Joshua 20: Levi’s Refuge from Vengeance, Christ’s Relief from Exile

Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 20. God speaks, and more promises are fulfilled as Joshua 20 begins the final section of the book. The inheritance has been divided up—but will it remain holy, or will it fall into pollution? God uses the cities of refuge to restrain humanity’s thirst for violence and vengeance. These Levitical cities would ensure that cases of manslaughter were given a fair and unbiased trial. These cities showed God’s mercy and orderliness, embodied in our pastors and elders today. But even if an accidental killing didn’t qualify as murder, punishment was still necessary, and these cities served as places of exile. Innocent blood had to be atoned for, and that only happened with the blood of the high priest, foreshadowing our Lord Jesus, whose blood sets us free from exile.