Deuteronomy 19:2
Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it. Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
The verse commands Israel to separate three cities in the midst of the land the Lord gives them to possess, as cities of refuge. Those cities were set apart within the land given to Israel, among the cities of refuge. They protected a manslayer who killed unintentionally, giving him a place to flee for protection from the avenger of blood and from private vengeance until his case could be heard by the congregation.
The command did not suddenly abolish the deeply rooted Hebrew custom that authorized and even required the next of kin to avenge a murdered person by killing the murderer, but it mitigated its effects and restricted blood revenge. The regulation is a later form of a law already reflected in the story of Cain. By providing a place where a homicide might escape and claim a fair trial, it limited revenge rather than leaving it unchecked.
Elders at the city gate received the fugitive and decided whether to admit him, and this admission came before a later formal trial before a higher court once witnesses and accusers could appear. The provision guaranteed a fair trial and due process to establish guilt or innocence rather than freeing a guilty murderer from legal punishment. If the killing was accidental, the fugitive was not to be punished.
The verse means a safe place of shelter is to be provided for those in need. Applied to those Jews who accept Christ and, being bitterly persecuted, must leave their countrymen, it calls for securing a place that gives them work and at the same time trains them as workers for others. The cities were places where people could hide from any danger that might threaten the community.