Christmas in the Epistles - 1 Timothy

1 Timothy 3:14-16 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: 15But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 16And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

How the New Testament communicates Jesus Christ
Throughout the New Testament letters we find portions of scripture that refer back to the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ.  To familiarize the reader with how the New Testament communicates Jesus Christ, it is instructive to consider it as four major divisions:

1. The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) = Present Jesus Christ
2. Book of Acts = Preaches about Jesus Christ
3. The Epistles or Letters (21 in all) = Explain Jesus Christ
4. Book of Revelation = Prioritizes the Glory of Jesus Christ

Christmas truth ought to be celebrated every day by Christians
From the brief discussion above we can zero in on one of those passages in the New Testament letters that "explains" to us the significance of Jesus Christ's incarnation: 1 Timothy 3:14-16.  This passage, though only three verses in length, gives us incredible reasons as to why we should make the truth of Jesus Christ's first coming a major part of everyday Christian living.  Note what Paul has to say about the significance of God the Son's incarnation and its practical significance in the lives of God's people:

1. Confidence of Christian living is associated with Christ's first coming 1 Timothy 3:15
2. Christ's supernatural power is available because of His first coming 1 Timothy 3:16a
3. Christian mind is fed by the doctrines of His first coming 1 Timothy 3:16b

Practical, Supernatural and Doctrinal Christianity: The fruit, root and trunk of Christianity
The heart of this blogsite is centered around the premise that the Christian life operates upon three legs: practical living, supernatural living and doctrinal living.  Think of Christian practice as the "fruit" of the Christian life, the supernatural power of Jesus Christ through His word as the "root", and the doctrine of scripture as the "trunk".  Jesus for example tells us that you will know the true believer by the "fruit" or attitudes and actions that flow from their heart. (Matthew 7:21-23)  When Paul writes these three verses, he is concerned with how his readers will "conduct themselves" as the household of faith.  Most of what the Old Testament anticipated looked forward to His first coming.  Likewise New Testament faith draws its life from the accomplishments of Jesus Christ in His first coming.  The fruit of the faith-life is tied into the root of the supernatural truth: Christ's first coming.

The root of Christian faith is the supernatural God-man: Jesus Christ.  Paul writes in 1 Timothy 3:16a: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness....".  A mystery in the New Testament is something previously hidden that requires God's supernatural revelation.  The event of God coming in human flesh via the virgin birth constitutes one of the four central miracles entailing the Person of Jesus Christ.  The other three supernatural events involving Jesus, which make up the foundation of biblical Christianity, are His crucifixion, His resurrection and His ascension.  This supernatural root connects to the fruit of our practical everyday lives by way of a "trunk", namely the doctrine of the Christian faith. 

The doctrine described here by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:16b summarizes in "bullet-point" format the major events of Jesus' Christ's journey from his incarnation as God in human flesh, through His earthly life to his ascension.  Without the trunk of doctrine, the link between the supernatural power of Jesus Christ and the practical living of the Christian faith would not be possible. 
Note the Key Doctrines mentioned by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:16b:

1. The Incarnation = "God was manifest in the flesh"
2. The Virgin Birth = "justified in the Spirit"
3. Deity of Jesus Christ = "seen of angels"
4. Preaching and Missions = "preached unto the Gentiles"
5. Salvation by grace through faith = "believed on in the world"
6. His ascension =  "received up into glory."

Conclusion
All of this stems from what was in Paul's heart as the Holy Spirit guided his pen, namely the significance of Christ's first coming.  We know too that what Paul wrote was most likely an ancient Christian hymn sung by those first generation Christians - which means that the heart of Christmas - the Incarnation, shaped their everyday lives.  Paul wrote what he wrote to urge his readers to focus everyday on what Christ accomplished in His first coming. You and I too need to keep these things in mind.  Everyday needs to be Christmas - the excitement, the wonder and thrill of loving God in human flesh practically, supernaturally and doctrinally. 

