And this is Leslie Curran saying hello once again and welcome to the programme. I'm delighted you're tuning in and joining us and I do hope you'll be able to stay with us for the next 15 minutes as today the Reverend Philip Gardiner is with us to let the bible speak. Today I want to read some words from the book of Joshua chapter 20.

Joshua chapter 20 in the verse 1 we read the Lord also spake unto Joshua saying speak to the children of Israel saying appoint out for you cities of refuge whereof I speak to you by the hand of Moses that is that killeth any person who wears an eye may flee further and be your refuge avenger of blood. In verse 6 and he shall dwell in that city until he stand before the congregation for judgment and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days then shall the slayer return and come onto his own city and onto his own house onto the city from whence he fleeth. We trust the Lord will bless the reading of his word to our hearts.

In his great hymn Jesus lover of my soul Charles Wesley penned the words other refuge have I none hangs my helpless soul on thee. There are many interesting stories concerning the origin of that particular hymn. Some say that Wesley wrote those words after he was in a storm while traveling across the Atlantic.

It is said that a bird came and hid in the folds of his coat that it might be protected from the storm. Others say that the hymn was written while he was preaching in Killaloe in County Down. There were a number of men that opposed his preaching and after an open air meeting he had to flee from them.

He fled to a local farmhouse where the farmer's wife hid him in the milk house but the group of men were still pursuing after Wesley and so when the group of men came she said that she would get them a drink of milk in order to help them in their pursuit of him. She then went to the milk house under the pretext of getting a cold drink for the callers but while she was there she told Wesley to escape through the back window and hide under a hedge. It is said that while he was in that place of refuge he penned the words Jesus lover of my soul.

Whether that is the true origin of that hymn I am not sure but I do know the words of that hymn are words of great truth. Other refuge have I none hangs my helpless soul on thee. The refuge is the refuge there is in Jesus Christ.

That same refuge is set forth for us in Joshua chapter 20 where we read of the cities of refuge. The purpose of these six cities was to provide a safe haven for those who were guilty of causing accidental death. The law of God had made it clear that those who were guilty of murder were to die.

In the Old Testament the responsibility of putting the murderer to death lay with the near kin's man, the next of kin. So when a murder took place the near kin's man became the avenger of blood. It was his duty to bring about justice for his dead relative.

However in the law there was a provision made for the person that had accidentally killed another. In order that his life was spared from the avenger he had to flee to the city of refuge. When the slayer got to the city of refuge there was an initial hearing of his case.

If the priest deemed the evidence of the slayer to suggest the death was accidental he was received into the city of refuge. Later a more detailed court case took place and if the murder was finally considered to be accidental the slayer was to remain in the city of refuge. The spiritual significance and the enduring relevance of these cities of refuge is made clear in Hebrews chapter 6. In verse 18 of that we read of how the Christian has fled for refuge.

The Christian has fled to Jesus Christ to be safe from the wrath of God. The running of the slayer to the city of refuge is then a wonderful picture of the sinner fleeing to Christ. I want to see concerning the sinner fleeing for refuge the plea for refuge.

On account of the law of God demanding the death of those that had committed murder there was a great need that there would be provision made for those that had accidentally caused the death of another. The law demanded that if someone had taken the life of another his life must be taken in payment for that death. In Genesis 9 verse 6 we read of the reason for that.

Man has been created in God's image. So murder is not merely an act of deep hatred against another man. It is an act of greatest rebellion against a holy God.

To touch one who is made in God's image is to touch the Lord himself. Those who were to flee to the cities of refuge were those who had committed murder accidentally. But while that death may well have been accidental the rigor of the law was against them.

The law was saying you are guilty you have murdered. They needed a place to run to that they might escape the cries of the law again. As we think of a sinner in no sense could the sinner be suggested as one who is innocent.

He is absolutely guilty. All of us have broken the law of God. On account of us breaking the law, the law demands our death.

In Ezekiel 18 verse 20 the soul that sinneth it shall die. Each of the commandments

“The speaker introduces the program and reads from Joshua 20, focusing on the cities of refuge, which provided safety for those who accidentally caused a death. These cities illustrate the spiritual refuge found in Jesus Christ, who protects sinners from God’s wrath, much like how the cities shielded individuals from the avenger of blood. Charles Wesley’s hymn, Jesus, Lover of My Soul, echoes this theme, emphasizing Christ as the ultimate refuge for the helpless. The cities were accessible to all, symbolizing Christ’s open invitation to sinners regardless of their background. The refuge offered protection and justification, representing the peace and salvation provided through Christ’s sacrifice. The message concludes with a call to flee from condemnation and seek refuge in Jesus, who, as the eternal High Priest, offers lasting protection and salvation.”

