Innocent Blood Shed for Sin
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 21:1-9 (NASB)
1 “If a slain person is found lying in the open country in the land which the Lord your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the slain one. 3 It shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, that is, the elders of that city, shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been worked and which has not pulled in a yoke; 4 and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. 5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the name of the Lord; and every dispute and every assault shall be settled by them. 6 All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; 7 and they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. 8 Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O Lord, and do not place the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel.’ And the bloodguiltiness shall be forgiven them. 9 So you shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
SUMMARY
Moses gives detailed instructions on how to atone for sins of murder in which the killer is unknown. Elders and judges are to determine the nearest city from the location of the slain. The elders of the town are to take the heifer that has not been tainted, and kill it in a field that hasn’t been touched by human hands. They are to solemnly profess before the Lord that no one has witnessed the murder or knows who committed the murder. The Levitical priests are to step forward in front of the people and ask God to forgive and not hold them guilty of the blood of the innocent person. This is not a blood sacrifice that God instructed to make, but a ceremony that was symbolic of the punishment that the murderer would have received. They are to purge the guilt of shedding innocent blood in this manner as unpunished crime will be detestable to God.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
This passage sheds the light on God’s firm command to purge evil from the land that He’s giving them. It reiterates Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt not murder” and upholds the sanctity of life. God is the giver of life and created mankind in His image so taking away another’s life for unjustified reason was punishable by death. The killing of the unblemished heifer by breaking its neck made me think about the ugliness and the dark destructive nature of sin. God is God of justice and cannot tolerate evil.
If the people of Israel were given this corporate responsibility as a people of God, are we not as Christians also called to the same task? Are we closing our eyes to the destruction of what is right and true happening around us? These days so many words of blame, division and hate seem to be thrown around like poisonous arrows with the intention to kill and demolish.
Then there are hundreds of believers that are ruthlessly attacked and even killed for their faith. We hear about them or read their stories of their persecution. Often I’m shocked to read about such intense persecution that’s going on in our “civilized world”. My heart is stirred to help and pray for these innocent people, often women and children of Christian families where the dad has been murdered. I’m challenged to be more resolute in my walk with God when I hear about their unwavering faith I often find myself complaining about my hardship and relational conflicts that’s really trivial compared to their life or death situation.
APPLICATION
On a personal level, I have to ask myself, “am I willing to step forward and confront the sin of murderous spirit that is at work in my own heart?” 1 John 3:15 says, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer: and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him”
I want to be led by the Spirit of God daily so that I can love and forgive others that have offended me.
I have to pull myself out of my “Christian bubble” where I feel safe and at peace and be willing to look at the bloody mess going on in some parts of the world. Lord, give me courage and a brave heart for it.
In this season of my life, I want to share God’s blessings with others, especially persecuted Christians.
I will follow the weekly prayer requests posted on Open Doors Ministry to pray and support them.
PRAYER
Father, help me to open my eyes and my ears to the cries of the broken and the dying. Move in your church and the believers to bring revival and hunger for holiness. Help us to choose love and forgiveness instead of hate. We need your touch to be empowered. In Jesus Mighty Name. Amen~
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