Christmas in the Epistles - Galatians

Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:1-6 represents one of the richest set of verses on Christmas you will find anywhere in the New Testament Epistles.  As you explore the New Testament, you discover its design to be intentional:

1. The  Gospels Present Christ
2. Acts Preaches about Christ
3. The Epistles Explain Christ
4. Revelation Portrays the Exalted Christ

With the Epistles as the main focus of this short blog series, we zero in today on Paul's letter to the Galatians to discover the true meaning of Christmas.

How the Bible centers upon the Person of Jesus Christ
More than any other New Testament Letter, the section here in Galatians makes the first coming of Jesus Christ as matter of timing.  What is remarkable about Galatians 4:1-6 is how it is a mini-Bible in its own right:

1. The Old Testament Age: Genesis to Malachi - Galatians 4:1-3
Throughout the Old Testament the usage of pictures, patterns and people were used by God to point to the coming Person of the Son.  The Old Testament in the New would be unfolded, since the New Testament in the Old was infolded.

2. The Gospels - Galatians 4:4
The fulness of time had arrived.  Between Malachi and Matthew existed a span of 400 years.  Timing was indeed everything.  Politically the world saw the rise and fall of four major world empires: Babylon, Persia, The Greco/Macedonian Empire and the Empire of Rome, which was in power by the birth of Jesus.  From the days of Alexander the Great in 333 b.c, the arising of the Greek Language as the primary trade language of the day would pave the way for the writing of the New Testament.  With the rise of Rome to power and its program of "Pax Romana", the Roman Road system would come to snake its way throughout the Mediterranean world, making it possible for future missionary endeavors by the Apostles.  All of these developments are just samples of how the "fulness of time" signalled the perfect timing of God the Son's coming to this world in human flesh.

3. Book of Acts and the remainder of the New Testament: Galatians 4:5-6
Galatians 4:5-6 reads - "so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God."

Though Galatians was Paul's first letter written, it signalled what would be one of the central themes of New Testament Christianity - namely how people are to be born again by faith and made to live as adopted sons of God.  The arrival of the Holy Spirit in Acts pointed to the birth of the Church.  In the nearly 20 sermons recorded in Acts, 10 of them center upon the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  Overwhelmingly the Resurrection was the central doctrine of the early church.

However were it not for two other key doctrines: namely Christ's substituionary death on the cross and His incarnation, we would not have any Gospel message at all.  By His incarnation as God in human flesh, the Gospel message is unreservedly exclusive in its claims of Jesus Christ being the only way to Heaven.  If God's true nature is revealed exclusively through Jesus Christ, then no other religion can claim the revelatory character of Biblical Christianity.  Furthermore, by His death on the cross, we see that apart from the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.  It was the mission of the cross that would define the chief reason as to why He was virgin born. (Matthew 1:21,23)

Christmas in the Epistles - 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15:47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.

As we continue on in our study of Christmas in the Epistles, we discover ever more the glorious ways in which the Epistles explain the significance of Christmas truth.  Yesterday in Romans we saw how Jesus Christ came as the seed and offspring of David.  Romans reveals Christ as fully God who came to take unto Himself a fully human nature.  In today's blog we will look at 1 Corinthians to discover another vital truth of Christ's incarnation: how He came to be the "New Adam"

The First Adam and The Second Adam
The Greek of the above verse really aims to precisely explain to us the comparison between the first man (Adam) and the second man (Jesus Christ).  Quite literally the first man came "out from within" the earth.  According to Genesis 1:26-28 and 2:7, God fashioned the first man from the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils and he became a living soul.  The second Adam, Jesus Christ, is the man who came "out from within Heaven" - meaning that He as God came from heaven, entered into Mary's womb, and had his humanity formed miraculously by the Holy Spirit who conceived it inside her virgin womb. (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:35)  All over the New Testament we find Jesus Christ and Adam compared and contrasted. (Romans 5:11-21 and here in 1 Corinthians 15:47-49)  History is determined by two men: Adam and Christ.

