The Cities of Refuge: Sermon on Youtube

Lane Chaplin has graciously posted the Cities of Refuge sermon on youtube.

Doug

Cities of Refuge - Hebron

The third city of refuge we will look at will be Hebron which means fellowship.

1 John 1:3 says…
That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Thanks to Christ’s work on the cross, we have fellowship with God. Without this mediating work, this would have been impossible because God’s justice needed to be satisfied, and it found its satisfaction in Christ our substitute. This verse in 1 John not only speaks of fellowship with God which is primary, but fellowship with each other as a result of our redemption.

When we flee the wrath to come and seek refuge in Christ, we are adopted as God’s children, and as children of the same Father we become brothers and sisters in Christ.

Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; 1 John 3:1

Praise God for the fellowship we have found in Him.

-Doug Eaton-

Cities of Refuge - Shechem

Another one of the cities of refuge was Shechem, which means shoulder or support. With these cities of refuge being a picture of what Christ does for us we can ask, “in what way is Christ a shoulder or support to us.”

The first verse that comes to mind is Isaiah 9:6 which says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:” This verse speaks of all government, but we also know that Christ governs His Church. One of Christ’s main offices is to be our king. As our king He has, and will, sovereignly oversee His kingdom by subduing our enemies such as sin and death, and protecting the rights and liberties which pertain to us as children of God. His rule is also eternal which means we will never have to worry about a new king coming into power who will not protect us.

Another way that Christ is our shoulder or support is that He gives rest to the weary and heavy laden. Much like Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress, we come to Him with the weight of sin upon our backs, knowing that it is more than we could bear. On the cross He takes that burden from us and endures it on our behalf by taking our wrath and giving us His righteousness. In this we find rest knowing that it is not our work that makes us right with God but His.

Praise God for being our shoulder and support.

-Doug Eaton-

Cities of Refuge - Golan

1 Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'Designate the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, 3 that the manslayer who kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood. Joshua 20:1-2

The cities of refuge in the Old Testament are a picture of what Christ does for us. As the man guilty of accidentally killing someone is pursued, he can find refuge in six cites that have been set aside for this purpose. In these cities he is protected from those who seek to avenge the blood that he shed by taking his life.

Spiritually we are in the same situation, but our sins were no accident. We have sinned against God and His justice hangs over our head, and He will one day pour out His wrath upon us. Unless of course we flee to the refuge He has provided, and that refuge is Christ. For in Him God’s justice was satisfied for all who believe.

There are many things these cities of refuge teach us about Christ, which will hopefully be explored in future posts, but to start I want to focus on the meaning found in the names of the cities of refuge. Today we will look at Golan.

Golan was one of the Cities of Refuge, and what is interesting about this name is that it means separation, but not just any separation for some separation brings sorrow. The name Golan however carries the idea of separation that brings joy. When we run to Christ we will be separated from many things, and being separated from these things will bring us joy.

First, we will be separated from the guilt and condemnation of our sin. This is our justification. The wrath of God that rightfully belonged to us has been placed on the sacred head of Christ.

Second, we are saved in some respect in this life from the sin that rules our hearts. The sin we struggle with in this life is slowly dying thanks to the work of the Spirit in our lives. Though we will never reach perfection in this life we are in a process of being separated from our old selves, and this process is our Sanctification.

And third, we will finally be separated from all our flaws and be made like Christ, which is our glorification. The day will come when we will sin no more, and we will be separated from our darkened view of Him and see Him face to face. In that moment all the weakness and imperfection we carry will be gone permanently.

Rejoice in Christ our refuge, for in Him we will find joy in all the things from which He separates us. Flee to Christ and be separated from your guilt, sinful struggles, and eventually from this body of death.

-Doug Eaton-