Joshua 20

Joshua had successfully completed the first half of his divine commission: He had conquered the enemy and was in control of the land and the cities (1:1–5). Now he had to fulfill the second part of that commission and divide the land so that each tribe could claim their inheritance and enjoy what God had given them (v. 6). (See Num. 34–35.)

The word inheritance is found over fifty times in these nine chapters and is a very important word. The Jews inherited their land. They didn’t win their land as spoils of battle or purchase their land as in a business transaction. The Lord, who was the sole owner, leased the land to them. “The land must not be sold permanently,” the Lord had instructed them, “because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants” (Lev. 25: niv). Imagine having God for your landlord!

The “rent” God required was simply Israel’s obedience to His law. As long as the Jewish people honored the Lord with their worship and obedience, He would bless them, make their land productive, and keep their nation at peace with their neighbors. When Israel agreed to the blessings and curses at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal (Josh. 8:30–35), they accepted the conditions of what is called “The Palestinian Covenant.” Their ownership of the land was purely the gracious act of God, but their possession and enjoyment of the land depended on their submission and obedience to the Lord. (See Lev. 26 and Deut. 27–30 for the details of the Palestinian Covenant.)

The Promised Land was a gift of God’s love, and if the Israelites loved the Lord, they would want to obey Him and please Him in the way they used His land (Deut. 4:37–39). Unfortunately, they eventually defied the Lord, disobeyed the law, and defiled the land, and God had to chasten them in the land of Babylon.

There were four main stages in the distribution of the land, and in each of these stages, you will find spiritual lessons for God’s people today who want to enjoy their spiritual inheritance in Christ. As you study these chapters, I suggest you consult a map of the Holy Land that shows the boundaries of the twelve tribes and the cities that are involved.

When the nation was still on the other side of the Jordan, God told Moses to have the people set aside special cities for the Levites (Num. 35:1–5), as well as six “cities of refuge” (Ex. 21:13; Num. 35:6–34; Deut. 19:1–13). Now that the tribes had received their territories, Joshua could assign these cities.

Even before the law of Moses was given, God had laid down the basic rule that those who shed blood should pay for their crime with their own blood (Gen. 9:5–6). This principle was enunciated repeatedly in the law, but God made a distinction between murder and manslaughter (Ex. 21:12–14; Lev. 24:17; Num. 35:16–21; Deut. 19:11–13). “Blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit” (Num. 35:33–34 nkjv).

The six “cities of refuge” were needed because society in that day had no police force to investigate crimes. It was the responsibility of each family to see to it that murders were avenged, but how could they tell whether it was a case of premeditated murder or accidental manslaughter? In the heat of anger a relative of the dead person might kill somebody who was really innocent of a capital crime.

Joshua set apart three cities of refuge on each side of the Jordan River. On the west side, Kedesh was farthest north, in the territory of Naphtali; Shechem was in the middle of the nation in the tribe of Manasseh; and Hebron was in the south in the tribe of Judah. On the east side of the Jordan, the cities were Golan in the north in Manasseh, Ramoth in Gad, and Bezer farther south in the tribe of Reuben. Since the Holy Land is about the size of the state of Maryland, you can see that nobody was very far from a city of refuge.

The law was really quite simple. Anybody who killed another person could flee to a city of refuge and be protected from “the avenger of blood” until the elders of the city could investigate the circumstances. If they found the fugitive guilty, he or she was put to death, but if they concluded that it was a case of manslaughter, the fugitive was allowed to live in the city and be protected from the avenger. Upon the death of the high priest, the fugitive could go home again. It was a case of forfeiting freedom in order to save his or her life.

Many students have seen in the cities of refuge a picture of our salvation in Jesus Christ, to whom we “have fled for refuge” (Heb. 6:18). The lost sinner, of course, is in danger of judgment because “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). The avenger of blood is after him or her! God’s appointed Savior is Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12), but the sinner must come to Him by faith in order to be saved (Matt. 11:28–30; John 6:37). The way to each city was kept open with roads that were cared for and marked (Deut. 19: niv). God wanted it to be easy for the fugitives to find their way to safety.

Beyond this, the picture is one of contrast. When we come to Christ for salvation, there’s no need for an investigation or a trial, because we know we’re guilty, and we admit it! The only people Jesus can save are those who confess their guilt and throw themselves on His mercy.

If the fugitive prematurely left the city of refuge, he could be killed, but our salvation in Christ is not conditional. Our High Priest will never die, and we are forever secure. “But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:24–25 nkjv).

The meanings of the names of the cities are interesting. Taking them in the order listed in Joshua 20:7–8, you have: Kedesh = “righteousness”; Shechem = “shoulder”; Hebron = “fellowship”; Bezer = “fortress” or “strong”; and Ramoth = “heights.” Hebraists do not agree on what Golan means, but the Gesenius Lexicon says it means “exile.”

These names then can be used to describe what sinners experience when they flee by faith to Jesus. First, He gives them His righteousness, and they can never be accused again. There is no condemnation (Rom. 8:1)! Like a shepherd, He carries them on His shoulders, and they enter into fellowship with Him. He is their fortress, and they are safe. They dwell in the heights even though they are exiles, pilgrims, and strangers in this world.

Lesson #7. Unless you have fled by faith to Jesus Christ, you aren’t saved! Since our sins put Jesus on the cross, all of us are guilty of His death. He is the only Savior, and apart from faith in Him, there is no salvation. Have you fled to Him?

Before leaving this theme, we should note that there is also an application to the nation of Israel. The people were guilty of killing the Lord Jesus Christ, but it was a sin of ignorance on the part of the people (Acts 3:12–18). When Jesus prayed on the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34), He was declaring them guilty of manslaughter rather than murder (1 Cor. 2:7–8). The way was open for their forgiveness, and God gave the nation nearly forty years to repent before He brought judgment. This same principle applied to the apostle Paul (1 Tim. 1:12–14). However, no lost sinner today can plead ignorance, because God has declared the whole world guilty and without excuse (Rom. 3:9–19).