Steve Conover: Thank you for joining us for The Friends of Israel Today. I'm Steve Conover, executive director of The Friends of Israel. With me is our host and teacher, Chris Katulka.

Chris Katulka: Steve, it's great to be with you. And today we're going to start a new series. Actually, one that you recommended, which I'm very excited to dive into. We're going to look at the law of Moses, the Torah, specifically in Numbers 35 and in Deuteronomy 19 as we talk about these really significant cities. Six cities that were chosen by God as cities of refuge for people who were convicted of a crime, but were innocent of. And this was an opportunity for them to find refuge. But really even broader than that, Steve, it's where we kind of see in these six cities where God's justice and mercy meet one another.

Steve Conover: There's a lot to glean in this series. We hope you'll stay with us. But first in the news, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "Israel is rejecting the Board of Peace's 15-point Gaza reconstruction plan, insisting the IDF will not withdraw until Hamas is genuinely and completely disarmed." He also reaffirmed his opposition to a Palestinian state and said Israel is working with the United States on Hamas's disarmament while reserving the right to reject proposals it believes threaten Israeli security.

Chris Katulka: Well, Steve, here's my take. On social media, I see a lot of people complaining that Israel is rejecting the Board of Peace's 15-point Gaza reconstruction plan, but I think it's important for Israel's critics to remember that Israel is a sovereign nation that must think of its citizens above the board of peace that comprises of nations that don't have to live with the constant threat of terrorism from Hamas or even Hezbollah for that matter. So personally, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for Hamas to disarm.

Chris Katulka: I want you to imagine for a moment that you're living in ancient Israel and you're working alongside your friend cutting wood outside of your village and you lift your axe and you swing it toward the tree and then suddenly the iron head flies off the handle. And before you can even react, it strikes your friend standing right next to you and he falls to the ground and you rush right to him, but really there's nothing that you can do.

He's dead. You didn't hate him. You didn't plan his death. You didn't wake up that morning intending to take another man's life. It was an accident, but now you have another problem. Someone is coming for you. Your friend has a family, and according to the laws and customs of ancient Israel, a relative could act in revenge. The biblical term is called the “avenger of blood.” So it's not smart to remain where you are and hope everyone understands what happened. You're going to have to move. You're going to have to get up and go. Somewhere in Israel, there's a place where your case can be heard and where you can find protection, but you have to get there. Actually, you have to run for your life. That brings us to one of the most fascinating institutions God established for Israel. It's called the Cities of Refuge.

And that's what we're going to be talking about for the next two weeks in our series, God's Cities of Refuge. We read about these cities, especially in Numbers chapter 35, Deuteronomy chapter 19, and Joshua chapter 20. And at first glance, these cities may seem like an unusual detail that's buried in the law of Moses, the Torah. But when we look more carefully, the cities of refuge reveal something profound about the character of God. See, God is perfectly just. God is extraordinarily merciful. And those two characteristics never compete with one another. God does not compromise justice in order to show mercy. Instead, he provides mercy within his justice. And to understand that, we first need to understand the seriousness with which God treated human life. And that's why we need to go to Numbers chapter 35, where it makes very clear the distinction between murder and accidental killing.

See, if somebody intentionally struck another person with an iron object and killed him, that person was a murderer. If someone deliberately struck another with a stone capable of causing death, he was a murderer. If someone struck another with a wooden object capable of killing, he was a murderer. But the passage goes even deeper than the weapon. See, God looks at intention. See, Numbers chapter 35 speaks about someone who acted out of hatred, someone who lies in wait, someone who deliberately attacks another person. And in those circumstances, the death is not accidental. It's murder. And murder required justice. And this principle actually goes back to Genesis chapter 9, where after the flood, God emphasized the sacredness of human life because mankind is made in the image of God. And so to murder a human being is not merely to damage society. It's an assault against someone who bears God's image.

