That law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. Deuteronomy chapter 19. Let's start right in verse one. Just follow along. When the Lord thy God hath cut off the nations whose land the Lord thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities and in their houses, thou shalt separate these cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth to thee to possess it. Thou shalt prepare a way and divide the coast of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts that every slayer may flee thither. And this is the case of the slayer which shall flee thither that he may live, who so killeth his neighbor ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past. And as when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand fesheth a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbor that he die, he shall flee unto one of those cities and live. lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him. Whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. Wherefore I command thee, saying, thou shalt separate three cities for thee. And if the Lord thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he hath promised to give unto thy fathers, if thou shalt keep all these commandments, and to do them which I command thee this day, to love the Lord thy God, and to walk ever in his ways, then thou shalt add three cities more for thee besides these three, that innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally, that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities, then the elders of this city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he die. Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. Look at verse 15. One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity or for any sin. And in any sin that he sinneth, at the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses shall the matter be established. Now we've gone through this, I want you to turn to Numbers 35. Numbers 35 is where Moses first receives this of the Lord. We start in verse six. Deuteronomy 19 is where he is recalling it yet again to the children of Israel. And if you'll notice, Numbers 36 is the end of the book of Numbers. Deuteronomy is all spoken in one day to the nation of Israel. So look at the timing of this, it's very short in between. Yet he gives it twice. Numbers chapter 35 in verse six. We're gonna read down through the entirety of the chapter. This is the law of God. And among the cities which he shall give unto the Levites, there shall be six cities for refuge, which he shall appoint for the manslayer that he may flee thither. And to them ye shall add 40 and two cities, so that all the cities which he shall give to the Levites shall be 40 and eight cities. Then ye shall give with their suburbs, and the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel. From them that have many, ye shall give many. But from them that have few, ye shall give few. And everyone shall give of his cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inherited. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, when ye become over Jordan into the land of Canaan, then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares. And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer die not until he stand before the congregation in judgment. And of these cities, ye shall give six cities, shall ye have for refuge. Ye shall give three cities on this side, Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be a refuge for both the children of Israel and for the stranger, for the sojourner among them, that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither. If ye smite him with an instrument of iron so that he die, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. And if ye smite him with a throwing of stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer, and the murderer shall surely be put to death. Or if ye smite him with a hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer, the murderer shall surely be put to death. The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer. When he meeteth him, he shall slay him. This is the law of God. This law is holy. We're going to see very shortly it is just, the commandment just and holy and good. But if ye thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by lying of weight that he die, or in enmity smite him with his hand that he die, he that smote him shall surely be put to death, for he is a murderer. The revenger of blood shall slay the murderer when he meeteth him. But if ye thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him anything, wherewith, without lying of weight, or with any stone wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm. Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments. The congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood. The congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, where there he was fled. And he shall abide in it until the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil. But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled, and the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer, he shall not be guilty of blood, because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer shall return into the land of his possession, So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses, but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die. Moreover, you shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land until the death of the priest. So shall ye not pollute the land wherein ye are? For blood defileth the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit wherein I dwell, For I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel. Thus saith the Lord. Now to recap these things, that's an awful lot to take in. In verse six, we see that there's six cities of refuge in Israel. Three on one side of the Jordan, three on the other. The reason was there was six, was so that if any innocent man had slain a person ignorantly, manslaughter, it was an accident entirely. The law made provision that the avenger of blood, if he