Super Bowl Sunday has come and gone. We went to our son’s house for a ‘watch party’ but more so to be with family and friends. We would have watched more had it been the Broncos and Seahawks, but such is life. And for halftime, we skipped the SB show and opted to watch TPUSA’s alternative. It was good for being thrown together in a fairly short period of time. But I understand that they will be doing this again next year, and now have much more time to plan. It is possible that as many as 50 Million people watched TPUSA once you count the numbers from social media accounts as well as TV networks and other sources. It was bigger than they had anticipated, so they will do it again.
One quite surprising thing was that Kid Rock added a verse to his song that very clearly gave the gospel of Jesus Christ. I didn’t expect that. I only know Kid Rock by name, as his type of ‘music’ is not my cup of tea. Is he a Christian now? I have no idea, but God was certainly working through his song Sunday night. And that was good to see. It was also good to have a safe place to go to to escape the SB “show.”
Escape is my topic today. I just finished Joshua, and in the last few chapters the Levites came to Joshua to make sure they got their cities to dwell in as they got no inheritance. They also wanted to make sure that the cities of refuge were established. The cities of refuge, in case you didn’t know, were special cities set aside for anyone who accidently killed someone. The cities could not be more than a day’s journey from anywhere in Israel. And as Israel expanded, more cities were to be set aside for this purpose.
The person who accidently killed someone was to run to this city where he would be protected until a trial could be held. If he was found guilty by the word of two or more witnesses, he would be executed. But if it was determined that he killed someone by accident, with no malice, he had to stay in that city until the current High Priest died. Then he could go back home. There was no telling how long he would be in the city of refuge, but if he left before the high priest died, the “avenger of blood” could track him down and do him harm, maybe even kill him. But as long as he was in the city of refuge, he was safe.
I had always wondered what that was all about in my early days of inconsistent Bible reading. It seemed a bit elaborate, and at times quite inconvenient for the accused killer. I mean, what if the high priest lived for another 20–30 years? That’s a long time. There is no mention of Jubilee coming to the rescue either, so I’m guessing that however long it took for the high priest to die, you were confined to that one city. That was your refuge. On the other hand, what if the High Priest died the next week, or even the next day? That place of refuge was for an indeterminate period of time either way.
But then we get to the Psalms, specifically 46 which says,
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
It starts with God being our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Let’s take all that was said about the city of refuge. It applies to God. But He isn’t a days journey, He is always present. And He isn’t just a city, He is a fortress. I mean, who better to be our protector? We can be still and know that he is God. We need never fear, though the earth give way, no matter what happens. He is with us always. in Him we live and move and have our being.
Why do we need this refuge? And who is the avenger of blood we are running from? We need this refuge as we are all a bunch of sinners who have sinned against this same Holy God who has the power to give and take life, and has the power to cast your soul into hell. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of this God. He is an all consuming fire. You can’t run from this God. You must run TO Him if you want to find true refuge.
Of course, we can live in this fortress until our trial to see if we are guilty. And we ARE guilty. And this is where our Lord Jesus comes in. He has paid the price for our sin and has justified us. We have had all of our sin taken from us, and He has made a declaration that we are absolved of all sin, ad He has imputed His righteousness in us. In other words, when the Father looks at us He sees His Son who never sinned.
Now we are to stay in this refuge until the death of the High Priest. And guess what? Jesus is the High Priest forever, never to die. AND, since God is ever present, it is impossible to leave the fortress, this city of refuge. We remain as long as He remains, which is forever. And ultimately we will get new bodies when He returns for His own, and we will live in His very direct presence for all time and eternity. Never to get sick, never to sorrow, no possibility to sin, no death, no mourning.
We get a taste of it today, but will get the fullness of this when He comes again. And oh, won’t that be a great day. Come quickly Lord Jesus.
Amen
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