20 v.1-6 The appointment of the cities of refuge shows that Yahweh was merciful to those who were not premeditated murders. This foreshadows the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of the faithful servants of God who are baptized into Jesus it is said that they have ‘fled for refuge’ [Hebrews 6:18]

Chapter 21 - In the wilderness the Levites had their tents around the tabernacle and provided a focus for the people. Approaching the tabernacle and seeking counsel of the priest were, to a large extent, one and the same thing. However now the nation were distributed over a far larger area - the land of Canaan, the priests were dispersed throughout the whole of the nation to provide easy access to the teachers and judges in the law. No man was able to make the excuse that the priests were too far away when a matter of controversy arose.

In particular the law regarding the city of refuge that the manslayer was to remain in the city until the death of the high priest (20:6) is so powerfully a foreshadowing of the work of Jesus - our high priest.

21:11 In describing Hebron as a city 'in the hill country of Judea' we are provided with an indication of the home of Elizabeth and Zacharias (Luke 1:39) for this is now the place where they lived is described in the gospel. Thus a careful reading of the text will further our appreciation of the details.

20:9 The cities of refuge were for the benefit of both Jew and gentile (the stranger) so here we see another aspect of the provision of God in Christ.

21:43 The oath that God had made to give the land had been made to Abraham (Genesis 13:15 etc.) So this point marks a fulfilment, in part, of the promises to Abraham.

20:4 That the manslayer was to declare his cause to the elders of the city in the gate gives incidental confirmation to our understanding that the gate of the city was the place of government - see Ruth 4:1-2

21 We have all probably noticed that all of the cities of refuge were appointed as cities for the priests. You will be able to identify
Hebron
Shechem
Golan
Kedesh
Bezer
Ramoth in Gilead
as both cities of the priests and remember them as cities of refuge from Josh 20:7-8

The six cities of refuge serviced Israel after the flesh - the number six representing one short of divine perfection.  The seventh city of refuge, representing divine perfection, will be provided for the ransomed of Yahweh, Israel after the spirit.  Here will be complete shelter from all danger (Rev 21:2-4; 22:14,15).

20:2      That the people were to appoint cities of refuge at this point is a marker that as far as God was concerned the people were settled in the land, though there was still much work to do. This is a patter of our lives in Christ. Even though we have been baptized we have not attained to the stature of the full man in Christ. This will only happen at the resurrection. However there is the need to consolidate our faith and make provision in our lives for the needs of others.

21:43-45 This is the general winding up of the history from the 13th. chapter, which narrates the occupation of the land by the Children of Israel. All promises made, whether to the people, or to Joshua (Josh 1:5), had been, or were in the course of being fulfilled. The recorded experience of the Israelites (V.45) is a ground of hope for all believers in every age, that all the other promises made will, in the appointed time be fulfilled.

21:8 In keeping with the way in which the land had been divided by lot the cities for the priests were also assigned by lot – lest the people be tempted to give the priest the least appealing cities.

For the possession of Hebron (20:10-12) see also Josh 14:14 (note May 28).

20:3     ‘Unawares’ shows that the provision is to allow for a fair trial of the one who has killed a person.  Entry into the city of refuge was not a means of escaping judgement. In like manner being ’in Christ’ where we have ‘fled for refuge’ – Heb 6:18 –does not free us from the judgement of death for sin. But we have a merciful God. Whilst under the law when the facts were established, if the slayer was guilty he would die, we are offered forgiveness if we confess.

If we are seeking refuge from the "avenger of blood," it seems to me that places us in the category of "unwitting murderer."  So I have to ask the question:  how can we be a murderer?  A possible answer to this:  prior to making the death of the True High Priest a reality in our lives, we are perhaps "floating along" through life, and thereby spreading the confusing message to others that it is possible to live just fine without Jesus Christ.  It rings of "he that gathers not with us, scatters abroad."  Let us work diligently to acknowledge that we are purchased possessions, living only because of our merciful High Priest!

20:3,9 - In vs 3 we have a person being killed (by another individual) and the Hebrew word for "person" is "nephesh" (5315) which is often translated "soul". Similarly in vs 9 we have a "person" KJV or "someone" NIV being killed and the same Heb. word "nephesh" (5315) being used. Nephesh in its primary meaning stands for creature, a breathing creature man or animal. It is rendered variously soul, life, person, self, creature, etc.

Caleb's dwindling inheritance

Can you imagine the following conversation:

Caleb, I promise you can have all the land you walked on when you spied out the promised land (Num 14:24, Deut 1:35-36)

But you'll have to wait 40 years for it (Josh 14:6-10)

When I said "all the land" I actually meant just one city and its suburbs (Josh 14:13-14)

You can go and live in it now. But you'll have to fight three Giants for it first (Josh 15:13-14 cp. Num 13:22, 32-33)

By the way, now you've fought the Giants for it; I'm allocating your city to anyone who's fleeing the law because they've committed manslaughter. Hope you don't mind. So it'll be a bit more crowded than you first thought (Josh 20:1-7).

