The creation of ‘common law’ in England is widely thought to have begun with King Henry II as long ago as the 12th century. It was called the common law, because it applied equally across the whole country, and allowed for a system where there was agreement on what was a crime and what the proper punishment for a crime should be, decided by a magistrate or a court.

In the ancient world, legal systems were much more varied. There were no police forces or national court systems. There were legal codes, such as the Law of Moses, or Hammurabi’s Code, but it was frequent for swift judgements and harsh punishments to be carried out without any form of a trial. In fact, the practice of ‘a life for a life’ was widespread and the relatives of a murdered person were obliged to carry out this punishment.

In this context we can see God’s compassionate heart in his creation of cities of refuge. Human life is so precious to God that he did not want a person who accidentally caused another’s death to lose his own life. Cities of Refuge allowed a person accused of killing to be kept safe until a proper investigation could take place.

Those who were found to have accidentally taken a life would have to live in the city of refuge until the death of the High Priest – it would be the High Priest who, through his death, would atone for the death of the victim.

Just as the cities of refuge provided shelter for those who had sinned in this way, Christ provides shelter for all of us. The wages of sin are death but, by running to Christ – our city of refuge – we find safety and shelter, and, through his death, he atones for what we have done.

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NEWBOLD COMMUNITY CHURCH