Hello, I’m so glad you decided to check out our blog today because I have some special thoughts I want to share with you about the Greek word, “katapheugo” (pronounced kat-af-yoo’-go), which means “to flee away” or “to flee for refuge”.
Over the past months, our Disciplers team has been working on editing and updating the Egypt to Canaan study, which covers the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Those last two books both contain explanations of the Hebrew “cities of refuge”. Are you familiar with the cities of refuge? They were six cities among the tribes of Israel, designated by the command of God as safe havens for a manslayer fleeing from an avenger of blood. All the cities of refuge were easily accessible and open to anyone, Jew or Gentile, who was dwelling within the borders of Israel. Any person who had unintentionally killed another could flee for refuge to one of these cities. The gates were never locked and he could enter freely to be protected from anyone seeking vengeance for the person who had been killed. The concept was one the Israelites could readily understand and appreciate for its mercy and justice. (In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it is the word “katapheugo” that is used to describe fleeing for refuge (Deuteronomy 4:42 and 19:5.)
Put yourself in the place of a person living in Israel during Biblical times and accidentally killing someone (the Bible gives examples such as throwing a stone and hitting and killing someone you did not know was there, or going out to chop down trees with your neighbor and the head of your axe slipping off the handle and accidentally killing him.) It would be perfectly natural for the family of the dead person to become upset, angry, and desire vengeance -- your life for the life of their loved one! But mercifully, God had provided a way to keep you safe and see that justice was done. Confident in your innocence, you could flee to a city of refuge where the priest and the elders of the city would welcome you and protect you. You would be safe and secure from unjust reprisal. You could breathe a sigh of relief once safely inside. Thanks to God’s mercy and justice, the city of refuge had saved your life.
It is interesting that later in the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses was the first to apply the concept of “refuge” to God as being a refuge for all His people. In his final speech to Israel, Moses proclaimed to them, The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms. He will thrust out the enemy from before you” (33:27)
Boaz, the faithful kinsman redeemer of the Book of Ruth recognized the concept of the cities of refuge in the choice made by the Moabite widow, Ruth, to cling to her godly Hebrew mother-in-law, Naomi. Boaz blessed Ruth with these words, The LORD repay your work and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge (2:12).
King David wrote of God as his refuge often in the Psalms, but perhaps his most beautiful song is in 2 Samuel 22 where he spoke of God as, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence (verse 2).
Other Psalmists, the sons of Korah, wrote, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1), and Psalm 91 mentions God as our refuge three times: I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and fortress’ (verse 2), And under His wings you shall take refuge (verse 4), Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you (verses 9-10).
But all these references to the Lord as our refuge are in the Old Testament. We must wait until the beautiful Book of Hebrews, almost at the very end of the New Testament, to fully appreciate the word “kataphuego” and the Lord Jesus Christ as our city of refuge. It is in Hebrews that we see the fullness of what the cities of refuge foreshadowed. The writer explains that it is both through and to the Lord Jesus that we kataphuego (flee for refuge). Hebrews 6:18-20 emphasizes how seriously God takes his promises to His people and the absolute certainty of our security in Jesus Christ. The reference alludes to the cities of refuge and pictures them as our salvation in Jesus Christ, that….we who have fled for refuge [the verb is katapheogo] might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. Our hope is the anchor of the soul and it is both sure and steadfast. It enters behind the veil, into the Holy of Holies, where our Forerunner, even Jesus, has entered before us as our High Priest forever. It is the Lord Jesus who has opened the way for us and given us access into the very presence of God. It is through Jesus that we kataphuego and it is to Him that we kataphuego as our city of refuge.
In Biblical times, when a manslayer entered a city of refuge, he was allowed to stay until the death of the current High Priest, at which time he would return home. But Hebrews teaches that our High Priest is a Priest forever, and that means we will never be obliged to leave the safety and security of our City of Refuge. Have you fled for refuge? How does it encourage your heart to know that Christ has opened the way for you and even led the way for you to find eternal refuge in Him? And it wasn’t just an after-thought; it was God’s plan from the beginning and He even gave us a beautiful picture in the Old Testament cities of refuge.
Your fellow refugee~
Suzie
(To learn more about the cities of refuge see Numbers 35 and Deuteronomy 4 and 9. For more references to the LORD as our refuge see Psalms 14:6; 57:1; 59:16; 62:7-8; 71:7.)
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