And that's why Numbers 35 refuses to trivialize murder. There was no city of refuge for a calculated murderer who simply wanted to escape punishment. There was no loophole where someone could deliberately kill his neighbor and then race to the city and claim sanctuary. No, see, the cities of refuge were never intended to undermine justice. In fact, Numbers 35 specifically prohibits against a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserved death. Wealth could never purchase an exemption. Influence could never overturn the verdict. The value of human life was too great. But see, then God introduces another circumstance in Numbers 35. What if someone dies, but there is no hatred? There is no ambush. There is no intent to kill. That was Numbers 35. And now Deuteronomy 19 as well gives us a vivid example of two men going into the forest to cut wood. And one swings his axe and the iron head slips from the handle and it strikes his neighbor and kills him.

A man is dead. The loss is real. A family is grieving. But see, here's the thing, it's not murder. And God's justice recognizes the difference. That distinction is enormously important because biblical justice is not blind to circumstances. God doesn't treat every death exactly the same simply because the outcome is the same. He examines intention, action, evidence, and responsibility. And into that situation, steps a figure called the “avenger of blood.” In Hebrew, it's go’el ha-dam. The word go’el is related to the idea of a family redeemer, someone responsible for defending the interests of the family or clan. And I have to tell you something. In a society from thousands of years ago without a modern police force or prosecutors or court systems like ours, the extended family played a much larger role in protecting its members and pursuing justice. When someone was killed, the avenger of blood had the responsibility of pursuing the killer.

Now imagine that accidental death in the forest, the axe head flies, your neighbor dies, his family hears what happens and the avenger of blood begins coming after you. This is where the danger becomes obvious. In the emotion following a death, vengeance could easily move faster than justice. Before the circumstances were investigated, before witnesses were ever heard, before anyone determined whether the death was murder or manslaughter, another life could be taken. And then perhaps another family would retaliate. Bloodshed could produce bloodshed. Vengeance could produce vengeance. Entire families could be trapped in a cycle of retaliation. So God provided refuge. Numbers 35 instructs Israel to establish six cities of refuge. Three were located on the eastern side of the Jordan River and three on the Western side. Eventually, these cities were identified as Bezer, Ramoth, Golan on the East side of the Jordan, and Kedesh, Shechem and Hebron on the West side of the Jordan.

The geographical arrangements actually mattered. See, God didn't place all six cities in one remote corner of Israel. They were distributed throughout the land so that refuge would be accessible to someone who desperately needed it. And Deuteronomy 19 even says that Israel was to divide the territory and prepare roads leading to these cities. So just think about that. God didn't merely announce that refuge existed. He commanded Israel to make refuge accessible. The road mattered because time mattered. The person fleeing could not leisurely make his way towards safety. The Avenger of blood might be behind him. Every mile mattered. Every delay mattered. The manslayer needed a clear path toward the place God had provided. And think about this, once the manslayer reached the city, he was not simply allowed to disappear behind its walls. His case had to be heard actually. In Numbers 35, it says that the congregation was to judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood according to these laws.

That's another important detail. Refuge did not replace justice. Refuge simply created the space necessary for justice to happen. The city of refuge was not a place where truth no longer mattered. It was a place where truth could be established before vengeance took over. Witnesses could be heard, circumstances could be considered, intent could be examined. Was there hatred beforehand? Was there evidence of an ambusher? Where were the weapons involved or was this truly an accident? See, God's system demanded discernment. And Numbers 35 establishes another safeguard. One witness was not sufficient to put someone to death. There had to be adequate testimony. Even when dealing with the most serious of crimes, God established boundaries around the administration of justice. Why? Because God cares about justice for the dead, but he also cares about justice for the living. If justice showed that killing was intentional, the city of refuge could not protect a murderer from the consequences of his crime.

But if the congregation determined that the death was accidental, the manslayer could receive the protection God had established. That is the balance. Justice for the victim, protection for the innocent. God refuses to sacrifice one for the other. And here's where we begin to see the beauty of God's character even more. And so when we come back, we're going to take a deeper look at God's character and nature when it comes to biblical justice and really how it applies to what Jesus Christ did for us and how it all affects God's law. So you're going to want to stick around for this.

Steve Conover: Chris, whenever I travel with the friends of Israel, I've noticed how fascinated people are with modern Jewish cultures and customs. Their holidays, music, literature, religious practices, and even their food.