The connection made between Christ's miraculous birth and the Christian's new birth
Christ's virgin birth was one of the fundamental miracles that would come to define biblical faith.  Without it, prophecies such as Isaiah 7:14 would had been proven false and the doctrines of Christ's sinlessness and fitness to be the sinner's substitute would had been nullified.  

The Christian's entry into salvation is defined as being "born-again" or the "New birth" (John 3:3; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23)  The salvation of sinners is a miracle that supplies Grace to the sinner who believes to be saved.  Both the new birth and the faith and repentance of human beings are logically connected but in reality simultaneous.  It is this Divine work of the New Birth that functions as the beginning point of salvation, includes faith and repentance and results in the salvation of the soul.  

Paul seems to connect both here in 1 Corinthians 15:48-49 "As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 49Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly." 

Though the virgin birth of Jesus in his humanity is a different miracle than the New Birth unto salvation, there are some striking parallels. 

1. Both are wrought by the Holy Spirit of God. (Matthew 1:20 and 1 Peter 1:23)

2. Both are miraculous and bring about new life.

3. The Virgin birth enabled the Person of God the Son to partake of humanity and have something in common with those He came to redeem. (Hebrews 2:14ff)  Conversely,  The New Birth brings sinful human beings who believe into having something in common with Christ's humanity. (Romans 6:4-11)

How the Christmas truth of Christ's first coming connects you to other truths pertinent to your Christian identity in Jesus Christ
Quite literally, as a Christian, I can say that I had a miraculous birth just as my Savior, touching His humanity, experienced The Miraculous birth.  Truly the Holy Spirit was the chief agent of the virgin birth, uniting fully humanity to the person of God the Son. (Matthew 1:20, 23, Luke 1:35) Likewise the Holy Spirit unites all whom he convicts and who believe on Jesus into the living experience and Person of Jesus Himself. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) Consider briefly how we are united to Jesus Christ:

1. He had a miraculous birth, as a Christian, I too have a miraculous birth  (1 Corinthians 15:47-49)

2. He lived a life of overcoming temptation.  The Holy Spirit credits me with His life, and I too have a power base from which to conquer sin in my life. (Romans 6:4-11; 8:1-14)

3. He was crucified.  I am to reckon myself daily dead to the power of sin in my life, to the world's influence tugging on my soul and the temptations of the evil one, for I too have been crucified with Jesus. (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:4-5, 12; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  I must remind myself by scripture who I am and Whose I am in Jesus.

4. He was buried.  So was I.  My former life is no more.  I testified of this fact by following through in obedience by believer's baptism, which pictures me having buried my former identity in a watery grave and being raised to walk forth in newness of life. (Romans 6:4-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 2:11-12)

5. He was raised from the dead.  As Christian, I too can claim a resurrection in my spirit that occured at the moment of saving faith.  I am a new creation in Jesus Christ, having been quickened by the resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead. I look forwar dto the day when my physical body will be transformed into a glorified resurrection body like His (Romans 6:4-11; 1 Peter 1:3, 23; 1 John 3:1-3)

6. He ascended and is seated at the right hand of God the Father.  As a Christian, I too was positionally seated with Him in the heavenly realms by grace through faith. (Ephsians 2:6-10)

As we close out today's blog, I'm reminded of the lyircs of a more recent Christian song: "He came from Heaven to earth, to show the way.  From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay.  From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky, Lord I lift your name on high." 

 

Christmas in the Epistles - Romans

Romans 1:1-3 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh

Today begins a short new blog series that I hope will prove to be of interest to you the reader.  When we think of the truth of Christmas, we often turn to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke - and by all rights that is where we should begin.  In the Matthew and Luke birth narratives of Jesus' birth, explanation as to to the significance of the incarnation of Jesus Christ derive from the Old Testament prophecies about His first coming.  For example the virgin birth spoken of in Matthew 1:23 was to be a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6-7. 

