⁸ And if the Lord thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers; ⁹ If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the Lord thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three: ¹⁰ That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.

Deuteronomy 19:8-10

Explanation:

God tells the people of Israel that with continued obedience they will enter the land and defeat it. The border would be extended by their faith in GOd to take it with the borders that he gave them. (See Dueteronomy 11:24-25). When they do obey and go in and conquer, He will make an additional three cities a city of refuge, for a total of nine cities with that status. There needed to be this many so that there would be access to a city of refuge by the whole nation of Israel. He told them that the purpose for this is “that innocent blood be not shed in thy land”. God desires true justice, because He is just. He is also gracious and merciful to us.

Application:

Several contrasts can be made to the cities of refuge and salvation that is found in Jesus Christ, according to Dwayne McCary. A person fled to a city of refuge because he was innocent, while we flee to Jesus Christ because we are guilty. The elders of the city investigated the situation to look for innocence, but we know that we are guilty and deserve punishment. To stay alive the innocent person must stay in the city. Those of us in Christ are are saved and don’t have to fear losing our salvation.

Response:

• Take a few moments to thank God for the salvation that we have in Christ.
• Is there anything in my life that I am doing that is unjust?