caught up to that one that had killed, that he could take that blood and it would be perfectly lawful. But God in mercy had made these cities of refuge within reach. That's why there was six. That's why there wasn't just one city of refuge, there was six in its entirety. Verse 11 says that these were here so that the slayer to flee to, which killed unawares. If that slayer, that one who took that life, killed unawares, he could flee to these cities. Verse 15 says it's both for the children of Israel and for the stranger. These are very important things to remember. A stranger was anyone born outside of the Commonwealth of Israel. You here tonight would be considered strangers. Anyone who was in Israel and accidentally killed someone could flee to one of these cities. God made provision for the stranger. Verse 19, the revenger of blood was to slay the murderer. If a murderer had committed murder, That revenger of blood was instructed and commanded by God to kill that one that had killed. That blood was required. It's absolutely required by the law of God. If it was done in ignorance, verse 25, the slayer shall be judged and kept in that city of refuge until the death of that high priest. In verse 30, we saw that it must be more than one witness against him for him to die. It could not just be only one witness. There had to be at the mouth of two or three witnesses that every matter was established. This is a precept that you see Jesus Christ and Paul himself both quote throughout the New Testament. In verses 31 and 32, it says that they shall take no satisfaction for the life. Nothing, but the death of the murderer would suffice No plea bargains. No deals made No ransom paid Blood was required No getting away with it no getting around it Take no satisfaction. The only saddest thing. Let me put it this way The only thing that would satisfy the law of God was the blood of the one that had committed the murder Keep that in mind In verse 33, we saw that the land cannot be cleansed except by the blood of him that shed blood. Now Romans 7, 12 says, wherefore the law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good. The law is holy, Paul tells you that. There is no sin in the law. Every judgment of God is pure and right and just. What we see here is a just law. 1 Timothy 1.8 says, but we know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully. Galatians 3.24, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now we sang that song City of Refuge, and I love, I absolutely love the thought of Jesus Christ being that city of refuge. I love that thought. I love the thought of fleeing to him, finding refuge in that city. Matthew 11, 28 says, come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. You flee to Jesus. Jeremiah 6, 16 says, thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old paths wherein is the good way and walk therein and ye shall find rest for your souls. But it doesn't stop there. The end of the verse says, but they said we will not walk there in. I love the thought of Jesus being that city of refuge for that innocent man to run to. But I wasn't innocent. You weren't innocent. As soon as you got to that city of refuge, you were delivered to the council. Your blood was required. Ezekiel 18, 20 says, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. That's a promise of God. Do you believe that? 1 John 3, 15, whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Paul says in Romans 7, 9, for I was alive without the law once, but sin revived, and I died. That sin entered in that the offense might abound. And that law entered in that it would be seen. Romans 3, let's turn to Romans chapter 3. We'll start at verse nine and read down to verse 19. Romans chapter three, verse nine, he says, what then? Are we better than they? No one know wise. For we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin. As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God. They're all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher. With their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asp is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursings and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. The way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know what things soever the law saith, is saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. You were not that innocent slayer. You were not that one that killed unawares. You were that murderer. You were the one that lied in wait and shed innocent blood. It was you. Every single one in here, as soon as you entered that city of refuge, you'd be delivered to the council and put to death. And your blood being poured on the ground would purge the land from the blood that you shed. Your blood is required. You say, well, I've never committed murder. James 2.10, for whosoever shall keep the whole law, yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. How you doing now? How's it look now? Hebrews 10, 28 says he that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. And we despise the law of God. We despise the law of God. We hate it because it rises up against us. It chases you down. At revenge of blood, that revenger of blood. You're out in the field, and you've shed innocent blood, and so you flee. You flee to that city of refuge. You're looking for that city of refuge, and the law of God is in hot pursuit behind you. You can hear it behind you. You can hear it calling, calling your name, calling death to you. It's coming. So you run. You run as fast as you can, because you know if you could just get to the city, there's a chance. There's a chance that you might be able to get around it, to talk your way out of it. If you could just get to that city of refuge, there'd just be a little bit of reprieve. Because you know the wages of sin is death. Deuteronomy 19.15 says, one witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity or for any sin. In any sin that he sinneth, at the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses shall the matter be established. Jesus says in John 15.45, do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one