Joshua 14-22 – Our Heavenly Father wants justice and mercy to be among His people.

Josh 20:1
Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying,
Josh 20:2
"Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'Designate the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses,
Josh 20:3
that the manslayer who kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood.

Now that the land was divided, the people were to set up the cities of refuge as commanded by Elohim. The cities were spread throughout the land in order to give a man a chance for justice in the case of an accidental manslaughter.
Josh 20:4
'And he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and state his case in the hearing of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may dwell among them.

Josh 20:5
'Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him beforehand.

This is the difference between murder and manslaughter. Manslaughter is an incident that results in death and it occurs without hate being in the heart of the slayer.
Josh 20:6
'And he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the manslayer shall return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.'"

Elohim considers the spilling of human blood to be very serious on the part of the slayer even if it is accidental. Release from the city of refuge does not occur until the death of the High Priest of that day. This is a beautiful picture of our Messiah and High Priest. Who, through His death and resurrection, rescued us from the captivity of certain damnation due to our sin.
Josh 20:7
So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
Josh 20:8
And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.
Josh 20:9
These were the appointed cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.

Elohim wants justice and mercy to be among His people.