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The cities of refuge typify the all-inclusive Christ as the embodiment of the redeeming God, into whom mistaken sinners can flee for refuge (Num. 35:6-7, 9-34):
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Christ was delivered by God into the hands of sinners, who mistakenly put Him to death (Acts 2:23; Rom. 4:25; Luke 23:34; 1 Cor. 2:8).
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If any sinner repents, God will regard him as a mistaken sinner and will forgive him; such a one may flee into Christ, but if anyone refuses the gospel and does not repent, God will regard him as a willful sinner, one who is destined to perish (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; Num. 35:16; John 3:16-18).
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There were six cities of refuge, three on each side of the Jordan; the number six signifies mistake-making man, who was created by God on the sixth day (Num. 35:14; Gen. 1:26-27, 31).
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The number three signifies the Triune God as the refuge for the man who makes mistakes; the number two (the two sets of three cities each) signifies a testimony standing in the universe, testifying and declaring to the universe that the Triune God is living on earth among human beings to be their city of refuge.
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The cities given to the Levites were forty-eight cities (Num. 35:7); the forty-eight cities were to be scattered among Israel to be her marvelously available blessing.
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That the cities of refuge were to be not only for the children of Israel but also for the strangers and sojourners among them signifies that the Triune God as the refuge for mistake-making man is for all mankind (v. 15).
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Furthermore, the distribution of the six refuge cities in different places indicates that Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God, is near and available; the Triune God has spread among men, to the very place where we are, to be a city of refuge for all those who make mistakes.
Morning Nourishment
Num. 35:6-7 And the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the manslayer to flee to; and besides them you shall give forty-two cities. All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, they and their pasture lands.The cities of refuge typify the all-inclusive Christ as the embodiment of the redeeming God, into whom mistaken sinners can flee for refuge. Christ was delivered by God into the hands of sinners (Acts 2:23; Rom. 4:25), who mistakenly put Him to death (Luke 23:34; 1 Cor. 2:8). If any sinner repents, God will regard him as a mistaken sinner and will forgive him (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38). Such a one may flee into Christ. But if anyone refuses the gospel and does not repent, God will regard him as a willful sinner, one who is destined to perish (Num. 35:16; John 3:16-18).
There were six cities of refuge, three on each side of the Jordan (Num. 35:14). The number six signifies mistake-making man, who was created by God on the sixth day (Gen. 1:26-27, 31). The number three signifies the Triune God as the refuge for the man who makes mistakes. The number two (the two sets of three cities each) signifies a testimony standing in the universe, testifying and declaring to the universe that the Triune God is living on earth among human beings to be their city of refuge. (Num. 35:6, footnote 1)
Today's Reading
The forty-eight cities given to the Levites were to be scattered among Israel, changing Jacob's curse on Levi in Genesis 49:7 into a blessing. (Num. 35:8, footnote 1)That the cities of refuge were to be not only for the children of Israel but also for the strangers and sojourners among them signifies that the Triune God as the refuge for mistake-making man is for all mankind. Furthermore, the distribution of the six refuge cities...indicates that Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God, is near and available. The Triune God has spread among men, to the very place where we are, to be a city of refuge for all those who make mistakes. (Num. 35:15, footnote 1)
If we mark out these cities of refuge on a map, we can see that they are evenly distributed. Six is composed of two times three. Three is the number for God. In His Trinity God reaches us and has a relationship with us to become our salvation....The gospel is to baptize man into the name of the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit [Matt. 28:19]. Luke 15 also shows that this Triune God reaches sinners to bring them back to God: the shepherd typifies the Lord Jesus (v. 4), the woman typifies the Spirit (v. 8), and the father typifies God the Father (v. 20). Second Corinthians 13:14 also speaks of the three aspects of God's blessings to us: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." All these verses reveal the Triune God coming to be our Savior and as grace to have an intimate relationship with us. In addition, two is the number for testimony. This indicates that in the good land, there is always a testimony of the Triune God coming among man to contact him and be his security.
Numbers 35 shows that in the matter of the distribution of the good land, God wanted the children of Israel to offer up some of their inherited possessions. This resulted in the producing of the cities of the Levites, from which some were separated out as cities of refuge. The cities of the Levites can signify the local churches; the cities of refuge signify Christ as our Savior, sparing us from the judgment of death and delivering us so as to recover our spiritual possessions. This means that the local churches need to function in preaching the gospel so that man may receive Christ's redemption, be justified, receive the spiritual inheritance, and thus gain a dwelling place in Christ and so that God may gain a dwelling place among them. God has made these arrangements so that God and man, man and God, may be built up together to become a mutual dwelling place for both to find rest. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 1, "Synopsis of Numbers," pp. 377, 379)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1960, vol. 1, "Synopsis of Numbers," ch. 33