manifestation of who they are, as the Father created them before the beginning of time. 

He has ordained that you are holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16 KJV). You are not a sinner saved by grace. Today, we are all children of the Most High God, whether we know it or not. The struggles we've been going through are a wrestling with our identity of who we really are in Christ, Jesus is decreeing that we are righteous. You must sit on that for a little while. 

It is the first place we must go to understand that we have always been children of God and that our sins have been forgiven. They've been wiped clean, and you are holy. A key to this city on a mountain is that Jesus came to this place while in ministry to rest (Matthew 15:29). Jesus goes there to rest, and a great multitude shows up. Why is this multitude coming there?

They had some sort of dis-ease. They needed healing from sickness and from both physical and spiritual blindness. They were dealing with spiritual oppression, yet they came in hope. They came for cleansing and restoration. Jesus healed them all without asking anyone to say a sinner's prayer or to confess their sins. Jesus commanded the land as the High Priest of refuge, declaring that these people were holy and set apart because of the resurrection. Healing occurred instantly, renewing their spirit, soul, and body.

Afterward, we find that Jesus didn't want to send them away hungry or fasting after being healed. He wanted to feed them. What did he have? A little boy with seven loaves of bread and a few fish. What was that all about, and why was it here in Kadesh?