until he is tried

Joshua 20:7-9 (JDV)

Joshua 20:7 So they designated Kedesh in the hill country of Naphtali in Galilee, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (in other words, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
Joshua 20:8 Across the Jordan east of Jericho, they selected Bezer on the wilderness plateau from Reuben’s tribe, Ramoth in Gilead from Gad’s tribe, and Golan in Bashan from Manasseh’s tribe.
Joshua 20:9 These are the cities appointed for all the Israelites and the foreign residents living among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may escape to there and not die at the hand of the avenger of blood until he is tried before the assembly.

until he is tried

Those words “until he is tried” in verse nine are an all important modifier. The cities of refuge are not intended to undo justice. They are designed to allow justice. The same is true of the salvation God offers us through the atoning death of his Son. The wages of sin is death and those wages must be paid. But in the case of our deliverance, God’s grace allows for the just payment of our debt through the sacrificial death of his Son.

Thank you, Lord, for making it possible for your justice to be satisfied without our destruction. We are mindful of the tremendous cost of your free grace.