PRISONERS OF HOPE

April 11, 2007
MF Blume

Scripture Text:

Heb. 6:18-20 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, 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, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, [even] Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Zech. 9:9-12 KJV Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (10) And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. (11) As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. (12) Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;

Heb 6:18-20 lists two entirely different Old Testament laws and puts them together into one picture.

There is the fleeing of a refugee to lay hold of hope,
And there is the entrance through the veil by the High Priest.

Let us look at both laws in the bible and see how they come together in Hebrews 6.

CITIES OF REFUGE

Just before Israel entered Canaan, God told Moses to choose out 48 cities for the Levites, the priestly tribe, since they would have no land while all the other tribes did have land, but each of the tribes would supply place for them (Numbers 35).

Though the temple be in Jerusalem only, the Levites would be everywhere to minister the word of God to the people.
Six of those cities would be cities of refuge

Numbers 35:6 KJV And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities.

Three on the east side of Jordan and three on the west side of Jordan.

Numbers 35:14 KJV Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge.

The placement of these cities would make them no further than half a day's journey from any location in the land.
They were designed for people who accidentally murdered someone to save them from being killed by a kin of the murdered victim.

Numbers 35:11-12 KJV Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares. (12) And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment.

They would dwell in the city of refuge until the trial came where they would stand and be judged.
If a man intentionally killed another, then he yet could dwell in the city, but at trial he would be charged guilty and worthy of death by the avenger.
But if a man unintentionally killed a person, after the trial, when he was deemed innocent, the man could dwell in the city of refuge and remain there.
If he went out of the city of refuge, he would have to risk being killed by the avenger.

Numbers 35:26-27 KJV But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled; (27) And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood:

The killer would not be judged because the murderer, though innocent, should have stayed in the city of refuge.
And he would have to live in that city of refuge until the High Priest died.

Numbers 35:25 KJV And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil.

Numbers 35:28 KJV Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.

When the High Priest died, he was free to leave the City and was free of his guilt.
The avenger had to respect the fact that the man was innocent of all that he committed.

REASONING FOR LAW

Blood defiles the land.

The killer, even though innocent, could not return to his land unless the debt of murder was paid.
Even though it was a mistake that the death occurred.
God said that the land in which he dwelt was not to be defiled.

Numbers 35:33-34 KJV So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. (34) Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.

Notice that GOD DWELLS IN THE LAND.

There could be no "satisfaction", or ransom money paid to free the man from guilt.

Numbers 35:32 KJV And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

The only thing that would free the man from guilt was the death of the murderer.
The blood of the murderer alone could cleanse the land of the blood of the victim.

But when the High Priest died, the man could return to the land.

This means one thing.

Think of it.

No other payment cleansed the blood of the victim but the blood of the murderer.
If the person returned to the land, the land had to be cleansed.
For two reasons did the murderer have to see the land cleansed.
It was going to be cleansed one way or another.
Only his blood could pay the price.
But if He chose to dwell in the city of refuge, he could take the option of waiting for the high priest to die, and that would remove the guilt of blood.
Otherwise, if he left, he would be hunted down until his blood cleansed the land.

This means that the high priest could die instead of the murderer.

The death of the High Priest redeemed a man from the guilt and freed him from the debt to pay by his own blood.

Hebrews said that the people who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon a hope have an anchor in that hope.

Wrath is revealed against sin.

And we have a hope.
If you are not ready to see Jesus, you are a prisoner.
Prisoners, due to sin, but, praise God, PRISONERS OF HOPE, because of this opportunity.
We can return to the fortress.

We hear a lot of hell-fire and brimstone preaching to sinners.

There is a hell.
There is fire.
And there is brimstone.
But I want to present the Gospel to people in the manner the Bible presented it.
Sinners are prisoners.
But there is hope for the prisoners of sin.
So God called them PRISONERS OF HOPE.

Zechariah 9:12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare [that] I will render double unto thee;

Though we are guilty of sin that demands vengeance in the form of death, and though the penalty cannot be paid any other than by our death, the death of the High Priest sets us free from the penalty.

The picture of the high priest dying instead of the unintentional murderer is a perfect picture of Jesus, the great High Priest, dying instead of us.

And the wonderful thing is that our High Priest, died and then rose from the dead.
And the unintentional murderer could return to the land where his home is.

When Hebrews 6 says we can be refugees for hope, instead of speaking of returning to the land of our possession, the OTHER STORY of the High Priest passing the veil is inserted.

And we GO INTO THE LOCATION where the high priest has entered, PAST THE VEIL.
So the HOME of the refugee is shown to be the PLACE BEHIND THE VEIL, which is the holiest of holies.

