Mafunzo ya Kina ya Yoshua — Sehemu ya 9: Miji ya Makimbilio & Madhabahu ya UshahidiJoshua Intensive — Unit 9: Cities of Refuge & the Altar of Witness

Yoshua 20 inaanza kwa mojawapo ya sentensi rahisi zaidi katika kitabu na mojawapo ya zile za kichungaji zaidi. "Kisha BWANA akanena na Yoshua, akamwambia, Nena wewe na wana wa Israeli, uwaambie, Jichagulieni hiyo miji ya makimbilio, ambayo niliwaambia habari zake kwa mkono wa Musa" (Yoshua 20:1–2). Vita vimekwisha. Nchi imegawanywa. Sasa BWANA anageuza uangalifu wake kwa swali la aina nyingine: jambo baya sana linapotokea katika nchi mpya — ajali ya kusikitisha, kifo ambacho hakuna aliyekikusudia — mtu aliyekisababisha aende wapi ili awe salama?Joshua 20 begins with one of the simplest sentences in the book and one of the most pastoral. "The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses" (Joshua 20:1–2). The conquest is over. The land has been allotted. Now the LORD turns His attention to a different kind of question: when something terrible happens in the new country — a tragic accident, a death no one intended — where does the man who caused it go to be safe?

Kimbilio jingine sina.Other refuge have I none.

Kimbilio ni mahali pa usalama. Watu wanahitaji mahali salama pa kwenda kunapokuwa na taabu. Wayne anasimulia habari ya mwanamke mmoja kutoka miaka yake ya uchungaji huko Cochrane — jina lake lilikuwa Karen. Alianza kuja kanisani, alionekana mwema lakini alijitenga. Alikuwa na binti kadhaa waliokuja pamoja naye. Baadaye Wayne na mkewe waligundua kwamba Karen alitoka katika jiji kubwa lililokuwa umbali wa saa nne hivi. Mumewe alikuwa mnyanyasaji. Alikuwa amekimbia pamoja na binti zake hadi nyumba ya hifadhi. Alikuwa na amri ya mahakama ya kumzuia mumewe asimkaribie; haikuwa imesaidia chochote. Alikuwa na hofu kubwa sana. Kwa hiyo nyumba ya hifadhi ilikuwa imemsaidia kuanza maisha mapya kwa utambulisho mpya na jina jipya. Kimbilio lake lilikuwa nyumba ya hifadhi iliyokuwa saa nne mbali na mumewe. Karen alijua, kabla yeyote wetu hajaweza kumweleza Yoshua 20, jinsi mji wa makimbilio unavyojisikia kweli.A refuge is a safe place. People need a safe place to go when there is trouble. Wayne tells of a woman from his pastoral years in Cochrane — her name was Karen. She started coming to the church and seemed nice but kept to herself. She had several daughters who came with her. Later Wayne and his wife learned that Karen was originally from a large city about four hours away. Her husband had been abusive. She had run away with her girls to a safe-house. She had a restraining order against him; it had done no good. She was very much afraid. So the safe-house had helped her set up a new life with a new identity and a new name. Her refuge was a safe house four hours away from her husband. Karen knew, before any of us could explain Joshua 20 to her, what a city of refuge actually felt like.

Kitabu cha Yoshua sasa kinaacha habari ya vita na mistari ya mipaka ya urithi, na kuingia katika mojawapo ya maagizo ya upole zaidi katika sheria yote ya Agano la Kale. Mungu aliyetoka tu kuigawa nchi anatumia zaidi ya mistari hamsini (sura ya 20 pamoja na orodha ya miji ya Walawi ya sura ya 21) kuhakikisha kwamba hakuna mtu katika nchi mpya atakayeachwa bila msaada. Yeyote — Mwisraeli au mgeni anayeishi kati yao — atakayemuua mtu mwingine pasipo kukusudia ana mahali pa kukimbilia. Miji sita, mitatu kila upande wa Yordani, imekaa kando ya barabara kuu kwa umbali uliopimwa ili hakuna mtu katika Israeli aliye mbali zaidi ya mbio ngumu ya siku moja kutoka kwa kimbilio.The book of Joshua now turns away from conquest and away from the boundary lines of inheritance and walks into one of the gentlest provisions in the entire Old Testament law. The God who has just allotted the land takes more than fifty verses (chapter 20 plus the levitical-cities list of chapter 21) to make sure that no one in the new country falls through the cracks. Anyone — an Israelite or a foreigner living among them — who kills another person unintentionally has a place to run. Six cities, three on each side of the Jordan, sit on highways at calculated distances so that no one in Israel is more than a hard day's run from a refuge.

Sehemu hii inapitia mkondo wa sura tatu unaofunga sehemu ya urithi. Kifungu I kinakaa na sheria yenyewe: tofauti kati ya uuaji wa kukusudia na kile tunachokiita leo kuua bila kukusudia, na kazi ya mlipiza kisasi cha damu. Kifungu II kinataja miji mitatu ya magharibi ya Yordani na mitatu ya mashariki yake. Kifungu III kinageukia sifa tano za ajabu za miji hiyo ambazo Wayne anazitoa katika sheria na mapokeo ya marabi — ukaribu, malango yaliyo wazi, barabara zilizosafishwa, usalama wa pekee, na kifo cha kuhani mkuu kama kufunguliwa. Kifungu IV kinamsikiliza Corrie ten Boom na somo la baba yake juu ya nguvu inayotolewa wakati ule ule inapohitajika. Kifungu V kinaifuata Waebrania 6:18 kutoka miji ya makimbilio hadi kifuani mwa Kristo. Kifungu VI kinapitia orodha ya miji ya Walawi ya sura ya 21 na kuona namna tulivu ambayo urithi unavyomalizika: "Halikupungua neno lo lote la mema yote BWANA aliyowaambia." Kifungu VII kinawafuata Reubeni, Gadi, na nusu ya kabila la Manase wakirudi nyumbani mashariki ya Yordani na kutazama kutoelewana kukikaribia kuwa vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe juu ya madhabahu iliyogeuka kuwa ushahidi. Hitimisho linaomba wimbo wa Wesley mara moja zaidi juu ya sura hiyo na juu ya mwamini.This unit walks the three-chapter arc that closes the inheritance section. Section I sits with the law itself: the difference between premeditated murder and what we today call manslaughter, and the role of the avenger of blood. Section II names the three cities west of the Jordan and the three east of it. Section III turns to the five remarkable features of the cities that Wayne pulls out of the law and rabbinic tradition — the closeness, the open gates, the cleared roads, the singular safety, and the high priest's death as the release. Section IV listens to Corrie ten Boom and her father's lesson of strength given just in time. Section V follows Hebrews 6:18 from the cities of refuge into the bosom of Christ. Section VI walks the levitical-cities list of chapter 21 and notices the quiet way the inheritance ends: "there failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken." Section VII follows Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh home east of the Jordan and watches a misunderstanding nearly become a civil war over an altar that turned out to be a witness. The Closing prays Wesley's hymn one more time over the chapter and over the believer.

Sheria ya kimbilio ina msingi wake kamili katika vifungu vitatu vya Agano la Kale: Kutoka 21:12–14, Hesabu 35:9–34, na Kumbukumbu la Torati 19:1–13. Yoshua 20 si sheria mpya. Ni utekelezaji wa sheria ambayo Musa alikuwa ameinena miongo kadhaa kabla, nayo inakaa juu ya kanuni ya zamani zaidi. Katika Mwanzo 9:6, baada ya gharika, Mungu alimwambia Nuhu, "Ataye damu ya mwanadamu, damu yake huyo itamwagwa na mwanadamu; kwa maana kwa mfano wa Mungu, Mungu alimfanya mtu." Uuaji ni uvunjaji wa sheria ya Mungu kwa sababu mwanadamu amebeba sura ya Mungu. Kanuni hii ni ya zamani mno kiasi kwamba inamtangulia Israeli. Miji ya makimbilio haiilegezi. Inailinda isitumike vibaya.The law of refuge has its full background in three Old Testament passages: Exodus 21:12–14, Numbers 35:9–34, and Deuteronomy 19:1–13. Joshua 20 is not new legislation. It is the implementation of a law that Moses had spoken decades earlier, and it sits on top of an even older principle. In Genesis 9:6, after the flood, God said to Noah, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made he man." Murder is a violation of God's law because man bears the image of God. The principle is so old it predates Israel. The cities of refuge do not soften it. They protect it from being misapplied.

