purpose. By its being fulfilled it was taken out of the way. The Bible so informs us in these words: “He kindly forgave us all our trespasses and blotted out the handwritten document [the Mosaic law] against us, which consisted of decrees and which was in opposition to us; and He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake [of Jesus Christ].” (Col. 2:13, 14) But this old body of law, although no more being in force after Jesus Christ was used to bring it to an end on Nisan 14, 33 C.E., contains many instructive types or “shadows,” as well as principles, from which Christians may draw enlightenment and benefit. The weekly sabbath or day of rest, for example, which was stipulated in the Mosaic law, was such a shadow of good things to come, pointing forward to something in the future, namely, the thousand years of peace and tranquillity under the reign of Christ, the Messiah.​—Col. 2:16, 17; Heb. 10:1.

8. How many cities of refuge were there, and what were their names?

⁸ A very interesting provision in the Mosaic law was that of the cities of refuge. Where were they located and what purpose did they serve? The Law provided for a total of six of these cities, three of them on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west side. Concerning the names and geographical locations of these cities we are informed by Joshua, Moses’ successor as visible leader of Israel: “Accordingly they gave a sacred status to Kedesh in Galilee in the mountainous region of Naphtali, and Shechem in the mountainous region of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba, that is to say, Hebron, in the mountainous region of Judah. And in the region of the Jordan, at Jericho, toward the east they gave Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.”​—Josh. 20:7, 8.

9. (a) How were these cities distributed over the land? (b) What purpose did they actually serve?

⁹ A look at the map of the Promised Land shows that these cities were rather equally distributed throughout the land. Why was this so? These cities were to be within reach of any inhabitant​—the Israelites as well as the alien residents and settler—​who might need the city’s protection. These cities were havens of refuge, places of protection, open to persons whose lives were in danger, and therefore they were so located that the ones seeking protection might reasonably have the necessary strength and time to flee there. The national law ruled on who was eligible for protection. Anybody could flee to one of these cities who, due to accident, without any evil intent, had caused the death of another person or persons, be it while working or in any other situation.

10. Under what circumstances, for example, could a man flee there?

¹⁰ To illustrate, here is an example of such a situation, one that would make flight to the city of refuge necessary. “Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and has to live: When he strikes his fellow man without knowing it and he was no hater of him formerly; or when he goes with his fellow man into the woods to gather wood, and his hand has been raised to strike with the ax to cut the tree, and the iron has slipped off from the wooden handle, and it has hit his fellow man and he has died, he himself should flee to one of these cities and must live.”​—Deut. 19:4, 5.

THE SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE

11. (a) Why should a person have to flee to the city of refuge? (b) What do Jehovah’s words to Noah show?

¹¹ But we might ask, Why should such a man have to flee to a place of protection? Because, after having caused the death of a fellowman, he was now himself in danger of losing his life. The nearest relative had the right to act as avenger of the blood of the person killed; he was entitled to act as executioner and in this capacity he could act swiftly, without delay. At that time this right of the avenger of blood was fully recognized. Undoubtedly it had its origin in the ordinance we find in the first book of the Bible, in Genesis 9, verses 4 to 6. There we find the words spoken by Jehovah to Noah and his sons, survivors of the global flood, and these words underscore the great value the Creator attaches to human life. “Only flesh with its soul​—its blood—​you must not eat. And, besides that, your blood of your souls shall I ask back. From the hand of every living creature shall I ask it back; and from the hand of man, from the hand of each one who is his brother, shall I ask back the soul of man. Anyone shedding man’s blood, by man will his own blood be shed, for in God’s image he made man.” From this old ordinance was derived the right to inflict the death penalty upon those who shed human blood illegally.