With that said, I would like to take the reader through the section of the New Testament that explains the life and person of the Lord Jesus Christ - the New Testament letters or "Epistles".  Whenever one turns to the New Testament, we discover that the Gospels present the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Furthermore, we see in the Book of Acts the Apostles and early church preaching about Jesus Christ.  It is in the 21 New Testament letters that we find His life and ministry explained. 

With that said, lets begin by looking at what is perhaps the greatest of all the New Testament letters: The Book of Romans.  What does the Book of Romans have to present to us regarding the truth of Christmas?

1. The Gospel message must include the truth of Christ's birth
In Romans 1:1-3 we see a basic outline of the Old and New Testaments centered around the truth of the Gospel:

a. Romans 1:1-2 The Gospel had its beginnings in the Old Testament via the writings of the Prophets and continued on in the writings of the Apostles, like Paul

b. Romans 1:3 Jesus Christ's birth is mentioned as major point of the Gospel

Romans of course is all about presenting to us the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. (Romans 1:16-17).  Though its teaching of the Gospel centers primarily around Christ's death and resurrection, His incarnation is given enough treatment in Romans to warrant our study.

How Paul presents Christmas truth in Romans
Notice what Paul does in this opening of Romans concerning Christmas truth.  He notes first that Jesus Christ is born.  That takes us back to those birth narratives in Matthew and Luke. 

We can secondly note that Jesus Christ was born of a particular bloodline - the seed of David.  2 Samuel 7:13-16 was God's promise to David that from his bloodline would come forth an Ultimate Descendant to sit on His throne.  The idea of "the seed" was also spoken to Abraham in Genesis 12:7 and Eve back in Genesis 3:15. 

Thirdly, these statements are made of Christ "according to the flesh".  We can consider Jesus Christ in one of two ways: "according to the flesh" as seen here in Romans 1, and "according to His Divine nature" as spoken of later in Romans 9:5 which reads - "whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen."  The cornerstone truth of Jesus Christ being God in human flesh is spoken of in other messages such as Matthew 1:23 and 1 Timothy 3:16. 

As you can see, Christmas truths such as the incarnation of God the Son in human flesh and His virgin birth are fundamental to what makes the Gospel Good news.  Romans shows us that God reached down through the sending of Jesus Christ in human flesh to bring the gift of Grace and the Gospel to a people who only deserved Justice.  Praise be to God for His Good News and the favor He chose to bestow through the sending of His Son. 

Christmas Introduced the Divine Refuge

Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Yesterday we talked about the cities of refuge in Numbers 35; Deuteronomy 19 and Joshua 20.  We noted how these cities function to picture Jesus Christ, the Saving Refuge for the sinner and the abiding refuge for the saint.  Six cities had been designated by God, three on each side of the Jordon River, easily accessible to anyone who had unintentionally killed somebody.  The Law of Retribution, existing from the days following the flood, gave allowance for relatives (termed avengers) of accidentally killed victims to pursue and excecute the manslayer (who had committed involuntary manslaughter).   We noted parallels in that Christ is the Ultimate Refuge sent by God for us to flee to from the justice of His Law. (Romans 8:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Hebrews 6:18) 

In light of yesterday's post, I felt it fitting to connect the Christmas season to this theme of Jesus Christ the Divine Refuge.  Today I want us to consider briefly five episodes in the Christmas narratives that highlight how various people responded in their introduction to the Divine Refuge, Jesus Christ.

1. Mary and Joseph. Matthew 1:21-23 Jesus is the Saving Refuge
Why was Jesus named "Jesus"? The scripture tells us that He was named "Jesus", since the name signifies His mission: to save His people from their sins.  Mary and Joseph were made aware of the significance of the child conceived in her virgin womb.  The other name "Immanuel" reveals the fact that this Saving refuge was to be the Divine Saving Refuge in human flesh - i.e "God with us".