that accuseth you, even Moses in whom you trust. That law in which you're trusting in to keep, that law in which you are trusting in that you can get around it. He accuses you before the Father. It's chasing you down. There is no hope. By the way, there's another witness against you, the prophets. It's the Law and the Prophets that testify of Jesus Christ and the death of Jesus Christ in the volume of the book. Why? You killed him. His blood is upon your hands. So you flee. The Law and the Prophets are there chasing you down. You run for all your worth. They're catching up to you. That law is spoken and it's closer. The prophets are preached and it gets closer. And hope, any hope that you had is slowly, slowly slipping away. As you look back over your shoulder and you see it coming, as you open the word of God and you see the law, it's chasing you down. You're without hope. Very soon you know your blood is gonna pour forth from your veins. It's gonna be spilled on the ground. And the law shall be satisfied. Hebrews 4, 12 and 13 says, for the word of God is quick and powerful. sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. Just in case you thought maybe I could hide along the way, neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked. All things are naked and open, unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. The law of God is that revenger of blood, and you run. You run for your life, but you can't get away from God. You run and you hide, but you know you're found out. You're naked and exposed before the eyes of God, and you're guilty. There is no hope. Psalm 139, verses seven and eight, whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I have sent up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. Proverbs 15, three, the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. Zechariah 4, 10, the eyes of the Lord, they which run to and fro. through the whole earth. You can run, but there is no hiding from God. Even if you make it to that city of refuge, there is no hope, because you're not innocent. You're not innocent. You're guilty before the holy law of God. Proverbs 20 verse 27, the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord. And what is that candle of the Lord doing? Searching all the inward parts of the belly. Can't even hide within yourself. Can't even shut out the world and hide. Why? Because God is searching. God is searching. The law of God is in hot pursuit after you. It's coming. Do you know what that candle of the Lord sees? That holiness of God, that light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world? Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Yet the angels are in heaven surrounding the throne of God, crying, holy, holy, holy. That law is holy, the commandment holy, and just, and good. And that holiness of God is blinding to you. And that holiness of God overcomes you. And there is nowhere you can hide from the holiness of God. So you run in a panic, fleeing from the law of God. knowing it's hopeless. And the word resounds in our ears. The footsteps behind us. They cry, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The soul that sinneth, it shall die guilty. Your blood is required. Your blood is to be shed. Your blood is to be spilled on the ground. And that law is holy, and it is just, and it is good. And the word of God enters in. And while those angels cry, holy, holy, holy, while that law is just and holy and good, your unrighteousness burns as a stench in the nostrils of God. God is angry with the wicked every day. There's no hope. But we see Jesus. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. Jesus. And so you run. You run to Jesus. Just as that prodigal son went to his father, and knowing because of the law of God his father could have him be put to death, he says, whether I die or whether I live, I'm going to arise and go to my father. And so you flee to that city of refuge. You flee to the feet of Jesus Christ. You flee to the cross, knowing he has no reason whatsoever to pardon you. But you've heard of mercy from the prophets. You've heard of mercy from the law of God. You've heard that his mercies are new every morning. And so you run all night and you're without strength and that red sun rises in the East and you know that there's going to be bloodshed. You run to Jesus. You flee from that revenger of blood to the only one that can give you refuge, Jesus. Turn back to Numbers 35. I want you to look at verse 30. Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses. Witnesses. And you have witnesses against you. The law and the prophets, they witness against you. The law witnesses against you that you're guilty. Those commandments that witness against you that they call you guilty. You're guilty before God. You are not an innocent slayer of blood. You're not an innocent slayer of men. No, you're a guilty, wicked, rotten sinner worthy of death. You're a murderer. Every one of us worthy of that death. worthy to see your own lifeblood flowing from you, soaking into the ground with no hope of return, and your life slips away. For it says in verse 33, the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. And the land is holy, because it's called the holy land, because that's where the name of God dwells. God himself requires your blood. God says, I'll take nothing less than the blood of the one that shed blood. And just when there's no hope, just when there is nothing left but for you to die, When that stroke is about to fall upon your neck, Jesus steps in. He says, take my blood instead. Do you realize that blood not only cleanses your sin from you, but it cleanses the land. It fulfills this law. That blood was shed so you would live. That blood was shed so you could walk into that city of refuge and walk right back out because the avenger had taken its revenge on Jesus. holiness of the blood of Jesus Christ, most precious substance known to mankind, God's blood, God's blood pure and holy. In place of yours, vile, wretched, black with sin, And as that blood flowed down from that cross, those