Finding A Place of Refuge. (Joshua 20: 1-9)

Transcript: 

In the 1740’s a slave ship called The Greyhound thrashed about in the north Atlantic storm for over a week. Its canvas sails were ripped and torn, and the wood framework on one whole side of the ship had been torn away and splintered. 

The sailors had little hope of survival, but they relentlessly worked the pumps, trying to keep the vessel afloat. On the eleventh day of the storm, a sailor called John Newton, too exhausted to pump anymore, tied himself to the helm and tried to hold the ship to its course. From one o'clock in the afternoon until midnight, he remained tied to the helm.

With the storm raging fiercely, Newton had time to think about his life. His life seemed to him as ruined as the battered ship he was trying to steer through the storm. Pressganged into the British Navy at the age of  eleven, he had lived a life at sea. Sailors were not noted for their moral lives, but Newton had a special reputation for profanity, coarseness, and debauchery, which even shocked his fellow sailors sometimes.

John Newton was nick-named at one point "The Great Blasphemer." He sank so low at one point that he was even a slave to slaves in Africa for a brief period. 3 years previously in 1745, his ship left him in West Africa with Amos Clowe, a slave dealer. Clowe took Newton to the coast and indebted him to his wife, Princess Peye of the Sherbro people. According to Newton, she abused and mistreated him just as much as she did her other slaves. Newton later recounted this period as the time he went from libertine, a to slaves himself.

As a child his mother had prayed, he would become a minister and had early taught him the Scriptures. John Newton had rejected his mother's teachings and had led other sailors into unbelief. Certainly, he was beyond hope and beyond saving, even if the Scriptures were true.

On this day tied to the wheel of the ship some of those early childhood teachings came to mind and he remembered Proverbs 1:24-31, and in the midst of that storm, those verses seemed to confirm Newton in his despair:

Newton's thoughts began to turn to Christ. Later finding a New Testament and began to read. Luke 11:13 which seemed to assure him that God might still hear him:

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him."

You see, when we do things our own way, we inevitably sin, and then we get trapped in something we call guilt, with nowhere to go. 

Have you ever told a lie and then been terrified of being found out? 

Have you ever stolen something, only to be scared stiff that you’d be caught? 

It feels as though there’s no hiding, no escape. I believe the Bible teaches that there is a refuge—a place where we can find shelter from guilt and even the sins of the world.

Today, I want to share with you what Scripture says about that place of refuge. And today I’ll illustrate with the example found in Joshua chapter 20….

As we have been studying the book of Joshua, we see that Joshua is in the process of dividing the land the Israelites have just conquered among all the tribes of Israel. 

Now, in chapter 20, Joshua designates certain cities as cities of refuge. Look at verse 1:

"The Lord also spoke to Joshua, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, so that the one who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there, and they shall be a refuge for you from the avenger of blood.’"

(Joshua 20:1-3)

To understand this passage, we must first examine verse 3, which speaks of any person who kills accidentally or unintentionally. This observation shows us why we might need a refuge in the first place—and I believe we all do. 

There are sins we commit intentionally, and when we do, we feel guilt because we premeditated the act. But even when we sin unintentionally, we are still guilty of the act. As one Bible expositor once explained, we are responsible for the result even if we did not consciously seek it.

Consider this: if you accidentally break something, you are still responsible. Likewise, if you unintentionally cause harm, if it wasn’t your intent, you need a refuge from that guilt. 

In Old Testament times, if you accidentally killed someone, the next of kin could legally take your life. Numbers chapter 35 (verses 16–19) explains that if a person causes death by accident, he might be deemed a murderer and face retribution from some given the title, “The Avenger of Blood.”

The point is, if you had lived in those times and accidentally killed someone, you would need a safe haven, a place where you could escape the vengeance of the injured party’s family. 

Today in a spiritual sense we are all in a similar predicament: we have sinned, both intentionally and unintentionally, and we are often promoted to feelings of regret or guilt in our most sober moments.

