The Israelites did not have prisons. The other nations around them did but not the Israelites. The prisons of Egypt were an integral part of how the descendents of Jacob ended up in Egypt. However, when God made a covenant with the Israelites He made other provisions to deal with wrong doers.
God’s way of dealing with wrong doers was to set up a number of cities which were known as the cities of refuge. These cities belonged to the Levites and the elders of those cities became the judges of the accused. If the elders found the person accused to be guilty of the capitol offense of which he was accused then they turned him over to the family of the victim and they carried out the punishment. However, if the accused was found to be not guilty then the accused had to stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. If the accused left the city then they were no longer under the protection of the elders and the elders were not responsible for what happened to the accused.
The cities of refuge are a wonderful picture of God’s grace. In our time of trouble we have a refuge that we can turn to and that is our Lord. We are all guilty and condemned to death but we are all free to flee to the city of refuge. God has made a way for our safety. There are some important lessons for us in this picture of grace.
Continued tomorrow - LW
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