“But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him anything without laying of wait, or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: then the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with holy oil” (Numbers 35:22-25).
Earlier in the same chapter Moses had mentioned that of the forty-eight cities provided for the habitation of the Levites in Canaan, six were to be set aside as cities of refuge, three on the east of the Jordan and three on the west. As seen above, “these cities were appointed so that in the event anyone killed a person unwittingly, he could flee to one of these cities and not be put to death by the avenger of blood” (Roy, pg. 98). It was in that city that he was to remain until he received a fair trial, and if found innocent he would be returned there to live until such time as he could return home. The cities of refuge were places of safety. They were places where danger was averted temporarily until it could be averted permanently. And it was in these ways, and more, that they served as a type of the church of Christ.
Type/antitype pictures have served a valuable purpose as God used people, places, things, and events from the Old Testament to enlighten truths in the New. What greater truth could be illuminated than the protective and saving nature of the church for which Jesus came, suffered, and died to establish? And it is that very blood that serves as the protective nature of the church, blood that continues to flow to cover sins of which man is penitent. What, though, are some other truths revealed about these cities of refuge that enlightens our understanding of the only church of which the Bible speaks?
The cities of refuge were for all. God has never been a discriminatory God. All the blessings He has ever offered He has offered to all. This is especially true as it applies to the cities of refuge. Of them Moses recorded: “These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither” (Numbers 35:15). There was no one under heaven that did not have the offer of protection extended to them. How true is this of the church? There is no soul under heaven restricted from entrance if they will only submit. Along this line Paul would write, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). As our children often sing, “red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in His sight.” The gospel, and salvation in the church by the gospel, truly is for all, just as were the cities of refuge.
The roads of entrance to the cities of refuge were plain and simple. They were not ornate, decorated with all the bells and whistles of a parade-lined route. In fact, in the preparing of these cities God commanded: “Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it. Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither” (Deuteronomy 19:2-3). There was nothing glamorous or particularly spectacular about the means of entrance to these protective places, but the way was to be very simple. Is that not true of entrance to the church as our protective place? Of our particular means of entrance, even Christ Himself never described it as more than a “strait and narrow way” (Matthew 7:13-14). It is not marked by special miraculous feats or spectacular shows. But rather the effective and only means of entrance to the church is as plain and simple as the gospel itself. In Acts 2, those three thousand who entered that Pentecost day did so by, after hearing and believing the gospel of God’s Son, repenting of their sins and being immersed in water in order to wash away their sins (vs. 36-42). Many in the religious world still maintain that some special and supernatural sign accompanies the salvation of the soul, but the Bible declares the simplicity of entrance to the body of Christ, just as was the entrance to the refuge cities.
Those who would be protected had to remain in the cities of refuge. If ever the “slayer” departed the city, before the death of the high priest, the “avenger of blood” could justifiably kill them without guilt. Why? “Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge…” (Numbers 35:28). Protection could only be guaranteed in that designated location. Does the church not serve in the same capacity? It is obvious from scripture that spiritual and eternal protection is available only in the church (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:23). Thus is it not obvious that to depart the church would be to depart the only measure of protection available to us in looking forward to the judgment? No wonder John encouraged the first century Christians to remain faithfully serving in the church even if it meant their death (Revelation 2:10). That was the only means by which they could receive the crown of life. If we are going to receive the fullness of God’s protection from sin and eternal suffering, we must remain in His church just as those in times of old had to remain in the cities of refuge.
So many other similarities exist in the great type/antitype relationship that is pictured between the cities of refuge and the church of Christ. However, one final must be mentioned. How terrible for the innocent soul to have had the protection of the cities of refuge available to them only for them to refuse its service and suffer the consequences? And yet how much more terrible for you to have the protection of the blood bought church available to you only for you to refuse its blessings and suffer the consequences that are eternal?