But here’s the good news: God has provided us with a refuge, let’s discover together the promise of safety and grace that awaits us.

Speak to the children of Israel, and, appoint for yourself cities of refuge so that anyone who kills a person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there and there you can have refuge.

What this passage is telling us is that God provided cities of refuge for those who accidentally or unintentionally kill someone. Verses 4 through 6 outline the procedure that the guilty party must follow, and verses 7 through 9 list the designated cities of refuge.

Let’s look briefly at the procedure:

4 When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state their case before the elders of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them. 5 If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbour unintentionally and without malice aforethought. 6 They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled.”

(Joshua 20: 4-6)

Initial Step:

If someone accidentally kills a person, he must flee to one of these cities. When he reaches the gate, remember, in ancient times the city gate was the center of official business—he must declare his case before the elders. At this preliminary inquiry, the elders determine whether the killing was truly accidental. If it is, they welcome him into the city and provide him with a place to dwell. 

Moreover, if the avenger of blood pursues him, the elders must not surrender him, because he acted without premeditation or malice.

Once inside the city, the person remains there until he stands before the whole community for a fuller judgment. It appears that representatives of the community—perhaps acting like a jury today and they made the final determination regarding his case. 

If they confirm the act was unintentional, he may live in the city of refuge safely, either for the rest of his life or until the death of the high priest.

There are several observations we can draw from this procedure:

Guilt Remains: Even an accidental killer is still guilty  of something and has to pay a price. The penalty is not death but the burden of living in the city of refuge, away from one’s own home is still significant.

: The safety in the city of refuge was temporary (Statute of Limitations), until the death of the high priest. 

This precedent still echoes through history, where the ascension of a new king or president in many countries sometimes brought the release or pardon of prisoners.

in the Old Testament, the unintentional sinner is safe in the city until the high priest dies. But remember our eternal High Priest—God Himself—never dies. We are eternally secure in His refuge.

Psalm 46, which declares. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” The spiritual parallel is clear: just as the cities of refuge provided safety and security, God is our eternal place of refuge.

A New Testament reference to this truth is found in Hebrews 6. In verse 18, it says, “That by two immutable things—in which it is impossible for God to lie—we have strong consolation, a hope for those who have fled for refuge.

Then, verses 19 and 20 declare that.

“This hope is an anchor for our soul, both sure and steadfast, reaching even into the presence behind the veil where our forerunner has entered on our behalf. Even as Jesus became our eternal High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, 

The Bible teaches that we have a refuge in God—this refuge is found in Jesus Christ.

Let me explain further. We are all guilty of sin—both intentional and unintentional. Yet God, in His grace, did not leave us without hope. He provided a refuge in the Old Testament in these cities and in the New Covenant through His Son, Jesus Christ, who became our shelter by willingly taking the cross and paying for our sins. 

To illustrate this, consider the recent assiagnation attempts on the lige of then Presidential candidate, Donal Trump., American secret service men and women soldiers placed their bodies between the President and the sniper who had not been taken out at that poit=nt.

In that moment, those men and woman became a living refuge, around him. They willingly potentially sacrifice their lives, just as Christ became our ultimate refuge by sacrificing Himself.

There same has happen in the UK when assassination attempts were made on members of our own royal family.

is an important principle in Scripture: but for you to enjoy the provision of refuge, you must personally appropriate it. 

In Joshua 20: the fugitive had to flee to the city of refuge to be safe. It wasn’t automatic—one had to run for safety and enter the city’s gates. 

7 So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. 8 East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. 9 Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

(Joshua 20: 7-9)

These cities, six in number, were strategically located so that no one in Israel was ever more than 30 miles away from one. The roads were well maintained, marked with signs reading “Refuge,” and runners were stationed along the way to help the fugitive reach safety quickly.

Notice that final verse 9 emphasizes that this provision was open to everyone—the children of Israel and even the stranger temporarily living among them. 

