Cities of Refuge

While reflecting on his dual nature in chapter 10, Jekyll alludes to the Biblical cities of refuge, “… Jekyll was now my city of refuge; let but Hyde peep out an instant, and the hands of all men would be raised to take and slay him.” The cities of refuge are found in NUMBERS 35:1-34, DEUTERONOMY 4:1-49, DEUTERONOMY 19:1-21, and JOSHUA 20:1-9. God commanded that when His people came into possession of the land, six cities of refuge should be appointed, to which a person who killed a man, either through ignorance or unintentionally, could flee from the dead man’s avenger of blood, usually a relative, who would pursue and execute the killer, according to custom. Those cities of refuge portray how Christ shelters a sinner from death. It was a marvelous provision for a man who accidentally killed someone. The killer would be protected in the city of refuge and his case tried. The elders of the city would investigate the case. If he was acquitted of intentional killing, he had to remain within the city until the death of the high priest in order to remain protected from the avenger. When the high priest died, the acquitted killer was free to leave without fear of reprisal from the dead man’s family. HEBREWS 4:5-11 identifies Jesus as the Christian’s never-dying High Priest, which, among other things, means that the Christian need never fear punishment for sin as long as Jesus lives, which will be forever.