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The Beginning of the End
tions. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be
established.” (
Matthew 18:16
).
No atonement or ransom could rescue a person proved guilty of
murder. “You shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is
guilty of death, but he shall be surely put to death.” “No atonement
can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by
the blood of him who shed it.” (
Numbers 35:31, 33
). The safety and
purity of the nation demanded that the sin of murder be severely
punished.
The cities of refuge were a symbol of the refuge provided in
Christ. By shedding His own blood the Savior has provided a safe
place for the transgressors of God’s law. They may flee there for
safety from the second death. No power can take the souls who go
to Him for pardon out of His hands.
A person who fled to the city of refuge could not afford delay.
There was no time to say goodbye to loved ones. Fatigue was
forgotten, difficulties were ignored. The fugitive dared not slow
down until safely within the city.
Just as lingering and carelessness might rob fugitives of their
only chance for life, so delays and lack of concern may result in
the ruin of the soul. Satan, the great adversary, is pursuing every
transgressor of God’s holy law, and everyone who does not earnestly
seek shelter in the eternal refuge will become a prey to the destroyer.
The prisoner who went outside the city of refuge at any time was
fair game for the avenger of blood. So today, it is not enough that
sinners believe in Christ for pardon of sin—by faith and obedience,
they must abide in Him.
Civil War Avoided
Two tribes, Gad and Reuben, with half the tribe of Manasseh,
had received their inheritance before crossing the Jordan. The wide
upland plains and rich forests of Gilead and Bashan had attractions
that could not be found in Canaan itself. The two and a half tribes,
desiring to settle here, had pledged to supply their quota of armed
men to go with their brethren across the Jordan and share their battles
until they also would enter upon their inheritance. When the ten
tribes entered Canaan, forty thousand of “the men of Reuben, the