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of God cry out against the sinner. The first commandment says thou shalt have no other gods before me.

The law says you have put other things in the place of God. The law says thou shalt not bear false witness. Yet we have all borne that false witness.

When a sinner is brought to see his sin before a holy God, when that sinner is awakened to the reality of his state of condemnation he lives in the dread of hell. The one who is in that state is exhorted to flee to a place of refuge. The avenger of blood is a picture to us of the wrath of almighty God.

In Romans 1 verse 18 the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Dear unsaved one, God's law today testifies against you. God's law will result in your condemnation in hell.

Therefore you need to flee to a place of refuge. So there is a plea for refuge. I want to see secondly the provision of refuge.

The plan for these six cities did not originate with Joshua nor did it originate with Moses. It was the plan of God. So the plan for deliverance for the sinner is not one that has been invented by man.

Rather it is the plan of the Lord. A gospel that originates with man is no gospel at all. As we think of how these cities were provided, they were strategically placed.

They were accessible to all. There were three cities on each side of the Jordan. That meant that every person within the land of Israel could reach a city of refuge probably within half a day.

Roads were built to these cities so the people could access them easily. Some writers say that all of the cities were signposted. The slayer would not have to guess the route he was to take, that he would know he was on the right road.

The accessibility of these cities reminds us very clearly how Christ is accessible for the sinner. The sinner has not been asked to climb over some mountain first before he would get into the city of refuge Jesus Christ. Rather he is asked to come as he is.

He is asked to come acknowledging his Christ before a holy God. Jesus Christ is near at hand. The way to enter into the refuge there is in him is to come through his work on the cross.

In Galatians 3 in verse 1 we read of Jesus Christ being evidently set forth or Jesus Christ being clearly set forth. He is clearly set forth in his work of the cross. The cross reveals man's guilt.

It reveals there is only one way of escape and today the way for you to escape the wrath of God is to come and to enter into the city of refuge. The refuge was available to all. It was not restricted to the Jew but the stranger that was dwelling within the land, the Gentile, could also flee to the city of refuge.

There was protection offered to all. No matter what your background may have been, no matter what sins you may have been engaged in, today you must flee to the city of refuge. I want us to see then the protection in the refuge.

The very meaning of the word refuge brings about the idea of a safe haven. This protection was certainly one that was effective. As long as the slayer remained in the city of refuge, the avenger of blood could not get hold of him.

He could come to the gate of the city but the slayer was granted protection within the city. So when the sinner is hidden in Christ, God's wrath cannot touch him. The law of God is silenced in its cries against the sinner by the protection given to the one that is in Christ.

The city of refuge was really then the place of propitiation. The crime of the slayer was put from view. As far as the law was concerned, the slayer was justified.

There was no record of any crime held against him. So we see here a great reminder of the mercy seat. The Ark of the Covenant contained the law of God.

That law testified against the sinner but over the top of the Ark of the Covenant was the mercy seat, the place where the blood was applied. And though the law cried out that God's wrath would be poured out upon the sinner, the blood was crying out for peace. The blood silenced the cries of the law.

The sinner that is hidden in Christ has the protection of the blood of Christ upon him. And though the law would rightly condemn the sinner for his sin, the blood of Christ cried for peace. The sin of the one who is justified has been put from view.

This position was not only effective but it was enduring. The one who had accidentally slain another was to remain within the city of refuge until the death of the one who was the High Priest at that particular time. As we think of our city of refuge, the Lord Jesus Christ, the reason why the Christian is protected is because Jesus Christ is our High Priest.

In Hebrews 6, as Paul spoke of the Christian being one who had fled to a place of refuge, he spoke then of Jesus Christ being our High Priest. He has ascended into heaven. We read then in Hebrews 7.25 that our High Priest ever liveth.

So then the Christian always remains in the place of refuge because our High Priest will never die. He ever liveth. O dear sinner, this protection can be yours.

Would you not flee from the place of condemnation and come into Christ, the city of refuge?