Deuteronomy 21:1-9 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 21:1-9. Let’s go!
Deuteronomy 21:1-9 (NIV)
1 If a man is found slain, lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,
2 your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns.
3 Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke
4 and lead her down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer’s neck.
5 The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault.
6 Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,
7 and they shall declare: “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done.
8 Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O LORD, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for.
9 So you will purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.
On verses 1-9: Here Moses describes what to do when a slain human body is found and no one knows who caused his or her death. The town nearest to the dead body had to sacrifice an unworked heifer to atone for the bloodshed (v3-4). The elders of the town also had to wash their hands to symbolize how their town was not guilty of the bloodshed (v6-7).
I believe there’s a powerful lesson the Holy Spirit wants us to learn from this. From time to time certain deaths and tragedies will take place where there is no clear explanation why. This passage shows that God cares for those who are nearest to that situation. If you have suffered a loss or tragedy that is hard to explain, God’s heart is for you.
Just as God led the town in Deuteronomy 21 to restoration and healing through the sacrifice of a heifer, He wants to comfort, restore and heal you too. He has made provision for your healing and comfort through Jesus Christ.
Like the heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke, during his lifetime on earth Jesus was never weighed down by sin or the guilt and shame of having sinned against God.
Just as the heifer was broken and killed on behalf of the town, Jesus’ body was broken and killed for us.
Just as the elders of the town washed their hands to distance themselves from any responsibility for the tragedy, Pontius Pilate, the governor over Jerusalem, washed his hands to distance himself from the situation (Matthew 27:24).
But God is not removed from you and your situation when you experience unexplained tragedies. Rather, from Deuteronomy 21 and the way God later sent His Son Jesus, we can surmise that whenever unexplained tragedies hit near home, God invites us to look at the cross and says:
“Give your pain to me
Give your questions to me
Give your shame to me
Give your sins to me
Give your fears to me
Give your regrets to me
I’ll take them all on
I’ll come near to you
I’ll carry your burden
I’ll suffer in your place
I’ll die on your behalf
All so that you can live
and move on in hope and freedom.”
Thank You Lord that You are not removed from tragedies that we can’t explain. Rather Your heart goes out to those who are affected by them. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our restoration and comfort, and that by His wounds we can find healing. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
