Refugees and Sanctuary Cities

Sanctuary Cities and Refugees have been in the news a lot lately.  
But where does the concept of sanctuary cities come from?  
And what was its original intent?

Not surprisingly - its original intent in nothing like what we see today.
Maybe what is a surprise - it started way back in the time of Moses.

And - it was started by none other than God.
"Cities of refuge" were required for His people!
So what were they really for?

We have to go to the book of Numbers to see the beginnings of what is now called sanctuary cities.

Joshua was named by God to replace Moses as the leader of His people.
The Israelites had just been given various commands for offerings that were to be made -

• Daily offerings
• Sabbath offerings
• Monthly offerings
• Passover
• Feast of weeks
• feast of trumpets
• Day of atonement
• Feast of tabernacles

What is a city of refuge?

Then, The Lord told them to set up "Cities of refuge", as we read in Numbers 35.

Nu 35:6 “Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee. In addition, give them forty-two other towns. 7 In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns, together with their pasturelands. 8 The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few.”
Nu 35:9 Then the LORD said to Moses: 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, 11 select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee. 12 They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that a person accused of murder may not die before he stands trial before the assembly. 13 These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge. 14 Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge. 15 These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites, aliens and any other people living among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.

There's quite a bit that follows after these verses - and I've included them below - but here's the big takeaway as far as why they were set up:

They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that a person accused of murder may not die before he stands trial before the assembly.

First - the avenger.  

avenger, one who extracts satisfaction from or punishes a wrongdoer. In the ancient Near East, reliance on avengers to ensure justice was evident when strong governmental authority was lacking. In some biblical texts, blood vengeance, the execution of a murderer by the avenger, is recognized as a custom sanctioned by God (Gen. 9:5–6; Num. 35:16–21), although this custom is to be limited by a sense of compassion and mercy (Gen. 4:10–16; Num. 35:9–15, 22–28). Unlimited vengeance is presented as part of the lawlessness that led to the flood (Gen. 4:23–24).

Collins, A. Y. (2011). avenger. In M. A. Powell (Ed.), The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated) (Third Edition, p. 68). New York: HarperCollins.

In case it wasn't quite clear with just the word murder in that verse, hopefully this does the trick. 
This was all about someone accused of murder.  Not some lesser crime.  Murder.

Second - standing trial.

so that a person accused of murder may not die before he stands trial before the assembly

This is about justice.  For instance what the concept if justice is about -

Justice is the abstract concept of the resulting state of proper judgment. In a legal sense, judgment refers to the process of defending the righteous and condemning the guilty. Together, these concepts form the basis of righteous governance in an emulation of the kingdom of God.

Garrett, J. K. (2014). Justice. D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

and here's how justice was to be carried out in the time of Joshua -

The OT concept of “justice” and “judgment” is grounded in responsible and merciful governance. Israel’s “judges”—whether warriors, prophets, priests, or kings—had full governing authority over the people. The standard by which Israel’s governors were measured was their ability to reign fairly and justly. They were to hear complaints fairly, not showing partiality for family, friends, or financial gain (e.g., Deut 16:18–20). They were to advocate on behalf of the needs of the oppressed. They were to live according to God’s law and emulate God’s justice, especially by advocating for the needs of oppressed, righteous persons.