Deuteronomy

God’s Law as a Refuge

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Sociology

Lesson: 11-110

Genre: Lecture

Track: 011

Dictation Name: RR187F11

Location/Venue:

Year:

Let us worship God. Give unto the Lord al lye kindred of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unot the Lord the glory due unto His name. Bring an offering and come into His courts. Oh worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, fear before Him all the earth. Let us pray.

Almighty God our Heavenly Father we come into Thy presence knowing that though the heaven rage and the nations take council against Thee, against Thy kingdom and against Thy people Thou art who dost laugh at the pretension of men. That all things shall serve Thee Thou hast assured us in Thy word. That all things shall praise Thee willingly or unwillingly Thou hast declared and we believe Thy word. Make us joyful in Thee, confident in Thy word, and always instant in Thy service through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Deuteronomy 4:41-49. Deuteronomy 4:41-49.

“Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;

42 That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:

43 Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites.

44 And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:

45 These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt.

46 On this side Jordan, in the valley over against Bethpeor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt:

47 And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;

48 From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Hermon,

49 And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.”

Our subject this morning is God’s law as a refuge.

God’s law as a refuge. The verses of our text were obviously written on the east side of the River Jordan and before the conquest of Canaan proper. The speaker is Moses. He is referred to in the third person which was a common means of speech in antiquity by persons in authority. Some scholars such as H. Wheeler Robinson has said of these verses that they are without any relation to what precedes or follows. They see no connection between these texts on three cities on refuge and everything before and after. But to say so is to assume that Deuteronomy and the whole Pentateuch is a mindless collection of miscellaneous documents. And this is in fact the view of many higher critics. It seems to me that the obvious mindlessness is on the side of the physical scholars. There is a clear pattern in all the Pentateuch and here as well. The cities of refuge cited here are three in number. There are all on the east side of the Jordon, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites. The cities of refuge were places of escape and safety for men guilty of accidental manslaughter. The law provided in these a safety zone for men who proved they were innocent of murder. To kill a man unawares, verse forty two, means in current English without intent.

More is said on the cities of refuge in Deuteronomy 19 and Numbers 35, 13 and 14, the requirement of three set cities on the east side of Jordon is cited and these cities are cited in Joshua 28. Bezer is mentioned on the Moabite stone, one of the most important historical artifacts uncovered by archeologists. And Bezer is said to have been rebuilt by the Moabite king Masheb. But let us turn again to the placement of these three cities of refuge. And these verses, forty one through forty three. Obviously since Israel had recently conquered those lands in the east band of the river Jordan it was a good time to require the separation of three places as cities of refuge. It was a practical priority. But there is a more important reason. In Psalm 48:3 God is declared to be our refuge and Psalm 14:6 God is named as the refuge of the poor. Above all, Psalm 46 has as its joyful proclamation God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Among the other texts referring to God as our refuge are the following and I’m going to read these, they are not all the texts that deal with this, but the cumulative impact tells us something extremely and urgently important. In Psalm 46:7:

“The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.”

Psalm 57:1: “Be merciful unto me oh God be merciful unto me for my soul trusteth in Thee. Yea in the shadow of Thy wings I will make my refuge until these calamities be overpassed.”

Psalm 59:16: “But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.”

Psalm 62: 7-8: “In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.”

Psalm 70:7: “I am as a wonder unto many that Thou art Thy strong refuge.”

Psalm 91:2: “I will say of the Lord he is my refuge and my fortress. My God, in Him will I trust.”

Psalm 91:9-10: “Because Thou hast made the Lord which is my refuge even there most high Thy habitation there shall no evil befall thee. Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.”

Psalm 94:22: “For the Lord is my defense and my God is the rock of my refuge.”

Psalm 142:5: “I cried unto you, I said Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. “

Then in Isaiah 4:6: “And there shall be a tabernacle for the shadow in the daytime from the heat and for a place of refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain.”

Jeremiah 16:19: “Oh my Lord my strength and my fortress and my refuge in the day of affliction. The Gentiles shall come unto Thee from the ends of the earth and shall say surely our fathers inherited lies, vanity and things wherein there is no profit.”

Then finally, Hebrews 6:18: “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: the cross.”

Now I haven’t given you a complete list of such references but what comes through in the concept of the cities of refuge, the psalms, the prophets and the New Testament God is our refuge and strength, He is our fortress, God provides by His law a refuge, a fortress, a place of strength. So the cities of refuge tell us that God and His law constitute a refuge and our fortress. And that is an all-important statement. We have the security of the strength of God and His justice and law. And the cities of refuge are a visible reminder that is God’s law that provides justice and freedom. Hymn writers have seen the analogy in emotional terms. So it is amazing that biblical scholars are so wooden that they fail to see that God’s law and justice provide a refuge in these cities and in everyday life because God is our great refuge from the evils and in justices of this world. So as Moses begins his commentary or summary of the law he lists first the three cities of refuge, the three on the east side of the Jordan. Now there is more to be said on the subject of cities of refuge and the concept of refuge. The bible tells us that men make two kinds of refuge. God and His law on the one side and man himself and his lies on the other. Isaiah spells this out clearly in Isaiah 28:15-18.