Chris Katulka: Steve, I totally agree. And I actually believe that knowing more about modern Jewish practices does something that may sound surprising. I actually think it can help combat antisemitism, the hatred of the Jewish people. See, understanding modern Jewish culture and customs helps you understand many of the misconceptions surrounding the Jewish people today. In fact, my friend Steve Herzig does an amazing job giving readers a look into the modern Jewish world in his book, Jewish Culture and Customs. Steve was actually raised in an observant Jewish home before coming to faith in Jesus, the Messiah.

Steve Conover: Yeah. So he understands these traditions from a personal experience.

Chris Katulka: Exactly. And what makes this book especially meaningful is the way that Steve connects Jewish life and culture to the person and work of Jesus.

Steve Conover: I love that so much. You can order your copy of Jewish Culture and Customs by going to foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org.

Chris Katulka: Welcome back everyone. We're in a new series looking at the six cities that God established in the law of Moses that were places of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone without the intent to murder. In our modern justice system, we would call this manslaughter. Each of these cities is a picture though, if you think about it, they're a picture of God's mercy within his justice. Sometimes we think of justice and mercy as opposites. We imagine that if God is just, he must somehow become less merciful. Or if he is merciful, he must relax his justice. But scripture doesn't present God that way at all. His mercy never requires him to become unjust and his justice never requires him to stop being merciful. And the city of refuge is mercy operating within justice. The death is investigated. The evidence matters. Intent matters. The victim matters.

The grieving families matter. And the life of the person who caused an accidental death matters too. God sees them all. And that's what makes these cities so remarkable. God doesn't look at the grief of one family and ignore the danger facing another, nor does he protect the manslayer by pretending that human life was not lost. He creates a system where both realities can be taken seriously. And again, that's so important to understand. That's biblical justice. And think about those six cities that are scattered across Israel. Bezer, Ramoth, Golan, Kedesh, Shechem and Hebron. Six places where a person in desperate circumstances could flee. Somewhere ahead of the fleeing manslayer actually stood a gate and behind him was the avenger. And ahead of him was refuge. And the difference between those two realities demanded action. He had to run to refuge. The Psalms actually repeatedly use this language for God himself as our refuge.

In Psalm 46, it actually begins. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 62 calls God a rock and a refuge. Psalm 91 speaks about making the Most High our refuge. Now listen, physical cities of Israel were not identical to those later spiritual metaphors, but they reveal something consistent about the character of God who established them. The God of Israel is a God who provides refuge. And ultimately, this is what should force us to turn our attention towards Jesus Christ. See, in Christ, we see perfectly what the cities of refuge teach about God's character. God doesn't save sinners by abandoning his justice. See, that's the gospel. Sometimes people speak about forgiveness as though God simply decided that sin didn't matter anymore. It's all done. As though he looked at human rebellion and said, "Ah, let's forget about it." But the cross tells us precisely the opposite story.

Sin matters so much that Christ had to die. God's justice was not ignored at Calvary. It was satisfied. And God's mercy is not absent at Calvary. It was poured out. At the cross, justice and mercy meet. And Jesus doesn't rescue us from God's justice by convincing God to stop being just. He becomes the means through which God's righteous judgment against sin is answered and God's mercy is extended towards sinners. And that's why the language of Hebrews chapter 6, as some translations pick up, is so striking. The writer of Hebrew says, “that those who have fled for refuge lay hold of the hopes set before them.” You know what? For an Israelite who knew the Torah, the law of Moses, that language would've carried some enormous weight. Fled for refuge. God provided refuge. The question is whether we have fled to it. And our refuge is not ultimately a city.

Our refuge is a person, Jesus Christ. We don't run to Hebron or to Shecham. We run to Christ. We don't trust in city walls. We trust in the finished work of our Savior. But there is also an important difference between us and the manslayer of Numbers 35. Because see, the manslayer fled because he didn't intentionally commit murder. His hope was that an investigation would demonstrate that he was not guilty of that crime. But see, we run to Christ knowing something vastly different. We are guilty. We don't flee to Jesus because we hope God will investigate our lives and discover that we are actually innocent. No, we flee because we know we're not innocent. We have sinned. We have violated God's commands. We have fallen short of his holiness, and yet God has provided refuge for guilty people through his Son. And there, once again, God's justice and mercy meet.

