March 12, 2010

Today's reading: Joshua 21, 22, 23; Psalm 12, 42, 72, 102, 132; Proverbs 12

Joshua 21:13, "Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs,"

As a firefighter you receive training in what to do in case you are in a burning structure and need to get out fast. To go through a wall, door or whatever is called "to breech". If I was to breech a wall with an axe and accidentally hit an instructor that would be horrible. Especially if I fatally wounded the person so that they died.

If this was Bible times there were places called cities of refuge. In our text today God is providing one of those cities of refuge. They were put in place in the event you accidentally killed someone you could run to the city and be safe. There would be a hearing of sorts on the matter and you would be judged guilty or innocent in the matter. You could be caught by someone of the deceased's family and they could kill you before you got there.

So how does this relate to today. Very simple really. As we serve the Lord today we are hounded by the devil and his demons. They chase us as someone said, "as the hounds of hell". The great news is that we have a city of refuge. We can run to someone that will protect us and His name is Jesus Christ. He is our refuge!

I remember growing up we had an old dog that wandered off the farm and got caught across the road and across a small field area. I remember going and getting him and carrying him back across the field and the road and putting him back in his dog house. He was safe from the elements and predators.

When we run to Jesus we are safe from all predators. Mosie Lister wrote a great song entitled, " 'Till the Storm Passes by". I love the word of the chorus, "...keep me safe 'till the storm passes by."

Have you found refuge in Jesus Christ from sin? Have you been born-again? If so, do you find refuge in Christ when you are being pursued by the enemy of your soul? I hope so.

Run to the Lord!