Deuteronomy 4:43

Cities of Refuge East of the Jordan

41 Then Moses ^aset apart three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun,

42 ^athat the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without having hated him in time past, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live:

43 ^aBezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

Introduction to God’s Law

44 Now this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel.

45 These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which Moses spoke to the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt,

Commentaries:

No entry exists in Forerunner Commentary for Deuteronomy 4:43.

Deuteronomy 4:41-43

Now the point is that Israel had failed. But the Lord had been faithful, and after the historical survey, Moses begins to exhort the people to obey the Lord by drawing upon the spiritual implications of God's actions at Horeb and His power displayed against the Egyptians. In other words, the Lord is strong enough to give the land to Israel, and Israel must obey the Lord. And the cities mentioned in Deuteronomy 4:41-43 then serve as a concrete example of the faithfulness of God to take the land east of Jordan and give it to Israel.

God is making sure that there is a way in which the land can keep from being polluted, knowing the character of the Israelites, since they did not have the Holy Spirit, although the heroes of faith did of course, those God called as He does today. The cities also assumed that Israel will fail, but the cities are a gracious provision for Israel's anticipated failure. The cities of refuge are thus part of the pattern of proof laid out in Deuteronomy 1 through 4 that the Lord is worthy of trust and obedience, and they are an acknowledgment of Israel's need for grace.

Excerpted from Refuge! Refuge! (Part Two) by Martin G. Collins

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