Israeli hawakuwa na polisi. Hakukuwa na waendesha mashtaka. Mtu alipokufa kwa mkono wa mwingine, lilikuwa jukumu la kimaadili la mwanafamilia aliye karibu zaidi na marehemu kuchunguza na kulipiza kisasi cha kifo hicho. Aliitwa mlipiza kisasi cha damu (kwa Kiebrania go'el ha-dam). Shina hilo hilo la neno ndilo neno la mkombozi wa jamaa — Boazi anafanya kazi ya go'el kwa Ruthu katika mazingira ya furaha zaidi baadaye. Kazi ile ile ya kifamilia inayokomboa ardhi ya mjane ndiyo kazi inayomfuatia muuaji. Agano linapita katika damu.Israel had no police. There were no prosecuting attorneys. When a man died at someone's hand, it was the moral responsibility of the family member closest to the victim to investigate and avenge the death. He was called the avenger of blood (Hebrew go'el ha-dam). The same root word is the word for kinsman-redeemer — Boaz acts as go'el for Ruth in a happier setting later. The same family role that redeems a widow's land is the role that pursues a murderer. The covenant runs through blood.

Lakini mlipiza kisasi angeweza kukosea. Angeweza kuwa katika huzuni, katika hasira kali, katika haraka. Angeweza kuishia kumuua mtu asiye sahihi, au mtu sahihi kwa sababu isiyo sahihi. Kwa hiyo Mungu alieleza kwa uangalifu mkubwa katika Kutoka 21, Hesabu 35, na Kumbukumbu la Torati 19 kwamba kulikuwa na tofauti kati ya uuaji wa kukusudia na kile tunachokiita leo kuua bila kukusudia, au kosa lililotendwa kwa jazba. Mtu mwenye hatia ya uuaji wa kukusudia alistahili adhabu ya kifo, bila hifadhi yoyote; mlipiza kisasi cha damu angeitekeleza. Lakini kama kifo hakikukusudiwa, au kama mtu alimuua mwingine kwa ajali, muuaji huyo angeweza kukimbilia mmojawapo wa miji hii na kupata usalama mpaka shauri lake lisikilizwe.But the avenger could be wrong. He could be in grief, in fury, in haste. He might end up killing the wrong person, or the right person for the wrong reason. So God explained very carefully in Exodus 21, Numbers 35, and Deuteronomy 19 that there was a difference between premeditated murder and what we today call manslaughter, or a crime of passion. A man guilty of premeditated murder was subject to capital punishment, no asylum available; the avenger of blood would carry it out. But if the death was unpremeditated, or if a man killed someone by accident, the slayer could flee to one of these cities and find safety until a hearing could be held.

Mifano ya kawaida ambayo Musa anaitoa ni ya kawaida kwa makusudi. Mtu anafanya kazi shambani mwake, na kichwa cha shoka lake kinachomoka kwenye mpini na kumuua jirani yake (Kumbukumbu la Torati 19:5). Majirani wawili wanapigana, mmoja anaanguka na kugonga kichwa chake kwenye jiwe na kufa. Jiwe linaanguka kutoka juu ya paa na kumuua mtu aliye chini. Hakuna hata mmoja kati ya haya ulio uuaji. Wala hakuna hata mmoja usio na madhara — mtu amekufa. Miji ya makimbilio inakaa kati ya ukweli huo miwili. Ni mahali ambapo kifo kinachunguzwa, moyo unapimwa, na hukumu inatolewa.The textbook examples Moses gives are intentionally ordinary. A man is working in his field, and his ax head flies off the handle and kills his neighbor (Deuteronomy 19:5). Two neighbors fight, and one falls and hits his head on a rock and dies. A stone is dropped from a roof and kills someone below. None of these is murder. None of them is innocent either — somebody is dead. The cities of refuge sit between those two facts. They are the place where the death is investigated, the heart is examined, and the verdict is rendered.

Utaratibu ulikuwa mzuri kwa urahisi wake. Mtu anayekimbia anafika langoni pa mmojawapo wa miji sita na kueleza shauri lake kwa wazee walioketi langoni. Wanampokea ndani. Mlipiza kisasi cha damu, hata kama anamfuatia kwa karibu, haruhusiwi kuingia mjini kumkamata. Wazee wanafanya usikilizaji wa awali. Wakikuta ni uuaji wa kukusudia, wanamrudisha mtu huyo kwa mlipiza kisasi. Wakikuta ni kuua bila kukusudia, wanampa hifadhi ndani ya kuta za mji. Lazima akae humo — hawezi kuondoka, la sivyo mlipiza kisasi anaweza kumuua kihalali — mpaka kifo cha kuhani mkuu aliyekuwa akihudumu shauri lake lilipoamuliwa. Kuhani huyo akifa, muuaji anaachiliwa kurudi nyumbani. (Jambo hili la ajabu la kifo cha kuhani mkuu ndilo bawaba ya sheria yote, nasi tutarudi kwake katika Kifungu III.)The procedure was elegant in its simplicity. The man fleeing arrives at the gate of one of the six cities and presents his case to the elders sitting at the gate. They take him in. The avenger of blood, even if he is in hot pursuit, may not enter the city to take him. The elders hold a preliminary hearing. If they find premeditated murder, they hand the man back to the avenger. If they find manslaughter, they grant him asylum within the city walls. He must stay there — he cannot leave or the avenger may lawfully kill him — until the death of the high priest who was serving when the case was decided. At the priest's death, the slayer is released to return home. (The strange detail of the high priest's death is the hinge of the whole law, and we will come back to it in Section III.)

Angalia kile sheria inachofanya. Inakataa damu imwagwe kwa urahisi, na inakataa damu ilipizwe kisasi kwa uzembe. Nusu zote mbili ni muhimu. Sura ya Mungu ndani ya aliyeuawa inadai haki. Sura ya Mungu ndani ya muuaji inadai usikilizaji wa haki. Miji ya makimbilio ndiyo njia ambayo Israeli waliyashika madai hayo mawili pamoja katika ngazi ya kijiji.Notice what the law does. It refuses to let blood be shed cheaply, and it refuses to let blood be avenged carelessly. Both halves matter. The image of God in the victim demands justice. The image of God in the killer demands a fair hearing. The cities of refuge are how Israel held those two demands together at the level of the village.

Yoshua 20:7–9 inataja miji sita. "Basi wakaitenga Kedeshi ulio katika Galilaya katika nchi ya vilima ya Naftali, na Shekemu katika nchi ya vilima ya Efraimu, na Kiriath-arba (ndio Hebroni) katika nchi ya vilima ya Yuda. Tena ng'ambo ya pili ya Yordani karibu na Yeriko upande wa mashariki, wakaweka Bezeri katika nyika katika nchi tambarare katika kabila ya Reubeni, na Ramothi katika Gileadi katika kabila ya Gadi, na Golani katika Bashani katika kabila ya Manase."Joshua 20:7–9 names the six cities. "And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba (which is Hebron) in the mountain of Judah. And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh."

