Animals, Colors, Metals, Numbers and Signs in Scripture.

Seven - Completion

Seven Days Mourning for Israel 

When Israel died in Egypt, his descendants spent seven days mourning his death before he was buried:

Gen. 50:8 "And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company. 10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days. 11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan."            

Israel, whose name before had been Jacob, was the man who God chose to make into a great nation.  He was the father to the nation known by his name.  All his descendants could look to him as being their father and leader.  God had greatly blessed Israel and subsequently many blessings had come upon his descendants because of God's blessing of Israel. 

In the scriptures, mourning is often associated with death or a loss of something dear and precious to the mourner. 

When God's children are born of the Spirit of God, they begin to mourn over their sinful condition and over their sins.  They see themselves as ruined, hell-deserving sinners and unable to deliver themselves from their horrible condition.  Isaiah related his experience as follows: Is. 6:5, "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."  The publican cried out for mercy because of his sins: Luke 18:13 "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner."

We would never rejoice over a savior until we mourn as a sinner.  We are blessed to both mourn and to be comforted: Matt. 5:4 "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." 

Along with our mourning over the fact that we are sinners, we also mourn over what our sins caused our Redeemer to suffer.  We read in Rev. 1:7 "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him."  This has reference to Zec. 12:10 "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. 11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon."  There had been a great king in Judah by the name of Josiah, who had clave unto the Lord his God and through him the land of Judah had great deliverance during the time of his reign had died while he fought to defend the border of Judah.  There was a sore mourning for him by the Jews in the valley of Megiddon.  He had been a great deliverer and defender of Jerusalem. 

Similarly, but greater than Josiah, our Saviour, Jesus Christ has delivered us from our sins through his death.  He suffered the awful wrath of God that our sins deserved for us on the cross of Calvary.  His suffering could not be measured as he cried out, "My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?"  When someone dies to deliver you from the death that you deserved, you rejoice because of the effect of their actions, but you mourn because of what they had to suffer on your behalf.  Therefore, it is with the children of God and their sins.  We mourn over our sins, but we rejoice over the work of our Saviour who saved us from our sins.  Then we mourn because of what he had to suffer in order to save us from our sins.

Just as the descendants of Israel mourned over the loss of their leader and the Father of their nation, so we as children of God mourn over the death of our saviour, leader, and creator and what he suffered for us in his death.   

Seven Cities of Refuge 

The establishment of cities of refuge and their purpose and order of use are set forth in Num. 35:11-28:

11 "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.  13 And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge. 14 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. 15 These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.  16 And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

17 And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. 18 Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. 19 The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him. 20 But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die; 21 Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him. 22 But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait,

23 Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: 24 Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments: 25 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.  26 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: 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."

There were six cities appointed as cities of refuge for the children of Israel that the man-slayer may flee unto to seek refuge from the revenger of blood.  If the man-slayer slew someone by accident or without intent to do harm to the person, then he would be safe from the revenger of blood in the city of refuge.  However, he must remain in the city of refuge unto the death of the High Priest.

If the man-slayer purposely slew the individual then he was to be turned over by the city to the revenger of blood that he may be slain. 

While only six cities of refuge are listed in the Old Testament, yet there is a seventh set forth in the scriptures.  Heb. 6:17, "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18 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: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec." 

The Lord's church is that seventh city of refuge.  It is there in the preaching of the gospel and the teaching of God's grace that we find refuge in the hope that is set forth before us.  In the Old Testament cities of refuge, the innocent found refuge from the revenger of blood, whereas the guilty had no refuge.  In our city of refuge, we find that the guilty find refuge in the finished work of Jesus and have an eternal refuge from the revenger of blood.  Furthermore, our High Priest has already died to redeem us from sin and he ever lives to make intercession for us.  Our city of refuge is far better than the six cities of the Old Testament.