2. The Shepherds. Luke 2:8-20. Jesus was to be the joyful Refuge
The Shepherds were considered the lowest rung on the Jewish social ladder. Despite the fact that not even their word was accepted as testimony in a court of law, they still had the responsibility of raising the sheep used in the annual Jewish sacrifices.  It was in their bleak existence that they received word of the Savior's arrival.  The darkness of night was sliced open by floods of angelic light.  The Shpeherds were told the most joyful news: The Savior, the Divine Refuge, had been born.  To these Shepherds, in running to see the One born as God in human flesh, Jesus was instantly their Joyful Refuge.

3. Simeon. Luke 2:21-25. Jesus was to be The Comforting Refuge.
An aged man, looking for the consolation of Israel, found what he was looking for.  Though he walked among the temple grounds, the grandeur of the temple was not his comfort.  Though He saw the flowing robes of priests, yet their religion could not satisfy his soul.  His eyes were growing dim, his steps were growing slow.  A young couple came into his view, holding an infant boy, just eight days old.  Simeon, whose name in the Hebrew means "he heard", knew that His faith was being made sight.  There was Jesus, His comforting refuge.  Now the old man could go and rest in peace, having the vision of God incarnate ever burned onto his memory.

4. Anna. Luke 2:36-38. Jesus was to be the Fulfilling Refuge
Anna's husband had died.  She was a widow of many years.  She was a woman who found her fulfillment in serving the Lord in the temple.  Yet when she layed eyes upon the little child in Mary and Joseph's care, her fulfillment in service was eclipsed by the fulfillment of beholding her Master.  Jesus was her fulfilling refuge.

5. The Wisemen. Matthew 2:1-2. Jesus was to be their Royal Refuge
It took them two years to reach Jesus, but finally they arrived in Bethlehem.  By this point Jesus was a toddler, living in a home in Bethlehem with his parents, Mary and Joseph.  When these kings saw the one whose star they had been following, no other king compared to this small boy.  Heaven's true king was in their midst.  They bowed to the ground, knowing that the one before them was the Royal Refuge of salvation.

My prayer today dear friend would be that Jesus Christ is your Saving, Joyful, Comforting, Fulfilling and Royal Refuge. 

7 parallels between cities of refuge and Jesus Christ

Hebrews 6:18-20 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 19This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Quick Review
Yesterday we looked at the cities of refuge spoken of in Numbers 35, Deueronomy 19 and Joshua 20.  Cities of refuge were appointed by God for Israel as she was getting ready to enter into the promised land. Being over 2 million people in size, it was an inevtiability that someone would accidently kill another, as for example in Deuteronomy 19 when mention is made of two friends chopping wood in a forest, and the axe head flying off the handle of the one and mortally wounding his friend.  The Bible calls those who accdiently killed another person a "manslayer".  The manslayer would need to run to the nearest vity of refuge to escape the relative of the victim who had the legal right to avenge their blood, called by the Bible "an avenger".

Connecting Old and New Testaments through Jesus Christ
Whenever we see a theological or doctrinal truth spoken of in the Old Testament, and find the same idea spoken of in the New Testament and connect both together through Jesus Christ, we can gain riches for Christian understanding. In today's blog I want to note seven parallels between the teaching on the cities of refuge and the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ - the Divine Refuge

Seven parallels between cities of refuge and Jesus Christ, the Divine Refuge
1. The City of Refuge was the place to flee. 
In Numbers 35:6 we see that if a manslayer had accidently or unintentionally killed another person, the only proper course of action was for them to flee to the nearest city of refuge.  Hestitation was not an option, the best time to flee was at the moment.  For those whop don't know Christ as Savior, when hearing that they are under the wrath of God, the best time to trust in Jesus is now.  In Hebrews 6:18-20, as we saw at the beginning of today's blog, Jesus Christ is the One to whom the sinner must flee to escape the wrath of God.  For the saint of God who has trusted in Christ, Jesus is the place of refuge to abide in times of trouble. 