12. Was bloodguilt attached only to the willful murderer?

¹² This old ordinance was recognized in the Mosaic law. Anyone who willfully and illegally shed human blood had to pay with his own life, after the murder had been proved and established by witnesses. (Deut. 17:6) Even a person who caused the death of a fellowman involuntarily, without evil intent, made himself bloodguilty. But then the Law provided that such an unfortunate person could escape death by fleeing into the nearest city of refuge. The relevant passage in the Law reads: “And Jehovah continued to speak to Moses, saying: ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, and you must say to them, “You are crossing the Jordan to the land of Canaan. And you must choose cities convenient for yourselves. As cities of refuge they will serve for you, and the manslayer must flee there who fatally strikes a soul unintentionally. And the cities must serve you as a refuge from the blood avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the assembly for judgment. And the cities that you will give, the six cities of refuge, will be at your service. For the sons of Israel and for the alien resident and for the settler in the midst of them these six cities will serve as a refuge, for anyone to flee there that fatally strikes a soul unintentionally.”’”​—Num. 35:9-15; Josh. 20:1-6.

13, 14. (a) Was a willful murderer permitted to gain protection in the city of refuge? (b) How was the fugitive’s worthiness or willfulness determined?

¹³ It can thus be seen that, for everyone meeting its terms, this was a legal provision to save precious human life. These six cities were at the same time cities of the Levites, and one of them, Hebron, pertained to the Aaronic priests. But what about a person who made use of the legal protection in one of the six cities and who was actually not entitled to it, for example, a wicked murderer? The Law ruled out any protection for a murderer, such a person being considered unworthy to come within the protective shield of these cities. To ensure that no unworthy person would gain refuge, the law demanded that a hearing be held and the circumstances be examined, before a person was taken up definitely into the protective city. It was the elders of the slayer’s dwelling place who had to examine the case and render the final decision. If the decision turned out to be favorable for the refugee, then henceforth he was shielded by the sacred status of the city of refuge. Thus we read:

¹⁴ “But if it was unexpectedly without enmity that he has pushed him or has thrown any article toward him without lying in wait, or any stone by which he could die without seeing him or he should cause it to fall upon him, so that he died, while he was not at enmity with him and was not seeking his injury, the assembly must then judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these judgments. And the assembly must deliver the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the assembly must return him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he must dwell in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.”​—Num. 35:22-25.

15. How long must the unintentional manslayer stay in the city of refuge?

¹⁵ The last part of the scripture just quoted explains just how long the unintentional slayer had to remain in this legally provided asylum. He did not necessarily have to stay there for all his life, but only until the death of the high priest occurred, whichever high priest was in office at the time the refugee fled to one of these havens. When the high priest died, then at once all who had fled there were fully entitled to leave the city and return to their former dwelling places. Were they not in danger of being overtaken by the avenger of blood? No, not anymore. The avenger of blood now had no right to do harm to the released refugees. The case was closed. There was no longer any bloodguilt for which to account, “For he ought to dwell in his city of refuge until the high priest’s death, and after the high priest’s death the manslayer may return to the land of his possession.”​—Num. 35:28.

16. What does the provision of the city of refuge teach us as to the value of human life?

¹⁶ The provision of the city of refuge teaches us more than one thing. It shows us clearly that the Creator of man, Jehovah, values human life as something precious. There is no question that He has the full and indisputable right to destroy human life, if men oppose his sovereign will and ignore his purpose. Man, however, certainly is not in the same position as his Creator and therefore has no right to snuff out human life just as he pleases. Life is so precious. In a way it is holy. The Mosaic law ruled that even the unintentional manslayer became bloodguilty, showing thereby the severity of God in matters of bloodshed. No doubt this rigor was to impress the Israelites and convey to their minds the proper appreciation for the sanctity of human life. It also taught them in all their dealings to give careful consideration to this most precious possession of their fellowmen​—life. Pointing to the great Source, the psalmist wrote: “For with you is the source of life.”​—Ps. 36:9.

17. Which two great qualities of Jehovah are reflected in this special legal provision?

¹⁷ On the other hand, the provision of the city of refuge shows that Jehovah is a God of mercy and that He, as the Supreme Judge, knows the hearts of men and makes a distinction between one who commits a wrong unintentionally and one who is wicked in heart and who willfully and presumptuously breaks the divine law. So the provision of the protective city as it existed in ancient Israel reveals two great attributes of Jehovah: his justice and his mercy. The psalmist wrote: “Righteousness and judgment are the established place of your throne; loving-kindness and trueness themselves come in before your face.”​—Ps. 89:14.

