Not half the rapture that they feel."
Alas! he found but tangled moss,
Above the shadow of the cross.

CHRIST OUR REFUGE

There were six cities in the land of Canaan which were set apart as
places of refuge, to which a man might flee if he had, either by
accident or design, killed another. These cities were easy of access.
Three were on the west side of the river Jordan, and three on the east
side. Every year the roads leading to them were examined, to see that
they were in good condition, and that there was nothing in the way to
stop the manslayer as he was running from his pursuer. At different
points there were the guide-boards, and on them were written, Refuge!
Refuge!

If any man by accident killed another, and reached one of these cities
before his pursuer, he was allowed to stay there until the death of
the high-priest who was then living. But if in anger a man had
purposely killed another, then, although he sought refuge in one of
these cities, he was given up to the avenger of blood to be slain. You
will find more about these cities and their names if you will read the
thirty-fifth chapter of Numbers, the nineteenth chapter of
Deuteronomy, and the twentieth chapter of Joshua.

But what interest can boys and girls and all older persons have in
these cities?

I will try to tell you. God has different ways of teaching. A great
many things about which we read in the Old Testament are what is
called types. A type, in scripture language, means a pattern or a
likeness to a person who is to come, or to an event which is to take
place. It is supposed to point forward to something more valuable than
itself. Thus, for example, the blood of the lamb which was slain on
the Jewish altar was a type, or a foreshowing, of the crucifixion of
Jesus Christ for our salvation. Hence John the Baptist pointing to the
Saviour, said to his disciples, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world." John 1:29. The paschal lamb, which was
slain to commemorate the deliverance of the Jews from the bondage of
Egypt, and the lamb which was offered daily, both morning and evening,
in the service of the temple, were representations of the greater
sacrifice which Christ came from heaven to make for our salvation.

So the land of Canaan was a type of heaven. The lifting up of the
brazen serpent on a pole was a type of our Saviour's crucifixion; and
the cities of refuge were a beautiful type of Jesus Chr