2. The Avenger could legally slay the manslayer
The law of retribution was in place in ancient Israel.  The shedding of another's blood, even if done accidentally, was still viewed as making the land and the people unclean. (compare Genesis 9:6)  God made provision for the manslayer to escape what was otherwise the law of justice.  For everyone one of us born into this world, we had not merely committed unintentional acts of sin, but very intentional acts of sin, resulting in us falling short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)  The Law of God is the sinner's avenger, demanding the death of sinner in light of God's Justice. 

3. The City of Refuge was the only place of refuge
According to Numbers 35:11, the appointed cities were the only locations wherein the manslayer could seek protection from the Avenger.  Jesus Himsellf reveals in John 14:6 - "I am the way, the truth and the life and no one can come to the Father but through me."

4.  The cities of refuge were close by and easily accessible
Numbers 35:13 tells us that there were to be six cities of refuge - three on each side of the Jordon River where the Jews would eventually cross into the Promised Land.  Romans 5:1-2 reveals how easily accessible Christ the Divine refuge is: "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God."

5. The the cities of refuge were for the Jews and Gentiles
Everyone had opportunity to flee to these cities.  Romans 1:16-17 explains the provision of Divine refuge through the Gospel: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

6. The cities of refuge were an assylum for the manslayer until the death of the high priest
According to Numbers 35:25-26, once the elders of each of these cities had determined that the manslayers had indeed committed their acts unintentionally, assylum was granted until the reigning High Priest of Israel had died.  Once the High Priest had died, the manslayer could return back to his hometown, no longer termed by the law of retribution a manslayer.  Romans 8:1-2 states: "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death."  Jesus Christ the High Priest had given His life, thus all who by grace through faith trust in Him are set free from the condemnation of the Law.  Moreover, since He has risen from the dead, unlike the Old Covenant, He as the New Covenant High Priest lives forever to defend every child of God. (1 John 2:1-2, Hebrews 7:24-25)

7. Outside the city of refuge, there is no chance of escape
What would happen if the manslayer wandered outside the city of refuge?  According to the testimony of scripture, he would die if he fell into the hands of the avenger.  Remember, outside of Jesus Christ, the Divine Refuge, there is no hope, no remedy of escape.  You could not pay off the avenger in Ancient Israel, and you cannot pay of the condemnation of the Law against you.  You have to trust by faith in Jesus Christ the Divine refuge.  He paid for your sins with His life and He desires to represent you before His Father as a result of His resurrection.  1 Thessalonians 1:10 reminds us: "For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 10and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come."

May the Lord bless you today dear reader as you consider Jesus Christ, the Divine Refuge for the sinner to flee and the Divine refuge for the saint to abide. 

Saturday 12/15 Cities of Refuge and Christ the Divine Refuge

Numbers 35:6 “The cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the manslayer to flee to; and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities."

The Law of Retribution - A Law built on Justice
It was not long after the Ark of Noah had landed atop Mount Ararat that God began to repeat to Noah in Genesis 9 some of the commands he had given to Adam back in Genesis 3.  The point of God's re-issuing of the commands was to recognize Noah as the new federal head of the human race.1  

God issued to Noah an addtional law - whereby a strict prohibition on murder and manslaughter would be set.  We find this law, the "Law of Retribution" spelled out in Genesis 9:5-6 “Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man."  

God is a God of Justice and Mercy
Psalm 89:14 states - "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You." Because God is a God of justice, He alone can perfectly distribute punishment on wrongdoing and mercy on the righteous. He does what He does based upon His internal standard of justice so that He can deal with His people and whomever he chooses in the rightness of lovingkindness and truth. 2

The Avenger and the Manslayer in ancient Israel
As time grew on, God gave His Law at Mount Sinai to the nation of Israel.  The one who had killed accidently was called a "manslayer" and the one carrying out the Law of retribution was termed "the avenger".  In that Law God had early on provided provision for the manyslayer who had accidently killed his neighbor to flee and find refuge from the avenger at the altar.  Later on however, as the time was coming for the nation to enter into the promised land, God gave a permanent provision for refuge to the manslayer in designated cities called "cities of refuge". 

