Lesson date: 3/3/5854AA
Day 43 of the Counting of the Omer

The Lěwites received no inheritance of their own and were allotted cities to dwell in from within the inheritance of each tribe and the land they were to receive was to be a substantial size to be for their cattle, livestock and possessions. Each city with its open land for livestock was to be an area of about 1,78km x 1,78km

Verse 6

48 cities were to be given to the Lěwites and 6 of those were to be cities of refuge for a man-slayer to flee to. ‘Refuge’ here is the Hebrew word מִקְלָט miqlat – Strong’s H4733 meaning, ‘refuge, asylum’.

This noun denotes the place of refuge from the ‘revenger of blood’ and is used 20 times in Scriptures, and is always used in connection with the cities appointed to provide asylum for those guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The one who is guilty of murder was to be put to death, while initially those not guilty of homicide could seek asylum at the altar, while those who killed with premeditation should be dragged from the altar and executed. So, the cities of refuge were ascribed by law contrary to today where sanctuary cities are a refuge from the law. Big difference.

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 18:10 “The Name of יהוה is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe.”

Tehillah/Psalm 61:3 “For You have been my refuge, a strong tower in the face of the enemy.”

Notice, it is the righteous who run and take refuge, not the unrighteous.

Lesson date: 5/20/5857AA

I borrowed this drawing for the cities of the Levites and you can see that the person who prepared it used metric measurements. Note the 1.78 km which is just a little over 1 mile as 1.6 km = 1 mile.

Verse 6 – Cities of Refuge. There were to be 48 cities for the Levites and of those 6 were to be cities of refuge for the “man-slayer”. If you carefully examine the cities of refuge and the restrictions upon the man-slayer about how he is to stay within the boundary of the city or risk death at the hands of the Revenger of Blood this very aptly describes our journey in Torah. Yeshu’a is or Refuge: Psa 61:3 For You have been my refuge, A strong tower in the face of the enemy.

Pro 18:10 The Name of יהוה is a strong tower; The righteous run into it and are safe.

Yeshu’a is our Refuge and He is also our High Priest: Heb 5:6 As He also says in another place, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Malkitseḏeq,”

It was the death of our High Priest that redeemed us from the curse of Death and made possible the promise of eternal life: Joh 3:16 “For Elohim so loved the world that He gave His only brought-forth Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but possess everlasting life.

Unfortunately many believe that being “saved” is a license to do what you want but, that simply isn’t true. Look at Verses 26-27: at any time goes outside (H853) the limits of the city of refuge

We are not free to do as we want. If we go outside the limits then we become fair game for The Revenger Of Blood: Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Set-apart Spirit,

Heb 6:5 and have tasted the good Word of Elohim and the powers of the age to come,

Heb 6:6 and fall away, to renew them again to repentance – having impaled for themselves the Son of Elohim again, and put Him to open shame.

1Jn 5:3 For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands, and His commands are not heavy,

Ahavah,