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, today we are wrapping up a two-part series that we've been doing. It's called The Cities of Refuge, where we're actually looking at six cities that God chose for somebody who might have accidentally committed murder. Accidentally. I have to make sure I emphasize that, so that they could find a place of refuge, so that they could find a place where both God's justice and mercy could meet one another. But something that's fascinating that comes out of Numbers 35, where we find the cities of refuge, is actually that that person could stay in a position of refuge in the city as long as the high priest was alive. Once the high priest died, they were free to go. So we're going to look at what that means, not only for the Israelite living under the Torah, the law, but what it means for us and our High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Steve Conover: But first in the news, Jared Kushner's recent meeting with senior Hamas leaders in Cairo has unsettled Palestinian Authority officials who fear Washington's direct engagement with Hamas is sidelining the PA and undermining its claim to represent the Palestinian people. Although the talks reportedly included Hamas disarmament, PA officials worry the US approach could strengthen Hamas politically while further weakening Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Chris Katulka: Well, Steve, here's my take. The primary reason for the meeting was Hamas's disarmament. But looking even deeper, Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian authority, remains deeply unpopular among the Palestinians with 79% saying that he should resign and only 20% satisfied with his performance. In a hypothetical Palestinian election, he receives just 14% support. Maybe the Trump administration sees the writing on the wall for the aged Palestinian leader.

Chris Katulka: Last week, we began looking at one of the most fascinating provisions God gave to the nation of Israel, the cities of refuge. These are six cities that were strategically located throughout the land, three on one side of the Jordan River and three on the other side. They were spread out throughout the land of Israel. And these cities existed for a very specific reason. As I mentioned last week, if you didn't get a chance to listen to our program, in fact, you can go to foiradio.org to listen to the first installment of the cities of refuge.

But last week, I opened by asking you to imagine two men going into the forest together to cut wood. And one man raises his axe and swings it toward the tree, but suddenly the iron head flies from its handle and it strikes his neighbor and the man dies. A life has been taken. A family is grieving, but there was no hatred. There was no ambush. There was no intention to kill. This was strictly an accident. And as we saw last week, God actually made a very careful distinction in the law between murder and accidental killing. Numbers 35 describes someone who intentionally strikes another person with an iron weapon or a stone or a wooden object capable of causing death. And it speaks about hatred and hostility and lying in wait. And that person was a murderer and justice demands that that murderer be punished. But see, in Deuteronomy 19, it actually describes another situation, a death in which there was no previous hatred and no intention to kill.

God didn't treat those situations as though they were identical. And so for that reason, he actually establishes these six cities that are called cities of refuge. The person responsible for an accidental death could flee to one of these six cities because someone from the family might be pursuing him, which was according to the law. It was called the Avenger of Blood. Last week, we imagined that desperate journey behind the manslayer was danger, but ahead of him was refuge. And so the only thing that he could do was run. God even commanded Israel to prepare the roads leading toward the cities because refuge needed to be accessible. And when the manslayer who was innocent arrived, his case could be heard. Refuge did not eliminate justice. Refuge, as we talked about last week, created the opportunity for justice to take place. Was this a murder? Was there hatred beforehand?

Was there an ambush? Or was this genuinely an accidental death? Now, if the person was guilty of murder, the city could not become a hiding place from justice. But if the death was accidental, God provided protection. And that brought us to the theological truth running through the entire passage. God never compromises justice in order to show mercy. He provides mercy within his justice. But see, that raises another question. What happened next? Suppose you were the manslayer. You reached the city, your case was heard. The congregation determined that you were not a murderer. You were safe from the family who was maybe out for revenge. Could you simply go home? Well, actually, Numbers 35 gives us a surprising answer and it is no. See, the manslayer was returned to the city of refuge. And Numbers 35:25 says that he was required to live there. You ready?

This is so interesting. Until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. That is an extraordinary provision, I'll say right there. See, the city saved your life, but it also became your home. You might have arrived expecting to stay for several weeks while everything was investigated, and yet instead you discovered that your life had completely changed. Your home was somewhere else. Your land was somewhere else. Your extended family might be somewhere else, but you could not simply return. You had refuge, you had protection, you had your life, but you were also living in exile. And there was no date marked on the calendar telling you exactly when that exile would end. There was only this condition—until the death of the high priest. Now that phrase changes the entire picture of the cities of refuge. See, last week, the emphasis was on urgency. Run to the city.

This week, the emphasis is remaining. Stay in the city. Numbers 35: 26-27 says that if the manslayer went outside the boundary of the city of refuge and the family who is looking for him found him outside, the avenger of blood, as he was called, could kill him without incurring any blood guilt, no guilt whatsoever. That was a part of the law. So the boundary mattered. Inside was refuge. Outside was potential danger. The manslayer could not redefine the terms of God's protection. He could not say, "Well, I've been here long enough." He couldn't decide that the danger had probably passed. He couldn't move the boundary God had provided for refuge. But refuge had to be enjoyed according to the terms that God established. And this is such an important biblical principle. We sometimes want God's provision without God's boundaries. We want God's blessing, but on our terms.