Cities of Refuge - Putting on Display God's role as the Refuge for His people
At last Israel was camped just opposite of the Jordon River.  With time slipping rapidly from the now 120 year old Moses' life, God was relaying through him the strategy Israel was going to need to successfully occupy and live in the Promised Land.  One of those instructions had to do with Cities of Refuge. 

As we just learned, the law of Retribution given to Noah had developed over the centuries to where even in Israel, there were cases of people accidently killing one another.  According to this law, the relatives of the slayed victim had the right to pursue and avenge the death by killing the manslayer.  To gain a tighter rein on this well-known practice, God ordained there to be six cities that would be designated "cities of refuge".  The cities of refuge would be located close enough to one another so that if someone did commit involuntary manslaughter, they could flee to the appropriate city of refuge.

How Cities of refuge were to be used
In Numbers 35, Deuteronomy 19 and Joshua 20 we see instructions given for these so-called cities of refuge.  In reading all three of these chapters, here is what we learn:
1. If I committed involuntary manslaughter, say I was chopping wood with a friend and my ax head would fly off the handle and mortally wound my friend, my only course of action would be to run, run, run

2. In that culture, the law of retribution took affect, meaning that my friend's nearest of kin, once hearing word of what took place, could legally pursue me and execute me

3. My goal would be to run to the nearest city of refuge.  Once there, I could appeal to the elders of that city, who would then grant me assylum away from the avenger

4. If I perchance left the city, the avenger could legally execute me

5. Once the elders determined my innocence, I could stay in the City of Refuge until the death of the High Priest of Israel

6. Once the High Priest died, in the eyes of God and the law, I was free to go back to my home city

The Jews over time came to view the death of the high priest as somehow atoning or "satisfying" the law of retribution, hence in some fashion the high priests death being viewed as taking the place of the manslayer. 

How cities of Refuge illustrate Christ the Ultimate Refuge
According to Hebrews 6:18-19 we read - "so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 19This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

Our problem born into this world was that were not merely guilty of unintentional sins, but also intentional ones.  The Law of God was the Avenger, pursuing after us.  The Law of God proclaimed my guilt and touted the need for my death at the bar of Divine Justice, since I had committed high Treason against God and His Son. (John 3:17-19)  However the Son of God, the Great High Priest died in my place.  This meant that I by faith could run to Him, my refuge, my Savior.  By His death, the law of God, the rightful avenger, could not lay claim.  Furthermore, any accusations from the Evil One would be invalidated.  Additionally, since Christ had risen from the dead, unlike the Old Testament manslayer, I would never have to worry about my past being brought up before God, since in Jesus Christ it has been erased. (Romans 5:1; 8:1)

Jesus Christ is the Divine Refuge for the sinner who flees to Him by faith and for the saint who abides in Him through faith.  Consider two passages as we close out today's blog.  First Romans 5:9-10 "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." And then secondly 1 Thessalonians 1:10 "and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come."


Endnotes
1 As the tenth generation from Adam, Noah was in the line of that title. With the human race destroyed in the flood, life was going to begin again in a sense. God commanded Noah, like Adam, to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 1:26-28 compared to Genesis 9:1,7) He also told Noah, like Adam, to take dominion, since all living plants were his. Clearly since these commands were being given to Noah in a Post-Fall setting, additional instructions about allowances for eating flesh were given to Noah. (Genesis 9:3-4)

2 This explains why He revealed to Noah the law of Retribution, followed by His Covenant of Grace to Noah to never again destroy the world with a flood. Justice establishes the grounds and reasons as to why He can perfectly be Merciful without violating who He is as the Holy God.