Saints of Scripture Who Fled

Perhaps they have not read these histories, thinking them out of date. But have they no memory of what is written in the Gospel? For the disciples too withdrew and hid themselves for fear of the Jews. And Paul, when the governor at Damascus was seeking him, was let down from the wall in a basket, and so escaped his hands. Since the Scripture tells these things of the saints, then, what excuse will they be able to invent for their wickedness? To reproach the saints with cowardice would be madness, and to accuse them of acting against the will of God would show that they are wholly ignorant of the Scriptures. [a]

For there was a command under the law that cities of refuge should be set apart, so that those who were being sought to be put to death might at least have some way of saving themselves. And when the one who spoke to Moses, the Word of the Father, appeared at the close of the ages, he too gave this command, saying, “But when they persecute you in this city, flee to another.” And shortly after he says, “So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to get his clothes.” Knowing these things, the saints ordered their conduct by them. For what our Lord has now commanded, he also spoke through his saints before his coming in the flesh. And this is the rule given to people to lead them to perfection: to do what God commands.