PRISONERS
OF HOPE
April 11, 2007
MF Blume
Hebr 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.
Zec 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.
(1) There is the fleeing of a refugee to lay hold of hope,
(2) 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 comne 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
Num 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.
Num 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.
Num 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.
Num 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.
Num 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.
Num 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.
Num 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.
* There could be no "satisfaction", or ransom money
paid to free the man from guilt.
Num 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.
Zech 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, instea dogf 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 anotehr story of the High Priest and joined it together
with the picture of the city of refuge.
The High priest toook 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
1. if no other payment besides his death could remove the
guilt of blood in the land, and ...
2. the high priest's death accomplished the same thing,
then...
3. the blood of the high priest was as good as the blood
of the slayer.
Hebrews notes both the aspect of
1. the City of refuge, and
2. 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.
Gene 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.
* The High priest takes an animal's blood,
representing his own, into the holiest.
* 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?
Zech 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.