angels were bowing before it, crying, holy, holy, holy. First Peter 1, 18 and 19, for as much as you know that you're not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as with a land without blemish and without spot, perfectly fulfilling that holy law, perfectly fulfilling everything required of God. Listen, had Jesus Christ not fulfilled every bit of that law, he would have broken that law. We saw it of James. If you've offended in one point, guilty of all. There's not a single jot or tittle of that law that was not fulfilled in Jesus Christ. And that blood recorded, all recorded in this blessed book. In this book right here is the record of that blood. This you take before the Father and say, this is the only hope I have. It's the blood that was shown to me in the pages of this blessed book, this bleeding book. God is guilty before you. But the blood is holy of Jesus Christ. And he said it would cover it. He said it would fulfill it. He said it was enough. The blood is perfect. And it'll atone. That blood. That blood. that should have been yours spilt, was drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty states. And so we cry, holy, holy, holy, Lord God, Heaven and earth are filled with your glory. 1 John 1, 7, But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. John 129, the next day, John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Holy, holy, holy. How? Because blood was required according to the law of God. And that law is chasing you down. It's running you down. And you're running out of strength. So you run to Jesus. You grab hold of those nail-pierced feet. You touch those nail-pierced hands. You grab that spear-pierced side. You flee to that city of refuge because you don't deserve one. Don't think before God that you deserve a city of refuge because you're a guilty, rotten, wicked sinner. And the soul that sinneth, it shall die. And your own self-righteousness and your own pride is going to cause your blood to be spilled on the ground. You will not flee to the one. You will not go in the old path where you shall find rest for your souls. And they said, but we will not walk there in. But there's hope in Jesus Christ. There's hope in the holy one of God. Because just as the law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good, God set forth his son to be a propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. That propitiation is the only thing that could appease the law of God, that could avenge for my blood and the blood that was shed. It was the only thing that could atone. God set forth that thread through faith in His blood, and if God had faith in that blood, why can't you? If God recorded it for all of eternity past, and all of eternity future, in His blessed book, and He raises this thing higher than His own name, and He magnifies it above His own name, and He recorded it here so that we would know, why can't you believe it? Or won't your pride let you see that you're guilty? Acts 20, 28 speaks of the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood. God purchased the church with His own blood. God purchased the church with His own blood. It's God's blood flowing through the veins of Jesus Christ. That's eternal blood. When the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, That eternal word, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard with our ears, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. That blood. freely flowed from Emmanuel's veins so that you could find a propitiation, so that you could be at peace with the law of God, so that Jesus Christ himself could find glory That's Christ in you, the hope of glory. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne on high. It's for you. He was made to be sin for us who knew no sin. You know what that means? He was made into this murderer. He took the murder that I committed and made it his own. So the law was satisfied. So the law was satisfied. That's why he had to be made sin for us. Who knew no sin. So the law would be satisfied. Listen, they were not to take any satisfaction. It had to be the blood of the one that shed it. So he was made into you on the cross. Reviled thought. Every bit of rebellion out of your rebellious, wicked, black heart, every adultery, every fornication, every bit of drunkenness, every bit of lasciviousness, every bit of envy, every bit of murder, everything you've ever seen, saw, said, thought, and did, He lived on that cross as He died, as He died for you. He died as you, so that your blood was no longer required. Romans 5, 9, much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Ephesians 1.7, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace, in whom we have redemption through his blood. Colossians 1.20, and having made peace through the blood of his cross. How precious is that blood to you? It's become infinitely more precious to me since he's shown me this. As that law was chasing me down, I heard it behind me. I didn't dare look back to see how close it was. I knew it was just about on me. I feel it breathing down my neck. I feel it grabbing at me as I'm fleeing, as I'm running, as I'm going, trying as hard as I can No, there's no hope. I get to the gate of that city. You know who's there? A governor. A governor with a law upon his shoulder. He says, here, avenger of blood, take mine instead. This one. has been made free. Verse 914, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? How much more? How much more shall that precious blood of Christ purge your conscience? If you'd believe him, he would. His hand is stretched out. His word is stretched out to you tonight. God drew you in here. And don't tell me it's just what you do on a Sunday night. The God of all eternity set forth everything in your life to get you into the house of God tonight to hear this message. Say, do you have that much confidence in God? More. So much more. Hebrews 13, 12, wherefore, Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. And that's the message. Believe it or reject it, that's the message. That's all he's given me and that's all I'm gonna say.