庇护城
约书亚记二十章1至9节
1耶和华晓谕约书亚说：
2你吩咐以色列人说：你们要照着我藉摩西所晓谕你们的，为自己设立逃城，
3使那无心而误杀人的，可以逃到那里。这些城可以作你们逃避报血仇人的地方。
4那杀人的要逃到这些城中的一座城，站在城门口，将他的事情说给城内的长老们听。他们就把他收进城里，给他地方，使他住在他们中间。
5若是报血仇的追了他来，长老不可将他交在报血仇的手里；因为他是素无仇恨，无心杀了人的。
6他要住在那城里，站在会众面前听审判，等到那时的大祭司死了，杀人的才可以回到本城本家，就是他所逃出来的那城。
7于是，以色列人在拿弗他利山地分定加利利的基低斯；在以法莲山地分定示剑；在犹大山地分定基列亚巴（基列亚巴就是希伯仑）；
8又在约但河外耶利哥东，从流便支派中，在旷野的平原，设立比悉；从迦得支派中设立基列的拉末；从玛拿西支派中设立巴珊的哥兰。
9这都是为以色列众人和在他们中间寄居的外人所分定的地邑，使误杀人的都可以逃到那里，不死在报血仇人的手中，等他站在会众面前听审判。
信息分享
回顾以色列人的历史，其中一个最为人羡慕的事实，就是神对他们的眷顾简直是无微不至。祂赐给他们粮食、清水、救赎、能力、住处、衣服等等，还有最重要的，是祂愿意成为他们的神。
当他们进入应许地之后，神对他们的看顾并没有止息。从祂吩咐他们设立「逃城」，让那些因无心之失而误杀人者可以逃到那里，获得暂时的庇护，便可见祂的看顾真是无微不至。我们借此可看见神对罪人的大爱和怜悯。
作祭司的利未支派共分得48座城，神要将当中的6座城用作逃城之用，让那些误杀人者，可以逃到那里，逃避死者家人的报复。
在约旦河的两岸分别设有3座逃城。一座在北部，一座在南部，一座在中部。换言之，两岸的居民若然需要逃城的庇护，都无须走到对岸；而且，无论他在那里犯事，他顶多需要走半天的路程，就可以跑到最接近的那座逃城。此外，周围都要设置清楚的路标，指示逃城的位置；逃城的大门也永不关上。连非犹太人的寄居者，也可以跑到逃城寻求庇护。
基督岂不像我们的逃城？我们在基督里面，可以得着生命、成圣、与神的相交、安全感、盼望、永生、赦罪，以及各种美好的赐予。神自约书亚的时代，已经为人开启了救恩之门；如今，基督已成了人类的救恩之门，只要我们从祂的大门进入，我们便得着一切。让我们祈求神加力，让我们能够带领未认识基督的人，进入基督这个救恩的大门。
THE CITIES OF REFUGE
Joshua 20: 1-9
1 The LORD also spoke to Joshua, saying,
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses,
3 that the slayer who kills a person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there; and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
4 And when he flees to one of those cities, and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declares his case in the hearing of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city as one of them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.
5 Then if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, but did not hate him beforehand.
6 And he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the slayer may return and come to his own city and his own house, to the city from which he fled.’”
7 So they appointed Kedesh in Galilee, in the mountains of Naphtali, Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and Kirjath Arba (which is Hebron) in the mountains of Judah.
8 And on the other side of the Jordan, by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness on the plain, from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh.
9 These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwelt among them, that whoever killed a person accidentally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the congregation.
Message
One of the outstanding facts in the history of the Children of Israel was the completeness of God's provision for them. He gave them food, water, deliverance, strength, shelter, clothes and everything we could think of. Most of all he gave them himself.
When they entered the land he had promised them, his care did not stop. One wonderful provision he made for them was the setting aside of certain cities as places of refuge for anyone who had accidentally killed another person. It is a wonderful story of God's love and mercy for the guilty sinner.
Six cities were set aside out of the 48 that God gave to the Levities, the priestly tribe. They were given, as the name suggests, as a refuge for the manslayer. They would stop revenge killing and protect those who accidentally killed another person.
There were to be three cities on each side of the river Jordan. One in the north, one in the south and one in the centre. This meant that the man running to them did not have to cross a mountain range or a river to get a place of safety. It would be no more than half a day's journey to any city of refuge no matter where a person lived. Signposts had to be kept clearly marked. The gates of the city of refuge were never closed. Even strangers who were not Jews, could run to them for safety.
Isn't that like Christ our great refuge? What do we need? Life, holiness, deliverance, fellowship, security, hope, heaven, eternal life as well as forgiveness. All these things are found in Jesus Christ and much more besides. God opened the door of salvation for the man needing it in the days of Joshua. Christ is the door now to all that we need. Can we ask God today to use us to show men and women the way to that door - the greatest door in all the world?