Oh, and didn't I say? There's a whole bunch of Levites I've just promised the actual city to. And its surrounding land. So is it ok if you and your family move out and just have the villages? (Josh 21:11-12)

How would you feel if that were you?

26 v.20 ‘enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.’ Shows that despite the fact that He was executing judgment on the nation he was concerned that those who would listen to Him would be spared the horrors of His judgment.

27 v.6 ’Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.’ Is a passage we often use to speak of the glories of the kingdom. Doubtless is does speak of this time but it marks a striking contrast with the words of Habakkuk 3:17. Habakkuk speaks of the Babylonian captivity [Habakkuk 1:6]. We may conclude that Isaiah’s promise of blessing is speaking of a time after the Babylonian captivity and so maybe those returning exiles in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.

26:3 'Perfect peace' in the Hebrew is 'peace peace' (see margin in your Bible). As such it is echoed (57:18) as the cry of the Lord to the gentiles.

27:13 Trumpet shall be blown draws on the blowing of the trumpet at the year of Jubile when the slaves are released and everything returns to the owner - a foreshadowing of the kingdom. This is when Israel shall return in belief to the land of Israel.

ch. 26 - Continuing the theme of the resurrection of Jesus from Isaiah 25:9 the 'dead men' living with 'my dead body' The dead men are those who were raised after Jesus' resurrection and 'my dead body' speaks of Jesus' resurrection (Matthew 27:52)

ch. 27 - And more links with the time of the resurrection and the resurrection when Christ returns.

26:20 I have been developing the way that this chapter speaks of the events of the resurrection of Jesus. The consequence of that resurrection is that we can be certain of ours. So the 'moment' when the 5ervants are hidden is death. Resurrection takes place out of the moments of death - hence Paul's comment (1Cor 15:52)

27:1 Whilst Leviathan is a symbol for Egypt we should see that Leviathan is somewhat more than that for we saw last year that this chapter speaks of the resurrection, continuing the theme of chapter 26. So Leviathan speaks also of the power of sin.

26:8  When Nehemiah prayed because of the desolation of Jerusalem – Neh 1:11 – he quoted these earlier words of Isaiah saying his desire was to God’s name’.

27:2  The ‘vineyard pf red wine’ contrasts with the barren vine of Isa 5:1-2

26:14,19 - we read two of the conditions regarding the dead (Psa 49:14,15,20); v14 refers to the dead who have no hope, no memory, they are destroyed, they will not rise; v19 refers to "Thy dead" shall live and their bodies shall arise. So this refers to those who are dead in Christ, those who are responsible and informed of God's word rising (unlike the animals and people of insufficient understanding who will not rise). For these there will be a resurrection and a judgment (Dan 12:2; Acts 24:15) with the wheat separated from the chaff, the sheep separated from the goats, the wicked he will destroy (Luke 13:28; Psa 145:20; Matt 21:41) and the righteous will reign with Christ on earth (Matt 5:5).

I agree with Peter Forbes regarding the Leviathan, that crooked serpent, as being a symbol or personification of sin (or the power of sin). 26:21 mentions the Lord punishing the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity (KJV) or sins (NIV) and then one verse later 27:1 refers to the Lord slaying that crooked serpent/leviathan/dragon hence the connection with sin and we also read of Christ's victory over sin and where sin comes from Gen 3:14,15; Heb 2:9-15; Isa 53:12; Rom 6:23; James 1:14,15 

26:14The description of the state of the idea that Isaiah presents echoes the way that the wise man describes it – Ecc 9:5

26:14 The memory that perished was the memory of the threat of the Assyrian invasion which Jerusalem was delivered from in the days of Hezekiah.

26:1 The wonderful guarantee that God will be a ‘wall’ is taken up by the prophet – Zech 2:5

26:4 The first LORD in Hebrew is yahweh  (See Exo 3:14); the second LORD is yah (a contraction of yahweh ; See Psa 68:4); and JEHOVAH is ab (Father; See Psa 89:26).

27:1 The epithets leviathan, serpent, dragon refer to Babylon. Babylon has been a source of ungodliness and opposition to Yahweh since the days of Nimrod (See my note for Gen 10:8, Jan 5). 

27:4 The briers and thorns that oppose Yahweh are a reflection of Moab which is used as a synonym for any of Yahweh’s enemies (See my note for Isaiah 25, June 2).

27:12The term beat off in Hebrew is chabat.  It is the same word as is used for the action of gleaning olives ( beatest, Deut 24:20).  After the olives had been beaten off the tree they were gathered. The same idea is used here for waterways. 