We want God's protection while deciding for ourselves where safety ought to be. But the city of refuge reminds us that when God provides the way, God also defines the way. The manslayer's responsibility was simple. Remain in the refuge God had provided. And then he waited until the death of the high priest. And man, I'll tell you, that feels so random. Why the high priest? Well, actually, Numbers 35 doesn't give us a lengthy explanation. So we should be very careful not to claim more than what scripture actually says, but the connection itself is unmistakable. The death of the high priest changed the legal status of the manslayer. Numbers 35:28 says, "After the death of the high priest, the manslayer may return to the land of his possession." Think about that. The manslayer didn't earn his release through good behavior. He didn't pay a fine to purchase his freedom.

He didn't serve a predetermined sentence and count down the days. His release was connected to a death and not just any death. It was connected to the death of the high priest. The high priest occupied a unique position in Israel. He represented the nation before God. Once a year on the Day of Atonement, he entered into the Holy of Holies with sacrificial blood and made atonement for himself and for the people. He bore the names of the tribes of Israel on his garments as he ministered before the Lord. He stood in a representative role for the covenant community of Israel. And here in Numbers 35, his death has consequences beyond his own household. When the high priest died, the manslayer's exile ended. He could go home.That doesn't mean that the original death no longer mattered. It doesn't mean that the family stopped grieving. It doesn't mean that God suddenly changed his mind about justice.

Rather, God himself established the death of the high priest as the boundary that brought the manslayers' exile to an end. A death brought release. And I imagine that that would've made the high priest's life very personal to someone living in a city of refuge. Just think about it. Somewhere in Israel, the high priest is serving and somewhere in a city of refuge, a man is waiting. Maybe he's been there six months, six years, 20 years. Every year that passes, he knows that his future is somehow connected to the life of a man he may hardly know. And then one day news reaches the city that the high priest had died and suddenly everything changes. The road that once brought him running into the city can now take him home. The boundary that he could not cross can now be crossed. The exile is finished. He can now return to his land.

Imagine that walk home. Years earlier, he traveled that road terrified. Now he travels it free. The same man, the same land, the same history, but his status has changed because the high priest has died. There's just something remarkable about that picture. And as Christians reading through the Torah, that's the law, the first five books of Moses, in light of the completed revelation of scripture, the Old Testament and the New Testament, it is difficult not to hear an echo of something greater because the New Testament introduces us to another high priest, Jesus Christ. And we're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, we're going to look more closely at the connection between the death of the high priest from Numbers 35 and our High pPriest, Jesus, the Messiah.

Steve Conover: Chris, whenever I travel with The Friends of Israel, I've noticed how fascinated people are with modern Jewish culture 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 wrapping up a quick series on the cities of refuge from the law of Moses. Six cities that God chose as a place of refuge from revenge if someone committed an accidental murder. Not with the intent to actually murder, accidental. We're looking at an interesting concept here though, that the manslayer couldn't leave the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. A very interesting concept that has a unique link to our High Priest, Jesus. And we see all of this unfold in the book of Hebrews, which repeatedly describes Jesus as our great High Priest. See, Hebrews 4 tells us that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. But Jesus is unlike every other high priest who came before him. See, Israel's high priests were themselves sinners. They had to offer sacrifices for their own sins as well for their people.

They grew old and they died. And then another priest would take their place. Hebrews makes a point of this. There were many high priests because deaths prevented them from continuing in office, but Jesus is different. He possesses an unchangeable priesthood because he lives forever. And yet here's the heart of the gospel. Our High Priest also died, not because death finally overcame him and not because his priesthood failed. He willingly gave his life. Jesus says, “no one takes it from me, but I lay it down myself.” And through the death of our great High Priest, something happened to our status before God. We were released. That's where the picture in Numbers 35 becomes so powerful. The manslayer's release was connected to the death of the high priest. And our release from sin is connected to the death of our great High Priest. But there's something enormously different here though, and we mentioned it last week.

The manslayer in Numbers 35 was protected because his killing had been accidental. We come to Christ guilty. We cannot stand before God and say, “See, it was all a misunderstanding, God.” No, we cannot plead innocence. Scripture says that we have all sinned and all fall short of the glory of God. See, our problem is deeper than unfortunate circumstances like the manslaughterer. Our problem is guilt. And yet our High Priest dies for the guilty. That is the astonishing grace of the gospel. Jesus is both priest and sacrifice. The high priest of Israel entered the presence of God carrying the blood of another. Jesus entered on the basis of his own blood. Hebrews 9 says that Christ came as the high priest and entered the holy place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood obtaining eternal redemption.