Angalia jiografia. Miji mitatu inapangwa kutoka kaskazini hadi kusini upande wa magharibi: Kedeshi katika Galilaya ya juu, Shekemu katika nchi ya vilima ya kati, na Hebroni katika vilima vya kusini vya Yuda. Miji mitatu mingine inapangwa kutoka kaskazini hadi kusini upande wa mashariki wa Yordani: Golani upande wa kaskazini (katika Bashani), Ramothi katikati (katika Gileadi), na Bezeri upande wa kusini (katika nchi tambarare ya nyika ya Reubeni). Mpangilio huo ni kama gridi na ni wa makusudi. Popote Mwisraeli alipoishi — kuanzia chini ya Mlima Hermoni upande wa kaskazini kabisa hadi nyika ya Negebu upande wa kusini kabisa — mji wa makimbilio ulikuwa ndani ya takriban mbio ngumu ya siku moja.Look at the geography. Three cities run north-to-south down the western side: Kedesh in the upper Galilee, Shechem in the central hill country, and Hebron in the southern hills of Judah. Three more cities run north-to-south down the eastern side of the Jordan: Golan in the north (in Bashan), Ramoth in the middle (in Gilead), and Bezer in the south (in the wilderness plain of Reuben). The pattern is grid-like and deliberate. Wherever an Israelite lived — from the foot of Mount Hermon in the far north to the Negev wilderness in the far south — a city of refuge was within roughly a day's hard run.

Majina yenyewe yanashangaza unapoyasoma kama theolojia badala ya alama za ramani. Kedeshi maana yake ni utakatifu — kimbilio linapita katika ardhi takatifu. Shekemu maana yake ni bega — kimbilio linabeba mzigo. Hebroni maana yake ni ushirika au kuunganika — kimbilio linarejesha ushirika uliovunjika. Bezeri maana yake ni ngome. Ramothi maana yake ni vimo — kuinuliwa juu. Golani maana yake ni mateka au uhamisho — kimbilio kwa waliohamishwa. Wasomaji wa kanisa la kwanza waliyasikia mahubiri ndani ya majina haya muda mrefu kabla wafafanuzi wa kisasa hawajafikia. Utakatifu, bega, ushirika, ngome, vimo, uhamisho. Yatamke maneno hayo sita polepole: ndivyo Kristo anavyompa mwamini.The names themselves are striking when you read them as theology rather than as map points. Kedesh means holiness — the refuge runs through holy ground. Shechem means shoulder — the refuge bears the burden. Hebron means fellowship or joining — the refuge restores broken belonging. Bezer means fortress. Ramoth means heights — raised up. Golan means captive or exile — refuge for the displaced. The early church readers of these names heard sermons in them long before modern commentators caught up. Holiness, shoulder, fellowship, fortress, heights, exile. Run those six words slowly: that is what Christ provides for the believer.

Mstari wa 9 unatoa hoja ya mwisho iliyo rahisi kuikosa lakini yenye sauti kubwa kitheolojia: "Hiyo ndiyo miji iliyoamriwa kwa ajili ya wana wote wa Israeli, na kwa ajili ya mgeni akaaye kati yao, ili kila mtu atakayemwua mtu awaye yote pasipo kukusudia apate kukimbilia huko." Kimbilio si kwa ajili ya Israeli peke yao. Ni kwa ajili ya mgeni pia. Yeyote aliyemuua mtu pasipo kukusudia — bila nia — angeweza kukimbilia mji ule ule, kueleza shauri lile lile kwa wazee wale wale, na kupokea ulinzi ule ule. Miji ya makimbilio ni mojawapo ya maonyesho ya kwanza kabisa ya kisheria ya kanuni ya injili kwamba neema haibagui kwa kabila. Damu ile ile inayomlinda Mwisraeli inamlinda mgeni anayeishi kati yao. Malango yale yale yanafunguka kwa wote wawili.Verse 9 makes a final point that is easy to miss but theologically loud: "These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither." The refuge is not for Israel only. It is also for the foreigner. Whoever at unawares — without intent — killed a person could flee to the same city, present the same case to the same elders, and receive the same protection. The cities of refuge are one of the earliest legal expressions of the gospel principle that grace is not racial. The same blood that protects the Israelite protects the resident alien. The same gates open to both.

Wayne anatoa sifa tano za miji hii — baadhi kutoka katika Maandiko yenyewe, baadhi kutoka katika mapokeo ya marabi yanayosaidia kukamilisha picha. Kila moja inahubiri mahubiri madogo yenyewe.Wayne pulls out five features of these cities — some from the Scripture itself, some from rabbinic tradition that helps fill in the picture. Each one preaches a small sermon on its own.

1. Ilikuwa Karibu1. They Were Close By

Sifa ya kwanza ni kwamba miji ya makimbilio ilikuwa karibu. Nchi ya Israeli ina ukubwa wa takriban jimbo la Maryland tu, kwa hiyo hakuna mtu ambaye angeweza kuwa mbali sana na mji wa makimbilio. Marabi wanahifadhi mapokeo kwamba, mara moja kila mwaka, barabara zinazoelekea miji hii zilitengenezwa kwa uangalifu na kusafishwa vizuizi na mawe, ili mtu anayekimbia kuokoa uhai wake asiwe na kizuizi chochote njiani (kama anavyonukuliwa na McCartney). Serikali ilisafisha barabara kuu kwa ajili ya mkimbiaji aliye katika hali ya kukata tamaa kuliko wote. Madaraja yalikaguliwa. Mawe yaliviringishwa kando. Vibao viliwekwa katika kila njia panda vikiwa na neno moja tu KIMBILIO kwa herufi kubwa — ili mtu akikimbia kwa nguvu zake zote, asipoteze muda wowote kupunguza mwendo ili kusoma kibao.The first feature is that the cities of refuge were close. The land of Israel is only about the size of the state of Maryland, so nobody could ever be very far away from a city of refuge. The rabbis preserve a tradition that, once every year, the roads leading to these cities were carefully repaired and cleared of obstacles and stones, so that the man fleeing for his life would have no hindrance in his way (cited by McCartney). The state cleared the highways for the most desperate runner. Bridges were checked. Stones were rolled aside. Signs were posted at every crossroads with the single word REFUGE in large letters — so that if someone was running flat-out, they would not have to lose any time slowing down to read the sign.

Vivyo hivyo, Yesu yuko karibu siku zote. Haijalishi tunaweza kuwa mbali kiasi gani na Mungu, Yeye hayuko mbali nasi kamwe. Wayne anasimulia habari ya askari wa Muungano wa Kusini (Confederate) wakati wa Vita vya Wenyewe kwa Wenyewe vya Marekani aliyewekwa mbali katika msitu wa upweke ili kulinda, na ghafla akahisi hofu ya ajabu ikimjia. Mwezi ulikuwa ukiangaza hafifu kupitia miti. Ingawa ilionekana jambo la ajabu na lisilo la busara, alihisi akisukumwa kuimba kwa sauti ya chini wimbo ule wa zamani:In the same way, Jesus is always near. No matter how far we might be from God, He is never far from us. Wayne tells the story of a Confederate soldier during the Civil War who was placed far out in a lonely wood to watch and suddenly felt a strange dread come over him. The moon was shining dimly through the trees. While it seemed strange and unwise, he felt constrained to sing softly the old song:

Yesu, Mpenzi wa roho yangu,
niache nikimbilie kifuani pako…
Kimbilio jingine sina.Jesus, Lover of my soul,
let me to Thy bosom fly…
Other refuge have I none.

