And they hallowed Kedesh in Galilee in the hill-country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Kirjath-Arba, that is, Hebron, in the hill-country of Judah.
These three cities stood west of the Jordan. God had ordered them long before as places to run to after killing someone by accident, out of reach of the dead man's relative seeking revenge. Their names, their spacing and their hilltops all carry meaning. Commentators read them as a picture of Christ, the shelter God provides.
Kedesh lies in the north, Shechem in the centre and Hebron in the south. Three more cities stood east of the Jordan. Together they covered the whole land:
East of the Jordan the cities of refuge were Bezer, in the wilderness, in the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead, in the tribe of Gad; and Golan, in Bashan, in the tribe of Manasseh. The distance from city to city works out at about 70 miles. So no one in any part of the land would be farther than about 35 miles from one of them.
One writer sees God's own character in that plan:
Anyone in danger from the avenger's sword always had a city within reach. This was worthy of our God. If a man who had killed someone fell into the hands of the avenger of blood, it was not because no refuge stood near. It was because he had failed to use it. God provided everything needed. He named the cities, marked them clearly and made them known to all. He made it as plain, as simple and as easy as possible. Such was God's gracious way.
Each of the three sits in hill country — Naphtali, Ephraim and Judah. A man running for his life had to see where he was going:
In the land of promise these cities stood, each on a hill, in full view of everyone. High roads led to them, laid out so that no one could have trouble finding the way. The gates of the cities of refuge always stood open, so that every manslayer could flee there (Deuteronomy 19:3).
The names themselves carry the lesson. Kedesh sits in the land of Naphtali, and both names matter:
Kedesh was in Naphtali. Kedesh means "sanctuary," and Naphtali means "wrestler-struggler." Christ is the refuge for the struggling sinner.
Shechem is the second name, and another writer works from where the city stood:
Shechem means "shoulder," the part that bears the burden, and it is an easily read picture of service. On each side of it stood mount Ebal and mount Gerizim, where the curses and blessings of the law were announced after Israel entered the land. So the city of refuge here speaks of Christ as the servant of God, doing His will and listening to the voice of the law. He listened even to the curses for breaking it, though He Himself was perfect. He magnified the law and made it honourable by submitting to a penalty which others had incurred. In this way God was glorified in the cross.
after_note: DELETE
Taken in the order the verse gives them, the three names build on each other:
All the meanings of these cities fit wonderfully with the perfect refuge God provides for confessed sinners saved through the blood of Jesus. The sanctuary (Kedesh) is the presence of God, a place of perfect safety. Then Shechem (shoulder) reminds us of the Lord Jesus carrying the lost sheep on His shoulders. That is the place of strength, of certainty, of security. Hebron (communion) then gives the added sweetness of fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3).
One writer links this command with Israel's later history:
God told Joshua to appoint cities of refuge as soon as Israel finished dividing the land. That points to God's gracious provision for Israel. They lost the land which the Lord gave them, and they were driven out of it because of their guilt. Even so, God still sustains them in great mercy, until the day comes when they will enter their inheritance again. So, though Israel did not understand it, their cities of refuge proclaimed the grace of God to them in the dark and terrible day of their crime in killing His Son. Each one proclaimed it from the height on which it stood, with the highways running towards its gates.
- Refuge near. Six cities ringed the land, three on each side of the Jordan. No one lived more than about thirty-five miles from one. God made escape as plain and easy as possible.
- Refuge seen. Each stood on a hill in open view, with prepared roads leading to it and gates that never shut.
- Refuge named. Kedesh means "sanctuary," and it sat in Naphtali, the "wrestler-struggler." Christ is the refuge for the struggling sinner.
- Refuge deepened. Sanctuary, then shoulder, then communion. First safety, then strength that carries you, then fellowship with the Father and the Son.
- Refuge foreseen. God set these shelters up long before Israel's greatest crime. They proclaimed His grace even in the day Israel killed His Son.
