Three Cities of Refuge
October 24, 2020
Commentary
In this passage we find Moses setting apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River, where anyone who had accidentally killed someone without having any previous hostility could flee for safety. These cities were: Bezer on the wilderness plateau for the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead for the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan for the tribe of Manasseh (vv. 41-43).
Moses hands down the law to the Israelites. He sets this law before them as the rule they were to work by, the way they were to walk in. What Moses could do for the people while he was yet with them, he did, to give an example to the rulers who were settled that they might observe them the better when he was gone. These include the stipulations, laws, and regulations that Moses gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt, and as they camped in the valley near Beth-peor east of the Jordan River. This land was formerly occupied by the Amorites under King Sihon of Heshbon (vv. 44-46). He and his people had been destroyed by Moses and the Israelites as they came up from Egypt. Israel conquered his land and that of King Og of Bashan (v. 47). These two Amorite kings ruled the land east of the Jordan. So, Israel conquered all the area from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion, also called Mount Hermon (v. 48). And they took the eastern bank of the Jordan Valley as far south as the Dead Sea, below the slopes of Pisgah (v. 49).
Application
I don’t know how long I have to live on this earth (No one does) but I know it is important how I live and what I teach to those who are younger than I am. Just as Moses wanted to be a good example to those around him, I want to be a good example to those around me.
Deuteronomy 4:41– 49 (NET)
41 Then Moses selected three cities in the Transjordan, toward the east. 42 Anyone who accidentally killed someone without hating him at the time of the accident could flee to one of those cities and be safe. 43 These cities are Bezer, in the wilderness plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Manassehites.
44 This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites. 45 These are the stipulations, statutes, and ordinances that Moses spoke to the Israelites after he had brought them out of Egypt, 46 in the Transjordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. (It is he whom Moses and the Israelites attacked after they came out of Egypt. 47 They possessed his land and that of King Og of Bashan—both of whom were Amorite kings in the Transjordan, to the east. 48 Their territory extended from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon valley as far as Mount Siyon —that is, Hermon— 49 including all the rift valley of the Transjordan in the east to the sea of the rift valley, beneath the slopes of Pisgah.)
Illustration: The Christian Walk of Will Houghton
More recently, the Christian walk of Will Houghton, a preacher who became the president of Moody Bible Institute during the 1940s, played a large role in the conversion of an agnostic who was contemplating suicide. The skeptic was desperate, but he decided that if he could find a minister who lived his faith he would listen to him. So he hired a private detective to watch Houghton. When the investigator’s report came back, it revealed that this preacher’s life was above reproach; he was for real. The agnostic went to Houghton’s church, accepted Christ, and later sent his daughter to Moody Bible Institute. (Our Daily Bread).