18. Since that provision was a prophetic type, what questions now arise?

¹⁸ Since the provision of the city of refuge was of prophetic significance, pointing forward to greater things to come, the following questions arise: What does this city picture? Who is typified by the unintentional manslayer who was permitted to flee there and who by the avenger of blood who pursued the unintentional manslayer? What is meant by the road leading up to these cities? Who is the high priest? And what is shown by the fact that the refugees could leave the city after the high priest died? All these questions can be answered satisfactorily as we let God’s holy spirit ‘lead us into all the truth.’ (John 16:13) For further discussion of these questions we refer the reader to the following article.

The Way to Security

“I am the way and the truth and the life.”​—John 14:6.

1. What do the cities of refuge typify?

AMONG the ancient people of Israel the provision of the cities of refuge must often have proved to be lifesaving. Their purpose was to grant protection and security to unintentional manslayers, in view of threatening death by the hand of the legal avenger of blood. These cities were not to offer protection to criminals. And since the provision of these cities, as with so many other “shadows” of the Law (Heb. 10:1), was a prophetic type, from which Christians may learn much, the conclusion is inescapable that it typifies the grand provision of salvation that God, Jehovah, brought into operation for the eternal benefit of men of all kinds, to relieve and save them from the penalty of bloodguilt. How so?

2. What were some of the reasons for Jesus Christ’s coming to earth?

² God sent his highest Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to make known here the great truths of this provision and also that he might die a sacrificial death, in order to save those truly exercising faith in him from a certain and everlasting death, and give them life without end. Thus we read in Ephesians 1:7: “By means of him we have the release by ransom through the blood of that one, yes, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his undeserved kindness.”​—Matt. 20:28.

3. What is shown by the fact that both Israelites and alien residents could find refuge in the city of refuge?

³ Even as with the typical city of refuge, so also the antitypical city of refuge is a merciful provision of God, to forgive repenting violators of His law on the basis of the ransom of Jesus Christ and to accept him into his care and protection. Writes the apostle Paul: “So that is why he is a mediator of a new covenant, in order that, because a death has occurred for their release by ransom from the transgressions under the former covenant, the ones who have been called might receive the promise of the everlasting inheritance.” (Heb. 9:15) In the literal city of refuge, both Israelites and alien residents could find refuge. (Num. 35:15) That pictures that the antitypical city of refuge offers its powerful protection, not only to spiritual Israelites, that is, those who become members of the heavenly class and rule and serve as priests with Christ Jesus, but also to all those who are in line to receive everlasting life on earth, “other sheep.”​—John 10:16.

4. (a) What cannot be overlooked in the provision of salvation? (b) To what end do God’s spirit and his angels work?

⁴ The unintentional manslayer in Israel did not flee abroad, leaving his country, but headed for the city of refuge, which belonged to the nonpriestly Levites; the city of Hebron belonged to the Aaronic priests. This signifies that the provision of salvation is closely connected with Jehovah’s organization. A remnant of the spiritual priestly class is still on earth today, forming the nucleus of the congregation of Jehovah’s people. We cannot ignore the role the visible congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses plays in this provision of salvation. In Acts 2:47 we read: “At the same time Jehovah continued to join to them daily those being saved.” That means that those “being saved” were added to the visible body of the early Christian congregation. They were gathered together into one united family of faith. So the visible congregation of God’s people has something to do with the provision of salvation today. Indeed, it has an important place in that provision. Every congregation forms a small part of God’s people. We cannot remain outside the organization of God’s people, separated from it, if we want to have Jehovah’s protection. Jehovah’s spirit and his angels all tend to a bringing together in unity of thought, aim and action. So there is a vital connection between Jehovah’s protection in the antitypical city of refuge and His visible congregation of spiritual Israelites, supervised by the “faithful and discreet slave.”​—Eph. 4:3-6; Matt. 24:45-47.