He didn't simply perform the sacrifice. He became the sacrifice. And because our High Priest has died, our exile can end. And that theme of exile runs deep through scripture. Sin drives humanity away from the presence of God. Adam and Eve sinned and they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Israel sinned and eventually the nation experienced exile from the land. Sin separates. Sin alienates. Sin drives us away from God, but Christ brings us home. The manslayer waited for the death of the high priest so that he could return to his inheritance. The Christian looks backwards to a High Priest who had already died and risen again. And we're not waiting for the sacrifice to happen. Jesus said from the cross, “It is finished.” The price has been paid. The sacrifice has been offered. The High Priest has died and then rose from the grave. And that means our High Priest does something no high priest from the line of Aaron could ever do.

His death secures our redemption. His resurrection guarantees that His priesthood will never end. Hebrews says that He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him because He always lives to make intercession for them. Our High Priest died to release us and our High Priest lives to keep us. So the message of Numbers 35 is not that every detail of the city of refuge is a hidden prediction about Jesus. We should be careful with scripture to allow what the Torah, the law, the first five books of Moses speaks about first in its own context. But when we see a divinely established refuge, a manslayer living in exile, a high priest whose death changes his status, and a man finally permitted to return home, we cannot help but recognize themes that find their fullest expression in Christ. And last week we said, run to the refuge God has provided.

And this week we can add, look to the High Priest whose death and resurrection bring you home. Jesus Christ is our great High Priest. He has died. He has risen and he lives forever. And because of Him, we do not have to remain in exile from God. The road home is open. The condemnation has been answered. The sacrifice has been made and our great High Priest lives forever to bring us safely into the presence of our God.

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

Mike Kellogg: Recently I was in the army again. Usually when we are on watch, nights are long since there is nothing to do and we are not allowed to sleep. One night I was on watch with some religious Jews who had many stories to tell; so the hours slipped by quickly.

The first story was about a 90-year-old blind man. In a dream, an angel asked why he did not  read the Psalms. The man told the angel he could not read because he was blind. When the angel asked him what he wanted, the blind man requested sight so he could read the Psalms.

Each soldier told a story. When they had all finished, they looked at me and asked, “Have you anything to say?” I knew this was a special opportunity for the Lord.

I told them all their stories were merely dreams. “What I will now read for you is true,” I said.

“Where is this written?” one demanded.

I opened my small Bible and read from Matthew 20, where two blind men cried out, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David” (v. 30). And Jesus caused them to see.

“This was not a dream,” I told them. I then read Acts 3:6, where Peter said to the lame man, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” The lame man arose and walked.

When I finished, one declared, “You have gone too far. How can you say the name of Jesus in our presence? You speak about Him as if He were holy!”

“He is holy,” I replied, “and He always will be. He is everlasting.”

“If you continue to speak of Him, you will have trouble from us,” someone warned.

“I am not afraid of you,” I replied. “You are afraid of the truth, so you speak of dreams and make them seem like facts. When I read the Scriptures, you all trembled with fear. I told you facts, not dreams.”

“Why do you not believe what our rabbis have written?” one asked.

“Because they are stories from their dreams,” I replied. “I believe in one God and what is written in His Bible because it was written through His Holy Spirit, not by people who took their stories from dreams. Show me where the rabbis’ stories are written in the Bible.”

“Ha! Now we are equal,” one said, “because there is nothing written about Jesus in the Bible either!”

So I turned to Proverbs 30:4: “Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is His Son’s name, if you know?” Then I read Daniel 3:25: “Look!. . . I see four men. . . walking in the midst of the fire; they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

This was all new to these soldiers. They had been in darkness for so long, but now they were beginning to see the light.

After that, everyone read and discussed verses from the Bible, instead of telling stories. I read and explained Isaiah 9:6: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Their eyes began to see, and their ears began to hear. Then they took my Bible and began to read it. They even asked for Bibles of their own containing the New Testament. I read Isaiah 9:2: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.”

I thank the Lord that He uses every situation to glorify Himself. Out of their stories came my opportunity to testify for the Lord. He can accomplish that which is impossible for us.

I pray for these soldiers as they have been confronted with the truth.

Steve Conover: Thank you so much 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. You can order that at foiradio.org and it's at foiradio.org that you can catch part one of our two-part series on the Cities of Refuge if you missed part one. Chris, this has been a great series. We'll open God's Word next week. Where are we headed?

Chris Katulka: Steve, at Friends of Israel, we really value the distinction between Israel and the church, that God has a plan and program for the church and also one and a future one for Israel as well. But there's a lot of people who use certain passages out of context to show that the church has replaced Israel and that Israel doesn't matter anymore. It's been replaced. We call it replacement theology. So for the next four weeks, we're going to look at some of these passages that Christians like to use to show that they are the new Israel and to try to show you and give you great tools to be able to see that no, these passages are actually talking about a future for Israel and the Jewish people.

Steve Conover: We look forward to it. As we close, I'd like to thank our 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.