Akafanya hivyo, na mara moja akahisi hofu yake imeondoka. Miaka michache baadaye, vita vilipokwisha, alikuwa katika mkutano na akauimba wimbo ule ule. Baada ya wimbo, mgeni mmoja alimjia akasema, "Sijawahi kukuona kabla, lakini sauti hiyo nimeisikia kabla." Mgeni huyo aliuliza kama alikuwa ameuimba wimbo huo usiku mmoja wakati wa vita — kisha akamweleza jinsi yeye na baadhi ya watu wake, waliokuwa askari wa Muungano wa Kaskazini (Union), walivyokuwa wamejificha nyuma ya miti wakiwa wamemwelekezea bunduki zao, tayari kufyatua. "Lakini," akasema, "tulipousikia wimbo ule, 'Yesu, Mpenzi wa roho yangu,' na 'Kimbilio jingine sina,' niliwaambia watu wangu, 'Msimpige risasi mtu huyo,' nasi tukaondoka kimya kimya tukakuacha. Sitaisahau kamwe sauti niliyoisikia usiku ule." Kuna kimbilio moja tu, nalo ni Yesu, nasi tunamhitaji mwishoni mwa safari.This he did, and immediately felt relieved of his fear. A few years later, when the war was over, he was at a meeting and sang the same song. After the song, a stranger came up to him and said, "I never saw you before, but I have heard that voice before." The stranger asked if he had sung that song one night during the war — and then told him how he and some of his men, who had been Union soldiers, had been hidden behind the trees with their guns turned on him, ready to fire. "But," he said, "as we heard that song, 'Jesus, Lover of my soul,' and 'Other refuge have I none,' I said to my men, 'Don't shoot that man,' and we slipped away and left you. I shall never forget the voice I heard that night." There is only one refuge, and that is Jesus, and we need Him at the end of the way.

2. Malango Yalikuwa Wazi Siku Zote2. The Gates Were Always Open

Sifa ya pili ni kwamba malango ya miji ya makimbilio yalikuwa wazi siku zote. Kama mtu angekimbia maili thelathini au arobaini ili kufika mjini kisha asiweze kuingia — kama ingekuwa katikati ya usiku na malango yamefungwa — angeweza bado kukatwa na mlipiza kisasi cha damu nje kabisa ya ukuta. Kwa hiyo malango yalibaki wazi mchana na usiku.The second feature is that the gates of the cities of refuge were always open. If someone had run thirty or forty miles to get to the city and then could not get in — if it were the middle of the night and the gates were locked — he could still be cut down by the avenger of blood right outside the wall. So the gates stayed open day and night.

Hatuhitaji kuhangaika kutafuta mchanganyiko fulani wa ajabu wa kufuli na funguo za kidini, kana kwamba ni kwa njia ya siri, ya fumbo, ndipo tungeingia katika uhusiano na Yesu. Milango iko wazi kabisa siku zote. Hata ukifika katikati ya usiku, huhitaji kugonga mlango kwa nguvu na kumwamsha Yesu, kwa sababu Yeye ni Mungu asiye na mipaka, naye anakungoja na kukusikiliza. "Tazama, nasimama mlangoni, nabisha; mtu akiisikia sauti yangu, na kuufungua mlango, nitaingia kwake, nami nitakula pamoja naye, na yeye pamoja nami" (Ufunuo 3:20).We do not have to worry about finding some weird combination of religious locks and keys, as if it were by a secret, mysterious way that we would get into relationship with Jesus. The doors are always wide open. Even if you show up in the middle of the night, you do not have to beat on the door and wake Jesus up, because He is the infinite God, and He is waiting and listening for you. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).

Siku moja Charles Wesley alikuwa ameketi kando ya dirisha lililo wazi akitazama mashamba yenye kung'aa wakati wa kiangazi, ndege mdogo aliyekuwa akirukaruka katika mwanga wa jua alipovuta uangalifu wake. Wakati huo huo, mwewe alishuka kwa kasi kumwelekea ndege yule mdogo. Kiumbe yule maskini, akiwa ameogopa sana, alikuwa akiruka huku na huko, akijaribu kupata mahali pa kukimbilia. Katika anga lenye jua kali, katika miti yenye majani, katika mashamba mabichi, hapakuwa na mahali pa kujificha kutokana na makucha makali ya mwewe. Lakini alipoliona dirisha lililo wazi, na mtu aliyeketi kando yake, ndege yule aliruka — katika hofu yake kuu — kulielekea, na kwa moyo unaodunda na bawa linalotetemeka akapata kimbilio kifuani mwa Wesley. Wesley alimhifadhi kutokana na hatari iliyokuwa ikimtishia, akamwokoa na kifo kikatili. Wakati huo Wesley alikuwa akipitia majaribu makali, naye alihisi haja ya kimbilio katika wakati wake mwenyewe wa taabu kama vile ndege yule mdogo aliyekuwa akitetemeka. Kwa hiyo alichukua kalamu yake akaandika wimbo ule mtamu:One day Charles Wesley was sitting by an open window looking out over the bright fields in summertime when a little bird, flitting about in the sunshine, attracted his attention. Just then, a hawk came swooping down toward the little bird. The poor thing, very much frightened, was darting here and there, trying to find some place of refuge. In the bright sunny air, in the leafy trees, in the green fields, there was no hiding place from the fierce grasp of the hawk. But seeing the open window, and a man sitting by it, the bird flew — in its extreme terror — toward it, and with a beating heart and quivering wing found refuge in Wesley's bosom. He sheltered it from the threatening danger, and saved it from a cruel death. Wesley was at that time suffering from severe trials, and was feeling the need of a refuge in his own time of trouble as much as the trembling little bird did. So he took up his pen and wrote that sweet hymn:

Yesu, Mpenzi wa roho yangu,
Niache nikimbilie kifuani pako.Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly.

Dirisha lilikuwa wazi. Ndege aliruka ndani. Wimbo uliandikwa. Waamini wa karne mbili zilizofuata walijifunza kuruka kupitia dirisha lile lile lililo wazi.The window was open. The bird flew in. The hymn was written. The next two centuries of believers learned to fly through the same open window.

3. Hapakuwa na Mahali Pengine pa Usalama Uliohakikishwa3. There Was No Other Place of Guaranteed Safety

Sifa ya tatu ni kwamba hapakuwa na mahali pengine pa usalama uliohakikishwa. Kama muuaji angebaki nyumbani, au kutoka nje ya kuta za mji kabla ya wakati uliowekwa, mlipiza kisasi angeweza kumuua kihalali. Ulinzi ulikuwa halisi lakini ulipatikana mahali pamoja tu. Hapakuwa na mji mwingine, shamba, paa, wala maficho yenye uhakika ule ule. "Wala hakuna wokovu katika mwingine awaye yote; kwa maana hapana jina jingine chini ya mbingu walilopewa wanadamu litupasalo sisi kuokolewa kwalo" (Matendo 4:12).The third feature is that there was no other place of guaranteed safety. If the slayer stayed home, or stepped outside the city walls before the appointed time, the avenger could legally kill him. The protection was real but it was located in one place. There was no other city, no field, no rooftop, no hideout that carried the same guarantee. "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Ni kwa kukataa kabisa — kwa kusema, "Sihitaji hilo, nitatafuta njia nyingine ya wokovu. Siingii katika mji wa makimbilio" — ndipo yeyote kati yetu anayesikia kweli ya injili na kuchagua kuondoka huishia mahali pale pale pa kutengwa nje ya ukuta. A.B. Simpson anasimulia habari ya mtoto wa mitaani wa London, mwenye baridi na njaa, aliyealikwa usiku mmoja na mmishonari wa jiji kwenda katika mojawapo ya nyumba za makimbilio kwa watoto wazururaji. Aliambiwa apige kengele, na wakimuuliza yeye ni nani, aseme maneno matatu, "Katika jina lake." Alithubutu kupanda ngazi na, sawasawa na ahadi ya mtumishi yule, akapokelewa kwa ukarimu wa kifalme, na baada ya chakula kizuri cha jioni na kitanda chenye joto aliota kwamba yuko mbinguni. Siku chache baadaye, aliumizwa katika barabara kuu ya London na gari la kukokotwa lililokuwa likipita. Kadi ya nyumba ile ya uokoaji ilikutwa mfukoni mwake, akapelekwa hospitalini, na habari zikapelekwa kwa misheni. Alitunzwa kwa upole katika siku chache zilizobaki za maisha yake, na kufundishwa kwa upole habari ya mlango ule mwingine ambao pia huingiwa "katika jina lake." Mara nyingi katika saa zake za mwisho alirudia tena na tena, "Katika jina lake, ndilo linalokuruhusu kuingia."It is by ultimate rejection — by saying, "I do not need it, I will find another way of salvation. I am not entering the city of refuge" — that any one of us who hears the truth of the gospel and chooses to walk away ends up in the same place of isolation outside the wall. A.B. Simpson tells of a London waif, cold and hungry, who was invited one night by a city missionary to one of the houses of refuge for little wanderers. He was told to ring the bell, and when they asked him who he was, to say the three words, "In His name." He ventured up the steps and, true to the promise of the worker, received a royal welcome, and with a good supper and a warm bed dreamed that he was in heaven. A few days after, he was hurt in a London thoroughfare by a passing wagon. The card of the rescue home was found in his pocket, and he was taken to the hospital, and word was sent to the mission. He was tenderly nursed during the few lingering days of his life, and gently taught of that other portal which was also entered "in His name." Often in his last hours he would repeat over and over again, "In His name, that's what lets you in."

