Deuteronomy 19:5
5 As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the headb slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:
Cities Of Refuge
He shall flee unto one of these cities and live. Deuteronomy 19:5.
Try to imagine yourselves back in the days of the Norman kings, when England was a very different country from what it is now. There were no railways, of course, and few roads, and the country was still covered in many places with woods and forests where now you see manufacturing towns. There were no coal-pits then, with their hills of refuse and their wheels; and the counties of Northumberland and Durham were a pleasant district of broad moors and wooded hills and clear rivers. But on a bend of the river Wear, there stood, as it stands today, the Cathedral of Durham, where the bones of the old St. Cuthbert had found their resting-place.
On a hot summer day you might have seen a man running breathlessly along the footpath over the hills. He ran with his head down. He was panting with heat, and limping with weariness, and he often turned to look over his shoulder to see if he were followed. Sometimes the path led through the woods, but he dared not rest to enjoy the shade. Sometimes it led over a brook, but he hardly stopped to drink. Again he was on the highway, and as he ran he saw by the wayside a block of stone, having on it one word cut in rude letters Sanctuarium. Then he knew he was on the right road. One or two such blocks of stone may still be seen in England. They show the way to a sanctuary. With haggard face and bloodshot eyes, his clothes torn and covered with dust, he still pressed on till he saw before him the cathedral, the church of St. Cuthbert. That was where he was going, but his strength was almost gone, and he knew that not far behind him were pursuers seeking his life. Gathering up all his strength, he made a desperate effort, and reached the church. He seized the knocker, thundered with it on the door, and a moment later was safe inside.
What did it all mean? This was a man who had by accident, or in a sudden quarrel, killed another. In those days they had not our slow and careful methods of justice. The friends of the dead man were hot on his track to take vengeance on him, but if he could reach the church and “take sanctuary,” as it was called, he was safe till his case could be tried by law. This ensured that the man should have a fair trial, and that if he were to be punished he should be punished justly.
Every church was a sanctuary, but some had more privileges than others. There were two kinds of sanctuary, one general and one special. There were many of these special sanctuaries in England. Some of them, such as Durham Cathedral, still have on the door the knocker which had to be used to gain admittance to the protection of the sanctuary.
The person taken into the sanctuary had to do three things. He had to confess his crime, to lay down his arms, and to promise to keep the rules of the house. If he had gone to a common sanctuary, he might pay compensation, or he might, within forty days, dress himself in sackcloth and go before the court, and take an oath that he would leave the realm and not come back without the king's leave. Then with bare head, and clothed in a long white robe, he set out for the coast as quickly as possible, and unless he reached it in the time given, his life was forfeited. But if he had reached a special sanctuary, the man might stay there in safety for his whole life.
Customs of this kind are common to many countries. This is what Moses intended when he set apart six cities for cities of refuge, that the slayer who killed his neighbor ignorantly, without hating him, might flee there and live.
Boys and girls, we too need a sanctuary or city of refuge. We are always falling into sin. We sin in ignorance, and we sin intentionally, and we are afraid of the punishment of our sins. The thought of it follows us like the avenger of blood following the man. Where shall we find a sanctuary? This is what the Psalmist says: “Trust in him at all times... God is a refuge for us.” What the Church was in times past to the hunted man it is to us still, and the Cross of Christ, which tells of His love, points the way to the sanctuary.
But there is something for us to do if we wish to come into the refuge. We must confess our sins, we must lay down our arms in submission to Him, and we must promise obedience. If we do that we may stay in this sanctuary, safe for ever.