The way out
Joshua 20:9, “These were the appointed cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.”
Strife between people is inevitable, God knows this. Read Exodus through Deuteronomy, and you will see there was a lot of strife between the children of Israel. With each other, with Moses, and even with God! Occasionally when there is a lot of strife between people someone’s going to get hurt, and they may even die; but God was prepared for this. Before the Israelites even entered the Promised Land God commanded Moses to set up cities of refuge; where anyone who unintentionally killed someone could go to and find refuge.(Numbers 35)
God does not want His children to pay for any mistake that was unavoidable due to their human-ness. So, in His loving care He commanded Moses to set up cities of refuge for His children to go to when they inadvertently killed one of their brothers, and when they went to these cities they would be spared from the consequences of their mistake. God established these cities to provide a way out for His people. All that they had to do was go to them. We see another example of God’s love for His people in Numbers 21; when the people rebelled against God He sent poisonous snakes among them, but in His loving care for His people He commanded Moses to set a bronze serpent for the people to look at if they were bitten so they would be healed and not die. Much in the way that God set the cities; He provided a way out for His children.
Because of our human-ness and ignorance of His truth we have inadvertently disobeyed His commands As a result we are sentenced to eternal death, but like in the case of the Israelites God does not want us to pay for human failures; so God sent His Son to pay the price that we owe. The only thing that is required of us is to “look” at Jesus on the cross, and realize that through Him we can have life everlasting with God, and not the death we deserve.
While speaking with Nicodemus in John 3, Jesus refered to Himself as the image that must be looked upon to bring eternal life. John 3:14, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”
God has provided the way out for us; all we must do is run to His provision!
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Father God, I thank You for providing for me through Your Son. In Jesus’ name, Amen
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The image above can be found at:http://blog.firstreference.com/2010/04/15/payroll-ei-will-rise-by-a-lot/
Yes, You Can Ministry 