God never compromised justice in order to show mercy. He provided mercy within his justice. And that's what he demonstrated in ancient Israel through the cities of refuge. And that's what he has accomplished perfectly through Jesus Christ. See, the God of Israel is perfectly holy, perfectly just. He does not ignore murder, minimize guilt, or pretend sin doesn't matter, but he is also merciful and he makes a way. He establishes refuge. He tells us where refuge can be found. So run, my friends, to the refuge that God has provided. Run to Christ because the same God who demands perfect justice has graciously provided salvation. God never compromises his justice in order to show mercy. He provides mercy within his justice. And when God provides refuge, can I tell you, there's no safer place to be.

Steve Conover: Now, Apples of Gold, a dramatic reading from the life and ministry of Holocaust survivor, Zvi Kalisher.

Mike Kellogg: One evening as my family and I were returning home, two people stopped me and interrogated me.

“Who are you?” one asked. “We want to know all about you.”

“Come to my home tomorrow evening. And who are you?”

“We are from an anti-missionary organization,” one replied.

“Then I am sure you know all about me,” I said.

“We still want to speak with you,” they insisted.

So the next evening they came to my home, and we received them as our guests.

“We want to tell you that you are a public enemy. You have left the religion of our fathers. Therefore, we hate you,” one of the men said.

I replied, “I will pray for you, that the Lord will have mercy upon you.”

“What?” he exclaimed. “How can you say this when you want to kill us?”

“No!” I told them. “I want you to have everlasting life.”

One replied, “We want to know what you believe.”

I told them, “I believe as you do. I believe in one God, one Father, and one Holy Spirit.”

He answered, “We believe in one God and one Father in heaven, but not one Holy Spirit. This belongs to the Christians.”

“I am glad you came here tonight,” I told them. “God has sent you to me because you are blind, but by the time you leave your eyes will be open. I want to show you some things in the Holy Bible.”

I opened the Old Testament to places where the Holy Spirit is mentioned, such as Psalm 51:11; 104:30; 139:7; and Zechariah 12:10. They could not believe their eyes.

“How can this be? We have never heard of this before,” one said.

I spoke with them kindly, even though they hated me. They began to wonder why they were persecuting me, and they apologized. They could see my family and I were very happy, and one asked, “Why are you not afraid? You have children. Do you not fear for them?”

I then opened the New Testament and read Luke 21:17–18, “You will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost.” 

I said, “I know in whom I have believed, and because I believe on the Lord I am not afraid of anything you can do to me. My children also follow the way of the Holy Spirit. Those whom you are persecuting are following God. Are you following Him?”

My family then joined us for discussion, and our guests ate supper with us. After the meal, I said, “Is there anything else you want to know about me? I will answer any questions you have.”

But now they were ashamed. We had accepted them in our home and loved them, even though they came in hatred.

I asked, “What will you say about me in your report to your boss?”

“What can we report to our boss?” one asked.

I answered, “Tell him what you heard and saw this evening. Tell him what is written in the Bible.”

He replied, “Before we go, please tell us if you are a Jew or a Christian.”

I replied, “Before I was blind, as you are now. But when I received the Lord in my heart, I became happy. Now I have a rich future and an established faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe on the same God as you, the One spoken of in the Holy Bible. If you want to know more about Him, read Hebrews 2.” They quickly read it so they would know what to say to their boss.

I have committed these people and their report to the Lord, and I know He will accomplish His will.

Steve Conover: Thank you for joining us for today's episode of The Friends of Israel Today. Don't forget to order your copy of Jewish Culture and Customs today at foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org. I so enjoyed part one of this series. Chris, part two next week, where are we headed?

Chris Katulka: Yeah, it's fascinating because the individual who was in the city of refuge could only leave really once the high priest died. So we're going to talk more about that. What does that mean that the high priest had to die? And what does that mean for us and our High Priest, Jesus Christ?

Steve Conover: We hope you'll join us then. As we close, I'd like to thank our radio team: host and teacher, Chris Katulka, executive producer, Lisa Small, associate producer, Sarah Fern, engineer Bob Beebe, program editor, Jeremy Strong. Apples of Gold was voiced by the late Mike Kellogg. And I'm Steve Conover, executive director of The Friends of Israel. The Friends of Israel Today is a production of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. Passion for God's Word. Compassion for God's Chosen People.