Cities of Refuge

LESSON 13*December 19 - 25
Cities of Refuge

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week's Study:

Numbers 33–36, Josh. 20:1–7, Ephesians 2.

Memory Text:

"We. . . who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast" (Hebrews 6:18, 19).

Though God was faithful in doing all that He had promised, the nation itself, at least that first generation, proved unfaithful and—instead of inheriting the land offered it—died in a harsh wilderness on the wrong side of the Jordan River, the side they were to have fled from and not to have died in. What a tragedy, especially because it didn’t need to happen. All that they had been given, all that God had done for them, and yet, still they refused to trust, refused to act in faith even though they had witnessed dramatic manifestations of God’s power in ways that most of us never have seen and, at least in this life, probably never will.

But the Lord was not through. No way. The theme of the Bible, again and again, is that God will fulfill His promises. The Lord will have His redeemed people in a new heaven and new earth. That is beyond question. The only question for us is, Will we be there, or will we be like the first generation, who despite all that was done for them, refused to enter into the promises given them?

This week, our last week in Numbers, we’ll look at some of the final preparations as the children of Israel get ready to claim their promised inheritance.

*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 26.