Today we begin Deuteronomy Chapter 21.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here.
For the King James version, click here.
“If, in the land Adonai your God is giving you to possess, a murder victim is found lying in the countryside; and the perpetrator of the murder is not known; then your leaders and judges are to go out and measure the distance between it and the surrounding towns.”-Deuteronomy 21:1-2
Right out of the gate, Deuteronomy Chapter 21 starts off like a thrilling detective novel.
We’re told of a murder victim found lying in the countryside and have no idea how the person got killed or who did it.
Immediately after, instructions are given about an odd ritual that even the ancient Hebrew sages and Jewish Rabbis have had difficulty explaining and something that gentile or Christian scholars don’t even bother to try to understand.
This chapter is divided into two parts.
The first part comprised of the first nine verses deals with the matter of the dead body killed by an unknown assailant lying in the countryside.
The second remaining part of the chapter starts off a 4-chapter long section dealing with a variety of different laws that are to be applied in different situations.
Let’s dive into the first part (verses 1-9).
The usual approach taken by most Bible teachers and scholars when teaching this portion of Scripture is to focus on each individual part of the ritual involving the breaking of the neck of a female cow (heifer) done in response to the unsolved mystery of who exactly killed the person lying in the field.
We will of course be examining the individual elements of this ritual BUT…
…before that, we need to prioritize and talk about a much more important subject that carries great relevance here.
What am I talking about?
I’m referring to the topic of “bloodguilt”.
Here’s the thing.
What this portion of Scripture is communicating to us is the terribly negative spiritual influence the unsolved murder has upon the town located closest to where the murder victim’s corpse was found.
Actually, the problem is two-fold.
The negative spiritual effect of the corpse not only affects the town nearby but will also affect all of Israel if this matter is not properly resolved.
As a result of this unsolved murder, the status of having bloodguilt has been placed upon Israel.
“Bloodguilt” is the condition of becoming defiled when one of God’s commandments involving the unjust spilling of blood is broken.
Here’s something I realized after spending many a long hour studying, pondering and meditating on God’s justice system.
Blood seems to be the very foundation of God’s Justice System.
If a person spills blood unjustly, the Lord will demand retribution from that person.
On the other hand, the proper and God-ordained spilling of blood has a cleansing and atoning effect.
While us modern folks would prefer to ignore all this talk about blood because we find it gruesome and just downright barbaric, a plain reading of Scripture demonstrates that the Bible greatly values and holds the necessity of blood in the highest regard.
Ironically, it is usually atheists who love to poke fun at believers by pointing out all of the “uncivilized” blood letting and blood spilling that runs from Genesis all the way up to Revelations.
On the other hand, many believers adopt the opposite position by avoiding the “Old” Testament because of all the blood spilling while simultaneously downplaying the role blood plays in the New Testament especially in the Book of Revelations which deals with the final battle at Armageddon.
Before we move on to the next post, I want you to ponder and meditate on the following three facts concerning blood spilling that are presented to us in Scripture:
-In the Bible, blood is the key element required to make covenants AND atone for violations.
-Blood is the cause of both of defilement AND purification.
-For most ancient cultures (not just the Hebrews), blood was central to their worship systems.
We’ll continue this discussion the next time we meet.
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