“Because you have said you have made a covenant with death and with hell are we in agreement when the overflowing scourge shall pass through it shall not come unto us. For we have made lies our refuge and under falsehood have we hid ourselves. Therefore thus saith the Lord God behold I lay in Zion a foundation of stone. A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line and righteousness or justice the pivot. And the hail shall sleep away the refuge of lies and the water shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled. And your agreement with hell shall not stand when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then you shall be trodden down by it.”

Two kinds of refuge, God and His law, man and His lies. Man feeling that his own wisdom can provide the way of escape. What Isaiah tells us is what Machiavelli turned into a political philosophy and it is the policy of faith everywhere now. Not only do the ungodly have a covenant with death and hell, with lies, but they believe in their heart that not God but lies are their best refuge, their city of defense. Their refuge. These men seek to shape history by their lies and their laws. But God has a sure foundation for his city of refuge and it stands against the city of man and man’s lies. It is His messiah; God Incarnate who is the New Adam will create a new humanity in His image. Through Jesus Christ the last Adam God will disannul all that these evil men seek to establish. He will disannul their world order which is founded on lies and injustice and it shall finally perish. Thus the cities of refuge have a typological meaning and this must not be neglected. Jesus Christ in his law word provides us with our city of refuge in an evil generation. It is important to remember at the same time that these are the last words of Moses. The whole of Deuteronomy and he is giving to the people what God had revealed to him, his law. They have a great inheritance, he is telling them, one far exceeding anything any nation of antiquity had, they have God’s law. This in Christ is our inheritance also. Saint Paul in Romans 8:4 tells us that Christ redeems us so that the righteousness or justice of the law may be fulfilled put into force in our lives and purpose. We are to be God’s people of justice.

This is our inheritance and privilege. Our work as we set forth the truth of God, His decree for men, a city of refuge to tell them here is what God provides. There is a refuge from this world of lies that has a covenant with death and hell. When we see the law and the light of these things they are strengthened and blessed. We are God’s people of justice, we have in a world of evil our city of refuge, Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God and His law book, the way of justice because it is His way. So it is our task and our privilege ot make of the whole earth God’s city of refuge, a place of justice and safety. Isaiah 2:1-5 gives us a vision of this city or world realm, a whole world of peace and freedom. Many texts celebrate that coming event and in Revelation 11:15 we are told of the certainty of that triumph. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. And He shall reign forever and ever. The cities of refuge are thus no trifling or incidental matter. The church which neglects their meaning has allied itself with a covenant with death and is one whose refuge is the city of lies. They have abandoned their strength. Let us pray.

Our Lord and our God we give thanks unto Thee that Thou art our city of refuge. A tower of strength in an evil world. We thank Thee that by Thy grace we have a great calling to make the whole world the world of Thy law, Thy justice, Thy city and that we have been assured of victory in this trouble. Give us grace therefore to continue the battle knowing that ours is the victory that over cometh the world, even our faith, that we shall triumph. And those who work in hostility to Thee shall know Thy judgment. In Christ’s name, Amen.

Are there any questions about our lesson?

Yes?

[Question unintelligible]

[Rushdoony] Yes. This means that whether it be for drug bust or tax purposes or any other purpose the troops can be sent anywhere or agents to seize you. So it’s a particularly evil step. It is a new world order of very evil proportions. I will not be at all surprised if others officially adopt the same policy, we know the soviet Union that it had the freedom to go anywhere in the world and execute people without any trial or hearing so this terrorism which is the only name for it is now making it impossible to find a hiding place anywhere in the world. Yes?

[Question unintelligible]

[Rushdoony] Yes, well what we are seeing is the new tower of Babal in process of construction and we know what God does in tower of Babals. So we are living in very interesting times, in fact, probably the most exciting and interesting times of all history. It might be a little hard on the stomach at times but it’s a time of action, decision and definitely of God’s judgment. Yes?

[Question] Is involuntary manslaughter the only reason for a city of refuge in the Old Testament?

[Rushdoony] It became in practice a place of refuge for those guilty of accidental death. Man slaughter. In practice, within Christian history because the church became the city of refuge, the sanctuary, it became a refuge for anyone fleeing from arbitrary law. For example, if a king were trying to seize someone wrongfully out of sheer vengeance he would flee to the church for sanctuary. Then the churchmen would hold a hearing as the Old Testament law required to ascertain whether or not his case was a valid one. And if it were the king had to give him safe conduct out of the kingdom. So the rite of sanctuary developed out of the cities of refuge. It has been destroyed by every modern state I should add.

Well, let us conclude now with prayer.

Our Father Thy word is truth. From Thy word alone speaks to the evils of our time. To the solutions that are from Thee. To the saving power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Make us faithful servants of our savior and of his kingdom. Make us ever mindful that we have been called to victory. That we should not fear what men are able to do to us because no man can take a step apart from Thee. How great Thou art oh Lord and we praise Thee. In Christ’s name, Amen.