Today, salvation in Jesus Christ is still available to all—Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, young or old. It matters not who you are; the invitation stands.

Consider the tragic example of Abner found in 2 Samuel chapter 3.  Though the death was accidental, he failed to flee to safety, and the avenger of blood claimed him. David lamented, “Abner died as a fool dies.” 

So, do not be like Abner. Flee—to the city of refuge, flee to Christ. 

Secure your safety in His forgiveness, salvation, and eternal security.

My friend, are you certain your sins are forgiven? Are you sure you have eternal life? If not, I implore you: flee to Christ without delay. Inside Him is redemption and refuge; from the sins in you life.

The Old Testament city of refuge perfectly illustrates and provides the Old Testament template of Gos way of dealing with our human failings (sin).

In closing I’d like to trun again to our sailor friend, John Newton.

That day at the helm, March 21, 1748, was a day Newton remembered years, because he would write after: "On that day the Lord sent from on high and delivered me out of deep waters." 

Many years later, now an old man, Newton wrote in his diary of March 21, 1805: "Not well able to write; but I endeavor to observe the return of this day with humiliation, prayer, and praise." Only God's amazing grace could and would take a rude, profane, slave-trading sailor and transform him into a child of God.

Newton never ceased to stand in awe of God's work in his life.

Newton’s life was transformed. Soon after the events on that ship he began a disciplined Bible study, prayer, and Christian reading schedule and tried to be a Christian example to the sailors under his command. 

Newton upon return to England left slave trading and took the job of tide surveyor at Liverpool Docks, but he began to believe he had been called to the ministry. 

His mother's prayers for her son were answered, and in 1764, at the age of thirty-nine, John Newton began what would turn out to be forty-three years of preaching the Gospel of Christ.

John and his beloved wife Mary moved to the little market town of Olney in Kent, England. He spent his mornings in Bible study and his afternoons visiting his parishioners. 

For the Sunday evening services, Newton often composed a hymn that developed the lessons and Scripture for the evening. In 1779, 280 of these hymns were collected and combined with sixty-eight other hymns by Newton's friend and parishioner, William Cowper, and published as the, “Olney Hymnal”.. 

The most famous of all the Olney Hymns, grew out of his sermon on 1 Chronicles 17:16-17. We know it today as "Amazing Grace." 

It continues to be sung today.

In 1779 Newton left Olney to become rector of St. Mary Woolnoth in London. His ministry included the London poor, the merchant class, but also the wealthy and influential.

William Wilberforce, a member of Parliament and a prime mover in the abolition of slavery, was said to be strongly influenced by John Newton's life and preaching. Newton's Thoughts on the African Slave Trade, based on his own experiences as a slave trader, were very important in securing the British abolition of slavery. 

Newton lived to be eighty-two years old and continued to preach and have an active ministry until his old age. Newton never ceased to be amazed by God's grace and told his friends, "My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior."

Newton in a moment of profound despair, encountered the transformative grace of God. That encounter became his turning point—a moment when he found not only refuge from his past but also forgiveness that set him free. 

Just as the cities of refuge in Scripture offered a safe haven for those overwhelmed by real or even unintentional guilt, Newton discovered a spiritual shelter in Jesus Christ that renewed his life. His journey from a life of error to one of redemption reminds us that no mistake is too great for God's mercy.

John Newton’s story is a powerful reminder that no matter how far we have strayed or how heavy our guilt may be, God’s refuge is always available. 

Like Newton, if you feel trapped by you circumstances or the consequences of your wrong choices, know that you too can flee to the safe haven of Jesus Christ—a refuge where forgiveness abounds, and healing begins.

Embrace this divine shelter in Christ that God has provided and allow His love to transform your life. 

Don’t let your past dictate your future. 

Step forward in faith, knowing that God’s grace is sufficient to cover every sin and restore every broken heart.

Because in Christ you can find not only safety from the storms of life but also a new beginning filled with hope, redemption, and everlasting peace.