And beyond the Jordan from Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness, in the plateau, out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan of the tribe of Manasseh.
Joshua 20:8 names the second set of three refuge cities — Bezer, Ramoth and Golan — all east of the Jordan, outside the land Israel had just conquered. So why did the tribes who settled short of the promised land get the same shelter as those inside it?
Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh chose land on the near side of the Jordan instead of crossing into Canaan. Commentators read God's provision for them as mercy that outruns their choice.
Here we have a lovely display of the grace of God rising, as it always does, above human weakness and failure. The two and a half tribes chose their inheritance on this side of the Jordan. In doing so they were clearly stopping short of the proper portion of the Israel of God, which lay on the other side of the river of death. But despite this failure, God in His abounding grace would not leave the poor slayer without a refuge in the day of his distress. If man cannot come up to the height of God's thoughts, God can come down to the depths of man's need. And He does so here so richly that the two and a half tribes had as many cities of refuge on this side of the Jordan as the nine and a half tribes had in Canaan.
The six cities were spread so that distance would never decide a life. One writer works out the spacing:
The distance from city to city comes to about seventy miles. So no one anywhere would be farther than about thirty-five miles from one of them.
That arrangement shifts where the blame falls if a man dies:
Suppose a slayer fell into the hands of the avenger of blood. It was not for want of a refuge near at hand. It was because he had failed to make use of it. God made all the provision that was needed. He named the cities, marked them out clearly, and made them known to everyone. Such was God's gracious way.
Bezer sat in Reuben's flat wilderness. Its name points to a walled place:
"Bezer" means "fortification," a place enclosed, sometimes a "store" or treasure so enclosed. The application to our Lord hardly needs enlarging on. God's enclosure can never be only a defence. It must be planted, like the first garden, with "every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food." … In Him, evil and the enemy are not just shut out. We are shut in with blessing.
Even the word for the plain it stood on carries weight:
Bezer is also "in the level country" — the mishor. Isaiah 11:4 and Malachi 2:6 use that same word for "equity." This is indeed how Christ has become a refuge for us — no mere escape, but righteousness.
Gad's city lay in rocky Gilead, and its name matches its terrain.
"Ramoth" means "heights," as "Gilead" means a "rocky" region. In a level country, a simple enclosure gives security, as we find in Bezer. In a rocky district, the natural place of safety is a height. … Christ our refuge is indeed raised so high that nothing on earth can attack or threaten our security in Him.
Golan stood in Bashan, and one writer reads its name in the light of that setting:
Golan has been given very different meanings. We take the one that best fits its context, since that carries the fullest significance. The idea suggested by Bashan, the kingdom of Og, we have already considered. It speaks of pleasure, in a bad sense — luxury, sensuous pleasure. … "Golan," in keeping with all this, means "joy" — even the kind that shows itself in bodily movement, "exultation". … And what could a Manassite need more, especially one who has failed in steadfast purpose, than Christ in that character as a refuge from himself?
Their number and their placing carry a message too.
These six cities were a gracious provision for anyone who had killed his neighbour without meaning to. Six marks human imperfection, falling short of the well-known Bible sign of perfection — seven. They stood three on either side of the Jordan. On both sides of the river God gave full testimony to His mercy. Look whichever way we will, we can only see our own utter sin and imperfection. Yet where sin abounds grace much more abounds, and the mercy of God extends to all.
- Grace crosses. God gave the tribes who stopped short of Canaan three cities all the same. He comes down to man's need when man will not rise to His thoughts.
- Grace measures. Cities seventy miles apart left no one more than about thirty-five miles from safety. If a man died, no refuge was missing.
- Grace encloses. Bezer, the walled place on the level plain, shuts evil out and blessing in. Its refuge is righteousness, not mere escape.
- Grace lifts. Ramoth, the heights of rocky Gilead, sets the sheltered one where nothing on earth can reach him.
- Grace gladdens. Golan, read as joy, stands in the land of soft living as refuge for a man who most needs saving from himself.