The southern boundary of Judah, according to the tribal allotment, was the Wadi El-Arish (the stream of Egypt).  In that day (the Kingdom) Yahweh shall beat the waters and gather them.  This signifies that Israel will not be limited to the boundaries of the tribal allotment but will extend from the Nile to the Euphrates (river) (Psa 72:8).

26:9 I have shown in earlier comments on Isaiah 25 that this area of Scripture is Messianic. The phrase "have I desired thee in the night" echoes Song of Song 3:1 which seems to speak of the bridge looking for her beloved.

Heb 10:1. The writer, in comparing the law to a shadow is saying, that the real thing is always better than a reproduction. It is like comparing “2D” with “3D”. there really is no comparison.  

Heb 10:22-24. Faith, hope and love (charity) are the three great principles which summarize God’s dealings with man.(1Cor 13:13) Here we see that the Hebrews are exhorted to;
      v.22 Let us draw near in full assurance of  faith.
      v.23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith (elpis 1680) hope.
      v.24 let us consider one another—unto love.

The next three chapters expand on the same principles.
      ch.11:1 Faith is the subject of things hoped for.
      ch.12:2 Who for the joy that was set before him. (our hope)
      ch.13:1  Let brotherly love continue.

10:2 The rhetorical question ‘then would they not have ceased to be offered?’ is so powerful. It was the very repetitive nature of the Day of Atonement that highlighted it’s shortcomings. This argument is more powerful than any technical discussion about animals being unable to express willingness.

10:19 The ‘boldness’ that we have to enter into the holiest contrasts with the way in which any priest would have felt of approaching the ‘holiest’ which was only accessed once every year by the high priest.

10:26 The wilful sin which alienates one from the effectiveness of the sacrifice is Christ is, in the context of the letter to the Hebrews is the way in which the Jews were turning away from the sacrifice of Jesus to following the law of Moses again.

Heb 10:10 That we are ‘sanctified’ by Jesus’ willingness to obey his Father we see the same idea as had already been made in Rom 5:10

V.7 Volume (Gr.kephalis) means roll. Book must mean The Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible written by Moses). The Pentateuch was written on animal skins and rolled up on two wooden knobs.  Synagogues today have similar scrolls.    

V.9 Jesus is called the cornerstone (Eph 2:20; 1Pet 2:7).  The cornerstone lay at the foundation of the building. Its function was to support two walls which met at right angles.  As one wall finished, the other wall continued.

Jesus was the foundation of both the old covenant and the new covenant.  As the old covenant (the Law) finished, the new covenant (alliance in Jesus) continued. The first was taken away and the second was established.

V.19 By His sacrifice, Jesus opened access to the Holy of Holies, the throne of Yahweh (Matt 27:51; Eph 2:14; Heb 9:3).  That is the reason we can approach Yahweh directly in prayer in the Name of Jesus.

V.37 This verse is reflected by Rev 3:11; 22:7,12,20.

10:18  Those priests which believed – Acts 6:7 – may well have wondered whether they should still be offering animal sacrifices. The eternal benefit of Jesus’ sacrifice removed the need for any more animal sacrifices. In fact the offering of animals would show a lack of appreciation of what Jesus had done for them.

Forgiveness - past tense

In v26 we see the difference between a life in Christ, compared to the Law of Moses. With the law of Moses you could always make another sacrifice for sin. And another. But with Jesus there is only one sacrifice. And then no more. You can understand that the former might seem preferable, can't you? A visible confirmation that you're forgiven and are right before God again? In comparison the forgiveness through Jesus is invisible, intangible, and worst of all, in the past, not the future.

The big example of this contrast is the forgiveness of David. He had killed a man and committed adultery with the man's wife. He sought a way in the law for him to be forgiven; a sacrifice he could make so that his forgiveness would be confirmed before his own eyes. Yet he couldn't find one (see Psa 51:16 "You do not desire sacrifice, or I would give it!")

So David found himself in the same situation as the one we're faced with here in Hebrews 10. In v4 we read: "it is not possible for bulls and goats to take away sin" - just as David found out - and believe me, he searched for a way for it to be possible! Instead, David was broken down within himself, abject and despairing, feeling the weight of his own sin and the impossibility of forgiveness. Do you ever feel this way? It is in this state of mind that David realised the only way out or him was simply to trust in God. God would find a way, even though he didn't know what that would be. So he penned the words:

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,a broken and a contrite heart — These, O God, You will not despise." (Psa 51:17)

God was true to this verse, because when He confronted David about his sin, and David confessed, God's answer was that He had already forgiven him (read 2Sam 12:13 and notice the past tense). We too need to have faith that our confessed sins are already forgiven due to the past work of Jesus, and not bring them to mind again. As explained in v17-18 "their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more... there is no longer an offering for sin."