THE ANTITYPICAL UNINTENTIONAL MANSLAYER

5. Who was foreshadowed by the unintentional manslayer?

⁵ But who, then, actually is typified by the unintentional manslayer who found refuge in the protective city? He is a picture of all those who become conscious of the fact that they, in some way and from Jehovah’s viewpoint, share in bloodguilt. This fact becomes clear to them when such sincere persons come in touch with the enlightening message of God’s Word, the Bible, which teaches the sanctity of human life. As in ancient Israel, even so today, a person may have been the cause of an accident, fatal to some other person or persons. Year by year, tens of thousands of people lose their lives on the streets of the world due to traffic accidents. Although there is no evil intent present, nevertheless, there is a certain amount of guilt involved, and, as a rule, the law codes of the nations stipulate penal sanctions for such cases.

6. How have many persons shared in bloodguilt in our age?

⁶ But the application of the meaning of the unintentional manslayer in the present antitype is broader in scope and does not limit itself to those cases just mentioned. Our age is the period of the greatest wars in human history. Just think of World War I and World War II. Millions of men were forced to have a part in these bloody events, without actually wanting it. Tens of millions of men have thus died since 1914, due to the struggle for world domination and also in the course of cruel ideological revolutions. Indeed, since 1914 C.E. alone the blood account of mankind has mounted as never before in all history. It goes without saying that the Creator of man, the one who declared the sanctity of life, must have viewed all this with great displeasure.​—Hab. 1:13.

7. (a) How has heavy bloodguilt become attached to false religion? (b) How does Revelation 17:5, 6 describe this?

⁷ The fact that religious leaders in all the world gave their blessing and support to such organized, mass spilling of human blood has led many persons to believe that it was indeed God’s will and even compatible with Christianity. So it can be presumed that many have done wrong while believing their course was right. The support of organized shedding of blood by the numerous churches and religions inside and outside Christendom reveals one thing very clearly: the immense bloodguilt that attaches to false religion throughout the entire world. This bloodguilt has accumulated, not merely in the past few decades, but also during the many centuries of the past. Blood indeed has flowed in streams in many religious wars, in wars inspired by religious leaders and supported by them, in crusades, during the so-called Inquisition and during the persecution of faithful servants of God before and after Christ. In Revelation, chapter 17, this world empire of false religion is signified or described in symbol as an immoral woman, called “Babylon the Great.” We read: “And upon her forehead was written a name, a mystery: ‘Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth.’ And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the holy ones and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.”​—Rev. 17:5, 6.

8. How have churches misled the people?

⁸ How much the churches have misrepresented God’s purpose and justified wars is underlined by the following from a German Protestant Sunday paper during World War I: “Our combatants are not merely fighters for homeland and home, for king and fatherland, but they are God’s armies, fighting in his service as his instruments and administrators. It is good for our Christian soldiers to know that they really stand in a far higher service and office, that they take care of God’s business and that therefore the Lord has been so marvelously with us . . . to bring the war to a good end. Honor be to God alone! Also this war is a step forward on the way to the realization of the kingdom of God.” (Kirche, Krieg, Kriegsdienst, by Walter Dignath, page 51) How tellingly the words of the prophet Jeremiah apply to the bloodguilt attached to false religious systems of Christendom! Says the prophet: “Also, in your skirts there have been found the blood marks of the souls of the innocent poor ones.” (Jer. 2:34) But bloodguilt also attaches to pagan religious organizations.

THE ANTITYPICAL AVENGER OF BLOOD

9. (a) When will punishment come upon the bloodguilty? (b) Who is the antitypical avenger of blood?

⁹ Where there is so much bloodguilt, punishment is due and unavoidable. It will come without fail, swiftly, yes, within our generation. Speaking about this divine punishment, the prophet Isaiah wrote: “For, look! Jehovah is coming forth from his place to call to account the error of the inhabitant of the land against him, and the land will certainly expose her bloodshed and will no longer cover over her killed ones.” (Isa. 26:21) In ancient Israel it was the legal avenger of blood who settled the account and imposed punishment. Who, we ask, is the avenger of blood in the antitype? It is Jesus Christ, to whom ‘all authority has been given in