4. Barabara Zilisafishwa na Kuwekewa Alama4. The Roads Were Cleared and Marked

Sifa ya nne, iliyotajwa kwa ufupi hapo juu na inayostahili aya yake yenyewe, ni kwamba barabara za kuelekea miji hiyo zilitunzwa. Marabi wanasema barabara kuu zilikaguliwa kila mwaka kabla ya msimu wa mvua, zikatengenezwa, na kusafishwa. Kila makutano yalikuwa na kibao kilicho wazi. Madaraja yalikuwa imara. Hoja ya Kiyahudi ilikuwa kwamba muuaji tayari alikuwa akikimbia kuokoa uhai wake; serikali ilimdai kila msaada halali ili afike kimbilioni kwa wakati. Kanuni hiyo ni ya upole: neema ya Mungu si bahili wa maelekezo. Anaiwekea njia alama zilizo wazi. Neno la Mungu linakwambia, katika kila sura, mji uko wapi na jinsi ya kufika huko. Vibao havijafichwa. Barabara hazijaachwa ziharibike. "Njia ni hii, ifuateni" (Isaya 30:21). Mkimbiaji hahitaji kupunguza mwendo ili kuitafuta njia.The fourth feature, mentioned briefly above and worth its own paragraph, is that the roads to the cities were maintained. The rabbis say the highways were inspected each year before the rainy season, repaired, and cleared. Every intersection had a clear sign. Bridges were sound. The Jewish reasoning was that the manslayer was already running for his life; the state owed him every legitimate help to reach the refuge in time. The principle is gentle: God's grace is not stingy with directions. He marks the way clearly. The Word of God tells you, in every chapter, where the city is and how to get there. The signs are not hidden. The roads are not let go to ruin. "This is the way; walk ye in it" (Isaiah 30:21). The runner does not have to slow down to find the path.

5. Kifo cha Kuhani Mkuu Kilikuwa Kufunguliwa5. The Death of the High Priest Was the Release

Sifa ya tano ndiyo sehemu ya ajabu kuliko zote ya sheria nzima. Muuaji aliyefika mjini alilindwa, lakini pia alilazimika kukaa humo. Hakuweza kurudi nyumbani mpaka kifo cha kuhani mkuu aliyekuwa akihudumu alipopokelewa (Hesabu 35:25, 28). Kuhani mkuu alipokufa, muuaji alikuwa huru. Angeweza kwenda nyumbani. Mlipiza kisasi cha damu hakuweza kumgusa tena.The fifth feature is the strangest part of the entire law. The slayer who reached the city was protected, but he was also bound to stay there. He could not return home until the death of the high priest who was serving when he was admitted (Numbers 35:25, 28). When the high priest died, the slayer was free. He could go home. The avenger of blood could no longer touch him.

Kwa nini? Kwa sababu kifo cha kuhani mkuu kilieleweka, kwa namna fulani ya kiishara, kuufunika umwagaji wa damu usiokusudiwa. Uhai ulidaiwa kwa ajili ya uhai uliokuwa umetolewa. Kuhani mkuu, mwakilishi wa watu mbele za Mungu, alilipa deni hilo kiishara kwa kifo chake mwenyewe. Uhuru wa muuaji ulinunuliwa kwa kaburi la kuhani.Why? Because the high priest's death was understood, in some symbolic way, to cover the unintentional shedding of blood. A life was owed for the life that had been taken. The high priest, the representative of the people before God, paid that debt symbolically by his own death. The slayer's freedom was purchased by the priest's grave.

Mwandishi wa Agano Jipya wa Waebrania aliishi ndani ya ishara hii. Kuhani mkuu wetu ni Yesu Kristo. Alikufa mara moja tu kwa ajili ya wote. Kwa sababu alikufa, kila mwamini aliyemkimbilia yuko huru kwenda nyumbani — si baada ya miaka michache, si mlipiza kisasi atakapokata tamaa, bali sasa hivi, leo. Kufunguliwa kumeshanunuliwa. Ukuta unaozunguka mji wa makimbilio ndio ukuta ambao msalaba uliufungua kwa kuuvunja. "Ili kwa vitu viwili visivyoweza kubadilika, ambavyo katika hivyo Mungu hawezi kusema uongo, sisi tuliokimbilia kuyashika matumaini yale yaliyowekwa mbele yetu tupate faraja iliyo imara" (Waebrania 6:18).The New Testament writer of Hebrews lived in this symbol. Our high priest is Jesus Christ. He died once for all. Because He died, every believer who has fled to Him is free to go home — not in a few years, not when the avenger gives up, but right now, today. The release is already purchased. The wall around the city of refuge is the wall that the cross broke open. "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" (Hebrews 6:18).

Miji ya makimbilio inaibua swali tulivu kwa mwamini. Nitakimbilia wapi mlipiza kisasi cha damu atakapotokea mlangoni pangu? Ni jambo moja kusoma habari ya muuaji wa Israeli katika kitabu cha kujifunza Biblia. Ni jambo jingine kabisa kuwa wewe ndiye unayekimbia. Familia ya Corrie ten Boom huko Uholanzi ilijua pande zote mbili za swali hilo. Wakati wa Vita vya Pili vya Dunia akina ten Boom walihatarisha maisha yao kuwaficha Wayahudi kutoka kwa Wanazi, waliokuwa wakiwawinda. Waliwapa kimbilio, mahali salama, Wayahudi ambao maisha yao yalikuwa hatarini. Corrie aliandika habari hiyo katika kitabu chake The Hiding Place (Mahali pa Kujificha). Yeye na watu wengine wa familia yake walipelekwa gerezani kwa kufuata wito wa Mungu wa kuwasaidia Wayahudi. Corrie alinusurika hali mbaya mno za gerezani; dada yake Betsie na baba yake hawakunusurika. Baada ya vita Corrie alisafiri ulimwenguni kote akiwaeleza watu jinsi Mungu alivyomfundisha kusamehe hata Wanazi wakatili kuliko wote.The cities of refuge raise a quiet question for the believer. Where will I run when the avenger of blood appears at my door? It is one thing to read about Israel's manslayer in a Bible-study book. It is another thing entirely to be the one running. Corrie ten Boom's family in the Netherlands knew both sides of that question. During World War II the ten Booms risked their lives to hide Jews from the Nazis, who were hunting them down. They provided a refuge, a safe place, for Jews whose lives were in danger. Corrie wrote about it in her book The Hiding Place. She and other members of her family were sent to prison for following God's call to help the Jews. Corrie survived the horrid prison conditions; her sister Betsie and her father did not. After the war Corrie traveled the world telling people how God taught her to forgive even the cruelest of the Nazis.

