We have heard much in the media recently about “Sanctuary cities.” These are cities in the United States who are allowing illegal immigrants to remain there without being reported to the federal government. Without being too political, if I understand the federal law, if a person is arrested for any sort of crime and they are found to be in the country illegally, the police is to contact the federal government. They then take the person back to the country from which they came.

Sanctuary cities are really nothing new. God actually set up cities that we call “cities of refuge.” Now, they were not in place to harbor those who didn’t belong there, God had a different purpose. Joshua chapter 20 tells us about these cities. There were six of them in total. These cities were situated in such a way among the 12 tribes of Israel, that a person could reach a city of refuge in a day’s journey or less. What were the purpose of these cities? Verse 3 tells us that if a person accidentally killed another person, he could run to a city of refuge and as long as he stayed within the city he was safe. The family of the one who was killed could do him no harm. He would stay there until he had a trial. If he was found not guilty, he had to remain in the city until the high priest died, then and only then could he return home. If the family of the slain could ever lure him out of the city, they could then kill him to avenge the blood of their family member.

The Bible names these cities for us. They are: Kedesh, Shechem, Kiriath Arba, Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan. We will visit these later.

I submit to you today that Jesus Christ is our city of refuge today. We have a place that we can run to when we accidentally sin. The beautiful thing about all of this, is that God set this all in place. God knew that His people would sin and fall short of His glory, so He gave His Son as a place for us to go.

I mentioned the names of the cities of refuge, but let me tell you what these names mean. Kedesh means a place of holiness. Shechem means a shoulder of support. Kiriath Arba means fellowship. Bezer means protection or fortification. Ramoth is exalted and Golan is sanctified. Don’t you see Jesus in each one of these cities?! Because of Jesus we can become holy! Jesus is our support! We have fellowship with Jesus! He is our protection, and because of Jesus we have been sanctified.

So friend, the next time you sin and fall short of God’s glory, run to Jesus! The next time you accidentally do something that is against God, run!! Run as fast as you can to Jesus. As long as you stay in Him you are safe. As soon as you think you can venture out, you better be careful because the devil is there waiting to get you!