Joshua 20:2
‘Cities of refuge’
Read Joshua 20:1-9
The six cities of refuge which Joshua appointed in the land of Canaan were types of our Lord Jesus Christ. Even their names represent him.
Kedesh means ‘ holy’. Christ is the holy one, both as God and as man. Being the holy God-man, he is abundantly qualified to be our Mediator, Savior and Redeemer. Christ is made of God unto us righteousness and holiness, justification and sanctification (Psalms 16:10; Hebrews 7:26; 1 Corinthians 1:30).
Shechem means ‘ the shoulder’. Christ carried the enormous load of our sin upon the cross and put it away (Isaiah 53:6.) The government of the world in general and of his church in particular is upon his shoulder (Isaiah 9:6). And in conversion, he finds his lost sheep, lays it upon his shoulder and carries it home (Luke 15:4).
Hebron means ‘ fellowship’. ‘Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ’ (1 John 1:3). In Christ we have access to and fellowship with the eternal God, and shall have uninterrupted communion with him in heaven’s eternal glory (1 Corinthians 1:9; Ephesians 2:18; John 17:24).
Bezer means ‘ a fortified place’. ‘I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust’ (Psalms 91:2). ‘The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe’ (Proverbs 18:10). Christ is the fortress and defense of his people, the stronghold in which the prisoners of hope are secured.
Ramoth means ‘ exalted’. Christ is our exalted Savior. ‘God hath highly exalted him’ (Philippians 2:9). Christ is the one by whom we have been exalted from our low estate to sit among princes and to inherit the throne of glory (Ephesians 2:4-7). And Christ is the one we exalt, honor and magnify (Revelation 5:9-10).
Golan means ‘ revealed’, or ‘manifested’. Christ is God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). He is the one revealed to us, to whom we are called and by whom we are saved (Galatians 1:15-16). In Christ the glory of God is revealed (2 Corinthians 4:6). And that revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is salvation.