Six Names That Reveal Who Jesus Really Is
- Henley Samuel
- 4 days ago
- 8 min read
April 02, 2026
Have you ever read a passage in your Bible, stumbled across a list of unpronounceable city names, and quietly skipped past it? You are not alone. Most of us have done exactly that. But what if those names you skipped were carrying some of the most powerful promises God ever made to you? What if those strange, ancient words were actually love letters addressed directly to your situation?
That is exactly what we discovered as we continued through Joshua 20. Today lets press deeper on six cities and each one reveals another dimension of what Jesus does for you when you run to Him.
Kedesh: The God Who Purifies You
The first city is Kedesh, which means holiness or righteousness. When you run into Jesus, your very first encounter is with His holiness. Hebrews 9:14 says:
"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" Hebrews 9:14
And 2 Corinthians 5:21 confirms it:
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21
When you enter Jesus, the city whose name is Holiness, you do not come out the same person who went in. You are purified. You are made righteous. Not because of anything you did, but because of everything He did.
Shechem: The God Who Takes Away Your Burden
The second city is Shechem, which means shoulders. And immediately Luke 15:5 comes alive:
"And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing." Luke 15:5
The shepherd did not scold the lost sheep. He did not make the sheep walk home in shame. He lifted it onto his shoulders. That is exactly what Jesus does when you come running to Him. He does not ask you to carry your own guilt anymore. He carries it for you. And Matthew 11:28 echoes this promise:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
Whatever burden brought you running, He takes it from you the moment you arrive.
Kirjath-Arba: The God Who Lifts You Higher
The Third city is Kirjath-Arba, also known as Hebron, and the Hebrew meaning of this name is height or elevation. And right away, Psalm 32:6 speaks to why this matters:
"For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him." Psalm 32:6
When you are in the city of Refuge, when you are hidden in Jesus, the floods can rise. The waters can roar. But they cannot reach you, because you are in a high place. And Ephesians 2:6 makes this declaration with stunning clarity:
"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:6
You are not at the bottom of your circumstances. You are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That position is not something you earned. It is something He gave you. Joseph was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, and imprisoned unjustly, yet God lifted him and placed him at the right hand of Pharaoh. That is who your God is. No matter how low your current season looks, the city of refuge is a high place, and Jesus is in the business of elevation.
Bezer: The Fortress That Cannot Be Breached
The fourth city is Bezer, and this name means fortress or refuge. Proverbs 18:10 says:
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." Proverbs 18:10
Read that again slowly. The righteous man runs into it and is safe. He does not stroll. He does not wander over. He runs. There is an urgency to this image, the kind of urgency that recognises that outside that tower, you are vulnerable. But inside it, nothing can touch you.
Psalm 46:1 adds this:
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1
God is not a distant observer of your crisis. He is a very present help. He is right there in the middle of it with you. And when you are inside His fortress, the enemy cannot reach you. He can shout from outside. He can make noise. He can try every strategy he knows. But he cannot come in.
This is where we have to be honest with ourselves. Many of us have received salvation, and we are grateful for it. But there are areas of our lives where we have not yet fully run into the fortress. Perhaps it is our health. Perhaps it is a relationship. Perhaps it is a fear we carry quietly. The promise of Bezer is that the fortress is available for every area of your life. Run all of you into Him, not just the parts that feel spiritual enough.
Ramoth: He Raises the Lowly
The fifth city is Ramoth, and it also carries the meaning of heights or high place. And David understood this deeply. When Saul was hunting him, when his enemies were closing in, when he had made devastating moral failures, he still wrote in Psalm 32:7:
"Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance." Psalm 32:7
That is not the cry of a man who has it all together. That is the cry of a man who knows where safety is and runs to it anyway, regardless of his own past. And the testimony of David's life proves that God does not just preserve those who deserve preserving. He lifts the broken and places them among princes.
Golan: Joy That Cannot Be Explained
The sixth and final city is Golan, and the meaning of this name is joy or great gladness. First Peter 1:8 describes what this joy feels like:
"Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." 1 Peter 1:8
Joy unspeakable. Literally a joy that words cannot contain. This is the joy that belongs to everyone who is living inside the city of refuge. It is not a joy that depends on your circumstances being resolved. It is not a joy that waits for the problem to go away. It is a joy that exists precisely because you know where you are standing, and you know Who is standing with you.
David experienced it in one of his darkest moments. First Samuel 30:6 recounts the day everything fell apart, his city had been burned, his men were turning on him, and he had nothing left:
"And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." 1 Samuel 30:6
When even his closest companions picked up stones, David ran into the city. He encouraged himself in the Lord. That is Golan. That is the unspeakable joy that rises up when everything around you is collapsing. You can say to every stone that has been thrown at you, to every voice that has called you worthless, to every circumstance that has tried to define you, I am strengthening myself in the Lord. I am running into the city. And inside that city, there is joy.
The High Priest Waiting Inside
Every city of refuge had a high priest residing within it. As long as the person who had fled remained in the city, the high priest was responsible for his welfare and protection. The city's safety was inseparably connected to the presence of the high priest.
Now read Hebrews 6:18-20:
"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: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec." Hebrews 6:18-20
Jesus is your High Priest inside the city. He has already entered through the veil. He has already taken His place on the other side to receive you. And Hebrews 4:15-16 tells us what kind of High Priest He is:
"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:15-16
He is not a cold, unmoved priest who looks down at you with indifference. He knows what it feels like to be weak. He knows what it feels like to be tempted. And He is saying to you right now, come boldly. Come with everything you are carrying. Come as you are.
Conclusion
Six cities. Six names. Six dimensions of what Jesus becomes for you the moment you run to Him. Kedesh: you are made holy. Shechem: your burdens are lifted onto His shoulders. Kirjath-Arba: you are elevated to a high place. Bezer: you are sheltered in an unbreakable fortress. Ramoth: you are raised up from your lowest point. Golan: you are filled with a joy that no one can take from you.
The accuser of the brethren has been cast down. That means no charge raised against you inside this city can stand. The enemy cannot follow you in. His accusations cannot reach you there. Your family, your health, your future, all of it is covered under the protection of the city.
Reflect on This
Of the six cities, which dimension of Jesus, holiness, burden-bearer, elevation, fortress, restorer, or joy-giver, do you most need to experience in your life right now, and what step can you take today to run fully into that promise?
David encouraged himself in the Lord even when those closest to him had turned against him. What does it look like practically for you to strengthen yourself in God when every external voice is speaking against you?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are my city of refuge. You are my holiness, my strength, my elevation, my fortress, my restorer, and my unspeakable joy. I run to You today, not with the parts of me that feel worthy, but with everything I am. I declare that I am seated with You in heavenly places. Every accusation raised against me is cast down. I strengthen myself in You. I receive joy that cannot be measured and peace that cannot be explained. My family is covered. My future is secure. Nothing can follow me into this city. In Jesus' mighty name, Amen.
Key Takeaways
The six cities of refuge each carry Hebrew names that reveal six distinct blessings Jesus provides: holiness, burden-bearing, elevation, protection, restoration, and unspeakable joy.
Jesus is the High Priest residing in the city of refuge, and His presence there is the source of every blessing available to those who run to Him.
Living inside the city of refuge means even floods and overwhelming circumstances cannot reach you because you are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Encouraging yourself in the Lord is the biblical response when all external support falls away.
No accusation raised by the enemy can stand against those who are inside the city of refuge, because Christ has already secured their righteousness and their freedom..
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To dive deeper into this powerful message, watch the full sermon in Tamil on our YouTube video below.
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