This is because JESUS IS OUR HIGH PRIEST.

And JESUS DIED so we could be set free from our sin.
Like the refugee, we were all sinners worthy of death.
So our HIgh priest died and His death counted as our own deaths.
But since the high priest in the OT died and could not go anywhere, in order to make the picture come to full truth, Hebrews took another story of the High Priest and joined it together with the picture of the city of refuge.
The High priest took a death of a sacrifice and went beyond the veil with it.
Tied together with the story of the city of refuge, the death of the High Priest occurred and HE BROUGHT HIS OWN BLOOD into the LAND OF OUR POSSESSION and made atonement for us to be able to enter and LIVE THERE AS WELL!

The LAND OF OUR POSSESSION IS WHAT THE GARDEN OF EDEN REPRESENTED.

Numb 35:28 Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.

God gave the Garden of Eden for the land of our possession.

But our sin drove us out, and the only thing that would pay for the crime was our own blood.
That meant our own deaths.
No other means would pay for our crime other than our blood.
But what good would that do for us?
We could not enjoy the land again, once cleansed by the sin, for we would be dead.

Numb 35:31 Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which [is] guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.

Numb 35:33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye [are]: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.

No other "satisfaction" (or ransom money or ransom payment of any kind would do.

But the only other recourse was the death of the high priest.

Numb 35:32 And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

That means that

If no other payment besides his death could remove the guilt of blood in the land, and ...
The high priest's death accomplished the same thing, then...
The blood of the high priest was as good as the blood of the slayer.

Hebrews notes both the aspect of

The City of refuge, and
The aspect of the High Priest passing into the holiest through the veil.

Man and God dwelt together in the Garden.
But man's sin defiled the land and he was driven out.

Look at what was said about man having been driven out of his home due to sin.

Gen. 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

This links with the thought of the veil

Exod. 26:31 And thou shalt make a vail [of] blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:

We see the thought of being driven from home in the Garden.

And the thought of the veil is also seen in the Garden, since the veil had cherubims that were seen blocking man from his home in the Garden after he was driven out due to his sin.
So the Garden story brings both the elements of the CITY OF REFUGE LAW and the VEIL ASPECT of the day of atonement.

The picture of passing the veil is the picture of passing the entrance blocked by cherubims in the Garden of Eden, to return HOME where God placed man in the beginning.

Man became a prisoner outside of home.

One who is confined away from his home is a prisoner.
But God had a plan.
And that plan rendered man, not just a prisoner, but a prisoner of hope.
Man could not return, for he would have died had he tried.
There, standing at the entrance to the Garden, was a flaming sword.

THE FLAMING SWORD REPRESENTS THE AVENGER OF BLOOD.

Just like the avenger of blood, the flaming sword was there to kill him should he return home.
But one day, in time ahead, since Adam was driven from home, there was going to be a High Priest who was going to die.
And that death would allow the sinner to return home.

Adam stands for all mankind.

Adam means MAN.
So Adam waited as a prisoner of hope for centuries, until THE HIGH PRIEST JESUS CHRIST CAME AND DIED.
AND MAN COULD RETURN HOME AGAIN.

EDEN means PARADISE or HEAVEN in english.

John saw Heaven opened and here is what he saw occur in Heaven, the true holiest of holies:

Reve 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain,

Reve 5:8-9 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four [and] twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

The LAMB is the HIGH PRIEST, also.

And his death redeemed us all to God.
The twenty four elders represent humanity as prisoners of hope.
Waiting and looking.

WHY ARE TWO OLD TESTAMENT STORIES INVOLVED?

The only flaw with the Old Testament picture of the high priest was that you could not find a man who could be killed and bring his blood into the Holiest to show that the sinner's blood can be paid from by the High Priest's blood.

That is why God had to put two two stories in the Old Testament.
ATONEMENT: The High priest takes an animal's blood, representing his own, into the holiest.
CITY OF REFUGE: And in another picture, the death of the high priest allows the slayer to return home.
Put them together and the High Priest, Jesus, dies, and takes his own blood into Heaven to pay for our sin, and allows us to go home, into heaven, behind him.

And that is what Hebrews 6 said.

Is it not wonderful that God looks at us as prisoners away from home, but not only prisoners. BUT PRISONERS OF HOPE?

Zechariah 9:12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;

Job lost all he had, and the devil destroyed much.

But Job held onto hope.
And in the end, God gave him twice as much as he had.
Turn to the stronghold, THE CITY OF REFUGE, prisoner of hope.