Numbers 35:12
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. 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.
The cities were appointed as refuge from the avenger so that one who took life would not be put to death before standing before the congregation in judgment. That shelter belonged to one who killed unintentionally or by accident, not to the willful murderer, and the case was to be heard to decide whether the killing was intentional. The arrangement worked as a merciful safeguard inside the existing custom of private vengeance, restraining it without abolishing it. After a fair hearing the one found innocent of intended murder could remain safe under protection in the refuge, while one guilty of intentional murder was given over to the avenger, so that the innocent would not suffer with the guilty.
The cities stand for Jesus Christ as a sure refuge for transgressors, and those who flee to Him by repentance and faith receive through His atoning sacrifice and mediation pardon, reconciliation with God, peace from guilt, and safety from the second death. As the manslayer stayed in danger until he reached the refuge, so sinners remain exposed to divine wrath until they seek shelter in Christ, and delay and indifference can bring ruin.
The same principle of shelter until judgment belongs to schools as refuge for tempted youth, where wrongdoing is to be met patiently and wisely. Teachers are to join mercy and compassion with justice, and to correct wrongdoers gently and humbly to help them recover rather than with undue severity. The road to the city was kept clearly marked to secure protection until judgment, picturing the clearly defined path to happiness in which loving obedience to the Creator leads to felicity and disobedience leads to misery.