Ingawa Corrie ten Boom hakufa kwa ajili ya imani yake, alikuwa shahidi wa Kikristo. Hata hivyo alipokuwa msichana mdogo, alihofu kwamba hangekuwa kamwe na nguvu za kutosha kuteseka kwa ajili ya Yesu. Baba yake, mtu mwenye hekima sana, alimwambia afikirie nyakati zote alizosafiri kwa gari la moshi. "Nakupa pesa za safari lini? Wiki tatu kabla?" aliuliza. Corrie alijibu kwamba alimpa pesa hizo kabla tu ya kupanda gari la moshi. Bwana ten Boom alimwambia Corrie kwamba Baba yetu mwenye hekima aliye mbinguni anajua pia ni lini tutahitaji vitu.Although Corrie ten Boom did not die for her faith, she was a Christian martyr. And yet when she was a little girl, she worried that she would never be strong enough to suffer for Jesus. Her father, a very wise man, told her to think about all the times she had taken a train trip. "When do I give you the money for the trip? Three weeks before?" he asked. Corrie answered that he gave her the money just before they got on the train. Mr. ten Boom told Corrie that our wise Father in heaven knows when we are going to need things, too.

"Leo huhitaji nguvu za kuwa shahidi," alisema. "Lakini mara tu utakapoitwa kwa heshima ya kuteseka kwa ajili ya Yesu, Yeye atakupa nguvu unazohitaji — wakati ule ule unapozihitaji.""Today you do not need the strength to be a martyr," he said. "But as soon as you are called upon for the honor of suffering for Jesus, He will supply the strength you need — just in time."

Sentensi hiyo ndiyo hadithi ya kila Mkristo aliyewahi kukimbilia kimbilio. Nguvu haiji wiki tatu mapema. Nguvu haiji unapojiuliza, kwa nadharia tu, kama ungekuwa jasiri vya kutosha. Nguvu inakuja langoni pa mji wa makimbilio, wakati ule unapoihitaji kweli. Wayne hupenda kusema kwamba Yoshua 20 si sura kwa ajili ya walio salama na walio na starehe. Ni sura kwa ajili ya mkimbiaji. Mtu ambaye kichwa cha shoka lake kilichomoka na kumuua jirani yake. Mwanamke ambaye safari yake ya saa nne iliishia mlangoni pa nyumba ya hifadhi. Mwamini aliyefika mwisho wa nguvu zake ambaye hatimaye anainua macho yake kutoka barabara iliyo nyuma yake na kuuona mji ulio mbele. Nguvu inakuja langoni. Si kabla.That sentence is the story of every Christian who has ever run for refuge. The strength does not arrive three weeks early. The strength does not arrive when you are wondering, abstractly, whether you would be brave enough. The strength arrives at the gate of the city of refuge, in the moment when you actually need it. Wayne is fond of pointing out that Joshua 20 is not a chapter for the secure and the comfortable. It is a chapter for the runner. The man whose ax head flew off and killed his neighbor. The woman whose four-hour drive ended at a safe-house door. The believer at the end of his strength who finally lifts his eyes from the road behind him and sees the city ahead. The strength comes at the gate. Not before.

Wimbo wa Wesley, ulioimbwa na askari yule wa Muungano wa Kusini katika msitu wa upweke na pia kuhusishwa na ndege yule aliyeruka kupitia dirisha lililo wazi, una ubeti mwingine unaolifaa wakati huu kabisa:Wesley's hymn, sung by both that Confederate soldier in the lonely wood and the bird that flew in the open window, has another stanza that fits this moment exactly:

Funika kichwa changu kisicho na kinga
Kwa kivuli cha bawa lako.Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of Thy wing.

Hilo ndilo ombi la muuaji aliye langoni, la mama aliyenyanyaswa aliye mlangoni pa nyumba ya hifadhi, la Karen pamoja na binti zake na amri yake ya mahakama isiyo na faida. Kivuli cha bawa lake kilikuwa tayari juu yao kabla hawajavuka kizingiti. Kifuniko kilifika langoni.That is the prayer of the slayer at the gate, of the abused mother at the safe-house door, of Karen with her daughters and her useless restraining order. The shadow of His wing was already over them before they crossed the threshold. The covering arrived at the gate.

Mwandishi wa Agano Jipya aliyeiona miji ya makimbilio kwa uwazi zaidi alikuwa mwandishi wa Waebrania. Katika Waebrania 6:18 anarudi nyuma hadi Yoshua 20 na kutumia picha ile ile ya mkimbizi anayekimbia kueleza uhusiano wa mwamini na Kristo: "Ili kwa vitu viwili visivyoweza kubadilika, ambavyo katika hivyo Mungu hawezi kusema uongo, sisi tuliokimbilia kuyashika matumaini yale yaliyowekwa mbele yetu tupate faraja iliyo imara."The New Testament writer who saw the cities of refuge most clearly was the writer of Hebrews. In Hebrews 6:18 he reaches back to Joshua 20 and uses the exact image of the running fugitive to describe the believer's relationship to Christ: "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."

Mambo matatu katika mstari huo yanang'aa tu Yoshua 20 ikiwa nyuma yake. "Tuliokimbilia" — mwamini haelezwi kama mtu aliyemchagua Kristo kwa utulivu akiwa mahali salama, bali kama mtu aliyekimbia kuokoa uhai wake. "Kimbilio" — lugha hii ni lugha ya muuaji asiyekusudia, ya mtafuta hifadhi, ya mtu anayefuatiwa. "Kuyashika" — mkimbiaji amefika langoni; amekamata kitu. Mstari wote ni Yoshua 20 ulioandikwa kwa ufupi wa Agano Jipya.Three details in that verse light up only when Joshua 20 is in the background. "Have fled" — the believer is described not as someone who calmly chose Christ from a position of safety but as someone who ran for his life. "For refuge" — the language is the language of the manslayer, the asylum-seeker, the man pursued. "To lay hold" — the runner has reached the gate; he has seized something. The whole verse is Joshua 20 writ in New Testament shorthand.

Kisha Waebrania inataja mambo mahususi. Vitu viwili visivyoweza kubadilika ni ahadi ya Mungu na kiapo cha Mungu. Matumaini yaliyowekwa mbele yetu ni Yesu. Kuhani mkuu ambaye ndiye msingi wa kufunguliwa ni Yesu. "Kwa kuwa hatuna kuhani mkuu asiyeweza kuchukuana nasi katika mambo yetu ya udhaifu… Basi na tukikaribie kiti cha neema kwa ujasiri, ili tupewe rehema, na kupata neema ya kutusaidia wakati wa mahitaji" (Waebrania 4:15–16). Miji ya makimbilio katika Yoshua 20 ni kielelezo. Kristo ndiye uhalisi wenyewe. Wayne anakuwa mwangalifu kusema kwamba hili haliifanyi sheria ya Agano la Kale kuwa kitu zaidi ya mfano wa maneno tu. Miji ya makimbilio iliokoa kweli maisha halisi katika Israeli halisi. Iliwalinda watu halisi ambao vichwa vya shoka zao kweli vilichomoka kwenye mipini halisi. Lakini pia ilikuwa ikielekeza mbele, wakati wote, kwa kimbilio ambalo halipatikani kwenye ramani ya Kanaani bali linapatikana katika Mtu ambaye hafungwi na jiografia hata kidogo.And then Hebrews names the specifics. The two immutable things are the promise of God and the oath of God. The hope set before us is Jesus. The high priest who is the basis of release is Jesus. "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities…Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15–16). The cities of refuge in Joshua 20 are the type. Christ is the substance. Wayne is careful to note that this does not flatten the Old Testament law into nothing more than a metaphor. The cities of refuge actually saved actual lives in actual Israel. They protected real men whose ax heads really came off real handles. But they were also pointing forward, all along, to a refuge that is not located on a map of Canaan but is located in a Person who is not bound by geography at all.

