Neville Goddard on Joshua 20:1-9 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Joshua 20 in context

Scripture Focus

1The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying,

2Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:

3That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.

4And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

5And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.

6And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.

7And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.

8And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

9These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.

Joshua 20:1-9

Biblical Context

The passage appoints cities of refuge so the unwitting killer may flee the avenger and find safety until judgment.

Neville's Inner Vision

Within Joshua's account, the cities of refuge are not distant places but your present states of awareness. The slayer who killed unwittingly represents any action you performed in ignorance—an act you committed without true intent, and now fear returns as the avenger of blood. When you stand at the gate and declare your cause before the elders—your inner discerners and the I AM witness—you are invited to dwell there, embraced by a shelter that does not condemn but holds you in mercy. If the pursuer presses after you, the refuge does not surrender you to guilt; it reveals that the act sprang from unawareness, not from hatred, and therefore need not be punished by the mind that studies itself. You remain in that city until the old self, the high priest image of punishment, passes away; then you return to your own city with a renewed sense of self, guided by the I AM. The spread of the six cities, east and west, whispers that refuge is always available in consciousness through intentional revision and alignment with awareness.

Practice This Now

Quietly assume, I am safe in the refuge of my awareness. Then picture yourself at the city gate, presenting your case to the inner elders, and feel the I AM shelter dissolving guilt and sealing you in mercy.