[A Meditation on One Verse]

(Joshua 21:13) “To the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the slayer, with its pasturelands, and Libnah with its pasturelands.”

Joshua 21 is the scene where the tribe of Levi, which did not receive land as an inheritance, is allotted the towns where they will live scattered throughout Israel. Notably, the first town listed for each of their clans is always a city of refuge. A place of grace where a sinner hides from judgment became the dwelling place of the Levites, who were set apart for God. Why?

Let us imagine the life of a slayer who has fled to a city of refuge from the avenger of blood. Leaving behind the moment of relief upon entering the city gates, he must now live a completely new life, for he is no longer a fugitive but a resident in a Levitical town. He would have cooked meals, done laundry, and helped with the Levites’ small fields and livestock to make a living. And in that ordinary daily life, he would have seen the Levites, who learned and practiced God’s law every day.

In this way, his ordinary life, which began as a means to escape death, was gradually becoming the very ‘life of the tribe of Levi’—those who took God as their inheritance. His every mundane day was transformed into the day of a holy person. This is the secret of the city of refuge. It was not merely a shelter, but a ‘place of restoration’ where a sinner gained a new identity.

As we saw yesterday, our eternal city of refuge is the Cross(Jesus). And the church is the community of those who have fled to that Cross for refuge. Under the Cross, we have been gifted a new daily life. Therefore, our ordinary day has become an ‘act of worship,’ where we share grace with one another as messengers of the Cross.

[Prayer]

“Lord, my ordinary day does not end as merely ordinary, for I see Your zeal at work within that time. That is why, today, I begin the new day with a bold step.”
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(Daily Reading)

Joshua 21:4-26