Jiografia ya neema inaanzia Hebroni magharibi ya Yordani, ambako Kalebu mwenye miaka themanini na mitano ametoka tu kuutwaa mlima wake, hadi chumba ambamo somo hili linasomwa. Miji bado iko karibu. Malango bado yako wazi. Barabara bado zimesafishwa. Bado hakuna mahali pengine pa usalama uliohakikishwa. Kuhani Mkuu amekufa mara moja kwa ajili ya wote, na mkimbiaji yuko huru. Kimbilio jingine sina.The geography of grace runs from Hebron west of the Jordan, where Caleb the eighty-five-year-old just took his mountain, all the way to the room where this lesson is being read. The cities are still close. The gates are still open. The roads are still cleared. There is still no other place of guaranteed safety. The High Priest has died once for all, and the runner is free. Other refuge have I none.

Sura ya 21 inamaliza jiografia ya urithi. Wakuu wa jamaa za Walawi wanamjia Eleazari kuhani, Yoshua, na wakuu wa makabila huko Shilo na kuwakumbusha, "BWANA aliamuru kwa mkono wa Musa kwamba tupewe miji ya kukaa, pamoja na viunga vyake kwa ajili ya mifugo yetu" (21:2). Ukumbusho huo ni wa neema lakini una msisitizo. Walawi hawana ardhi yao wenyewe — tuliliona hili katika Sehemu ya 8 — lakini waliahidiwa miji na malisho yanayoizunguka iliyotawanyika katika kila kabila. Yoshua na Eleazari wanaiheshimu ahadi hiyo. Miji arobaini na minane inapewa Walawi: kumi na mitatu kwa ukoo wa kikuhani wa Haruni (katika maeneo ya Yuda, Simeoni, na Benyamini); kumi kwa Wakohathi waliobaki; kumi na mitatu kwa Wagershoni upande wa kaskazini; kumi na miwili kwa Wamerari mashariki ya Yordani na katika Zabuloni. Sita kati ya hiyo arobaini na minane ndiyo miji ya makimbilio yenyewe. Jiografia ya Lawi iko kila mahali kwa sababu BWANA alitaka huduma yake ya kufundisha iwe karibu na kila Mwisraeli, haijalishi alikuwa wa kabila gani.Chapter 21 finishes the geography of the inheritance. The heads of the Levite families come to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua, and to the heads of the tribes at Shiloh and remind them, "The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle" (21:2). The reminder is gracious but pointed. The Levites have no land of their own — we noted this in Unit 8 — but they were promised cities and surrounding pastures scattered through every tribe. Joshua and Eleazar honor the promise. Forty-eight cities are given to the Levites: thirteen to the priestly clan of Aaron (in the territories of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin); ten to the rest of the Kohathites; thirteen to the Gershonites in the north; twelve to the Merarites east of the Jordan and in Zebulun. Six of these forty-eight are the cities of refuge themselves. Levi's geography is everywhere because the LORD wanted His teaching ministry near every Israelite, no matter which tribe he belonged to.

Kisha sura hiyo inafungwa kwa mojawapo ya kauli za muhtasari zenye nguvu zaidi kwa utulivu katika Agano la Kale. "Basi BWANA akawapa Israeli nchi yote aliyowaapia baba zao kwamba atawapa; nao wakaimiliki, wakakaa ndani yake. Kisha BWANA akawapa kustarehe pande zote, sawasawa na yote aliyowaapia baba zao; wala hakusimama hata mtu mmoja katika adui zao wote mbele yao; BWANA akawatia adui zao wote mikononi mwao. Halikupungua neno lo lote la mema yote BWANA aliyowaambia nyumba ya Israeli; yote yalitimia" (Yoshua 21:43–45).The chapter then closes with one of the most quietly powerful summary statements in the Old Testament. "And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass" (Joshua 21:43–45).

Soma vitenzi kwa mpangilio wake. BWANA akawapa. Wakaimiliki. Wakakaa. BWANA akawapa kustarehe. Soma ushuhuda wa kukana ulio katikati ya aya hiyo. Wala hakusimama hata mtu mmoja katika adui zao wote mbele yao. Soma mstari wa kilele. Halikupungua neno lo lote la mema yote BWANA aliyowaambia. Sentensi moja upande wa mapato: Mungu aliahidi; Mungu alitimiza. Hakuna tanbihi ya kushindwa. Hakuna hata nyota moja ya tahadhari kwenye kumbukumbu ya Mungu. Sehemu yote ya urithi inafungwa kwa sentensi ya sehemu tatu kuhusu uaminifu mkamilifu wa Mungu kwa neno lake, na huo si utiaji chumvi wa shule ya Jumapili; ni hukumu ya Roho Mtakatifu juu ya miaka saba ya vita na ugawaji uliofuata.Read the verbs in order. The LORD gave. They possessed. They dwelt. The LORD gave them rest. Read the negative testimony at the heart of the paragraph. There stood not a man of all their enemies before them. Read the climactic line. There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken. One sentence on the credit side: God promised; God delivered. Not a footnote of failure. Not a single asterisk on the divine record. The whole inheritance section closes on a triple sentence about the perfect fidelity of God to His word, and that is not a Sunday-school exaggeration; it is the Holy Spirit's verdict on seven years of conquest and the allotment that followed.

Matumizi yake kwa Mkristo yako karibu sana juu juu. Mwamini anayetembea na Mungu muda mrefu wa kutosha hatimaye ataweza kuandika Yoshua 21:45 juu ya maisha yake mwenyewe. Huenda kukawa na mambo mengine ya kusema — kushindwa, majuto, milima isiyotwaliwa bado — lakini upande wa daftari unaoandika kile Mungu alichoahidi, safu inasomeka sawasawa kabisa na inavyosomeka hapa. Halikupungua neno lo lote. Kila mwamini mkweli mwishoni mwa utii wa muda mrefu hukuta sentensi hiyo ikimngoja.The Christian application sits very close to the surface. The believer who walks long enough with God will eventually be able to write a Joshua 21:45 over his own life. There may be other things to say — failures, regrets, mountains not yet taken — but on the side of the ledger that records what God promised, the column reads exactly the same as it reads here. There failed not ought. Every honest believer at the end of a long obedience finds that sentence waiting for him.

Yoshua 22 ndiyo sura ambayo wasomaji wengi huiruka na ambayo Wayne hakuliruhusu kanisa lake liiruke. Vita vimekwisha. Nchi imegawanywa. Walawi wana miji yao. Sasa Yoshua anawaita watu wa Reubeni, Gadi, na nusu ya kabila la Manase — makabila ya mashariki ambayo familia zao na mifugo yao zilikuwa zikingoja mashariki ya Yordani wakati wanaume wao wa vita walipovuka na kupigana pamoja na ndugu zao kwa miaka saba. Anawabariki. Anawakumbusha "angalieni sana kuitenda ile amri na ile torati, ambayo Musa, mtumishi wa BWANA, aliwaagiza, kwamba mmpende BWANA, Mungu wenu, na kwenda katika njia zake zote, na kuzishika amri zake, na kumwambata yeye, na kumtumikia kwa mioyo yenu yote na kwa roho zenu zote" (22:5). Anawapeleka nyumbani pamoja na nyara za vita na baraka. Sura hiyo ingeweza kuishia mstari wa 9.Joshua 22 is the chapter most readers skip and the one Wayne would not let his church skip. The campaign is over. The land is allotted. The Levites have their cities. Now Joshua calls in the men of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh — the eastern tribes whose families and flocks were waiting east of the Jordan while their fighting men crossed over and fought alongside their brothers for seven years. He blesses them. He reminds them to "take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul" (22:5). He sends them home with the spoils of the campaign and a benediction. The chapter could end at verse 9.

