My place of safety

In the OT, cities of REFUGE were designated for ‘manslayers’ to be safe from unlawful retaliation until they could be properly tried and judged for what they had done. These who had killed someone without intent had to remain there without ransom until the death of the high priest.

David was the first to use this principle for seeking another kind of safety in the Lord:

2 Samuel 22:2–4; 31–33. He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies . . . . This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless.”

This thought is repeated in many psalms, some written by David whose experience of fleeing Saul and hiding in the wilderness, in caves, and even in the land of the enemy, is revealed as rooted in trusting the Lord — and not those places — as his shelter and safe location.

Examples from Psalms: “Blessed are all who take refuge in him . . . . Let all who take refuge in you rejoice . . . . Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge . . . . Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand . . . . This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him . . . . Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you . . . . The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed . . . . Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me . . . .  You take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge . . . . The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned . . . . God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble . . . . But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works . . . . Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place — the Most High who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent . . . . But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!

The psalms also warn against seeking refuge in anything else, such as our finances or other people:

Psalm 52:6–7. The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying, “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!”

Psalm 118:8–9. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.

David’s son learned from his father. He wrote in Proverbs 30:5, “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”

The prophets knew it too, including the warnings:

Nahum 1:7. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.

Isaiah 30:1–3. “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Today, this review is very encouraging. The bottom line is the way refuge is used in the NT, only once but Hebrews 6:17–18 referring to my refuge from sin’s power in Jesus Christ. I am encouraged to stay there, trusting God in the safety of His promises: “So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” Amen!