Haiishii hapo. Wakiwa njiani kurudi nyumbani, makabila ya mashariki yanasimama karibu na Yordani na kujenga madhabahu kubwa. Makabila ya magharibi yanaposikia habari hiyo, yanadhani jambo baya kuliko yote. Makabila mawili na nusu yamejenga madhabahu yao wenyewe nje ya madhabahu ya BWANA iliyoamriwa huko Shilo. Kwa makabila ya magharibi jambo hili linaonekana kama Akani tena, ila katika ngazi ya eneo zima. Finehasi kuhani, mwana wa Eleazari, anaongoza ujumbe kuvuka Yordani kuchunguza, na jeshi la Israeli lililokusanyika linajiandaa kwa vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe. "Wana wa Israeli wakasikia habari, ya kwamba, Tazama, wana wa Reubeni, na wana wa Gadi, na hiyo nusu ya kabila ya Manase, wamejenga madhabahu mbele ya nchi ya Kanaani… Wana wa Israeli waliposikia habari hiyo, mkutano wote wa wana wa Israeli wakakusanyika pamoja huko Shilo, ili kukwea kwenda kupigana nao" (22:11–12).It does not. On their way home, the eastern tribes stop near the Jordan and build a great altar. When the western tribes hear about it, they conclude the worst. Two-and-a-half tribes have built an altar of their own outside the LORD's appointed altar at Shiloh. To the western tribes this looks like Achan all over again, only at the level of an entire region. Phinehas the priest, son of Eleazar, leads a delegation across the Jordan to investigate, and the gathered army of Israel prepares for civil war. "And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan… And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them" (22:11–12).

Makabila ya mashariki yanashtuka. "BWANA, Mungu wa miungu, BWANA, Mungu wa miungu, yeye anajua, na Israeli naye atajua; ikiwa ni kwa uasi, au ikiwa ni kwa kosa juu ya BWANA, usituokoe leo" (22:22). Wanaeleza. Madhabahu si kwa ajili ya dhabihu. Ni ushahidi — ukumbusho — uliojengwa njiani kuelekea nyumbani ili vizazi vijavyo vya Waisraeli wa magharibi visitazame ng'ambo ya Yordani na kuwaambia wajukuu wa makabila ya mashariki, "Ninyi hamna sehemu katika BWANA." Madhabahu ni ishara inayosema, kwa jiwe, "Tunamwabudu Mungu yule yule mnayemwabudu. Mto haugawanyi agano letu."The eastern tribes are stunned. "The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, save us not this day" (22:22). They explain. The altar is not for sacrifice. It is a witness — a memorial — built on the road home so that future generations of western Israelites would not look across the Jordan and tell the eastern tribes' grandchildren, "You have no part in the LORD." The altar is a sign that says, in stone, "We worship the same God you do. The river does not divide our covenant."

Finehasi anasikia maelezo hayo na kuyakubali. Vita vinaepukwa. Madhabahu inapewa jina. "Wana wa Reubeni na wana wa Gadi wakaiita ile madhabahu jina lake Edi; maana walisema, Ni shahidi kati yetu ya kwamba BWANA ndiye Mungu" (22:34). Edi — shahidi. Neno lile lile ambalo manabii watalitumia kumweleza Israeli mwenyewe katika Isaya 43:10: "Ninyi ni mashahidi wangu, asema BWANA."Phinehas hears the explanation and accepts it. War is averted. The altar is named. "And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God" (22:34). Ed — witness. The same word the prophets will use to describe Israel itself in Isaiah 43:10: "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD."

Sura hii inafundisha mambo matatu kwa wakati mmoja. Kwanza, waamini wanapaswa kuwa wepesi kuchunguza na wazito kushambulia. Makabila ya magharibi yalifanya jambo sahihi kwa kumtuma Finehasi kabla ya kutuma jeshi. Maswali ya kweli katikati ya kutoelewana huzuia vita vingi kuliko panga zilivyowahi kufanya. Pili, waamini wanapaswa kufikiri kwa uangalifu jinsi matendo yao yatakavyoonekana kwa wengine, hasa wale wasiokuwepo wakati wa kufanya uamuzi. Makabila ya mashariki yalikuwa na nia safi lakini yaliijenga madhabahu kwa namna iliyokaribia kuonekana sawasawa kabisa na uasi. Kuishi kwa hekima kunamaanisha kuwaza jinsi tendo litakavyoeleweka ukiwa mbali. Tatu, waamini waliotenganishwa na jiografia hawajatenganishwa katika agano. Yordani ulipita kati ya Reubeni na Efraimu. Haukupita kati ya Mungu wao na Mungu wao. Madhabahu ya ushahidi ni alama ya aina ile ile kama msalaba — ishara inayosema, ng'ambo ya mto wowote unaomtenganisha mwamini mmoja na mwingine, BWANA ndiye Mungu.The chapter teaches three things at once. First, believers should be quick to investigate and slow to attack. The western tribes did the right thing by sending Phinehas before they sent the army. Honest questions across a misunderstanding prevent more wars than swords ever do. Second, believers should think carefully about how their actions will appear to others, especially others not present in the moment of decision. The eastern tribes had pure motives and built the altar in a way that almost looked exactly like rebellion. Living wisely means imagining how the action will read at a distance. Third, believers separated by geography are not separated in covenant. The Jordan ran between Reuben and Ephraim. It did not run between their God and their God. The altar of witness is the same kind of marker the cross is — a sign that says, across whatever river divides one believer from another, the LORD is God.

Mkondo wote wa Yoshua 20–22 unafungwa kwa sentensi tatu ndogo juu ya kichwa cha mwamini. Miji iko karibu. Malango yako wazi. Hakuna mahali pengine. Karen mlangoni pa nyumba ya hifadhi, Wesley kando ya dirisha lililo wazi, ndege kifuani mwake, askari wa Muungano wa Kusini katika msitu wa upweke, mtoto wa mitaani wa London juu ya ngazi za nyumba ya uokoaji, Corrie ten Boom katika gari la moshi la mateso — wote ni mtu yule yule katika barabara ile ile, na mji ulio mbele yao ni mji ule ule.The whole arc of Joshua 20–22 closes with three small sentences over the head of the believer. The cities are close. The gates are open. There is no other place. Karen at the safe-house door, Wesley at the open window, the bird on his bosom, the Confederate soldier in the lonely wood, the London waif on the rescue-home steps, Corrie ten Boom on the train of suffering — they are all the same person on the same road, and the city ahead of them is the same city.

Muuaji katika Yoshua 20 alilazimika kungoja ndani ya kuta mpaka kuhani mkuu afe. Mwamini anayesoma somo hili ana habari ambayo muuaji yule hakuishi kuipokea. Kuhani Mkuu amekufa, mara moja, kwa ajili ya wote. Kufunguliwa kumetiwa sahihi. Msalaba ndio mlango wa mji, na mlango huo haufungwi. "Tazama, nasimama mlangoni, nabisha" — upande wa mlango ulio kinyume na mwamini ndio upande unaopendwa na Mlango Mwenyewe.The slayer in Joshua 20 had to wait inside the walls until the high priest died. The believer reading this lesson has the news the slayer never lived to receive. The High Priest has died, once, for all. The release is signed. The cross is the door of the city, and the door does not close. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock" — the side of the door opposite the believer is the side that is loved by the Door Himself.

Aya moja ya mwisho kutoka katika wimbo wa Wesley inafaa kufunga sehemu hii kuliko muhtasari wa mfafanuzi yeyote:One last paragraph from Wesley's hymn fits the closing of this unit better than any commentator's summary:

Kimbilio jingine sina,
roho yangu dhaifu yakutegemea;
usiniache, ah, usiniache peke yangu,
endelea kunitegemeza na kunifariji.
Tumaini langu lote limekaa kwako,
msaada wangu wote nauleta kutoka kwako;
funika kichwa changu kisicho na kinga
kwa kivuli cha bawa lako.Other refuge have I none,
hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
leave, ah, leave me not alone,
still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed,
all my help from Thee I bring;
cover my defenseless head
with the shadow of Thy wing.

Hiyo ndiyo Yoshua 20 katika ubeti mmoja. Kukimbia. Kukamata. Kutumaini. Kufunikwa. Kimbilio jingine sina.That is Joshua 20 in a single stanza. The flight. The seizure. The trust. The cover. Other refuge have I none.