If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess, lying in the field, [and] it be not known who hath smitten him,
A body lies in open country. Nobody knows who the killer is, so no court can try the case. Yet God does not let the matter drop. The law that follows asks who answers for guilt that no one can trace.
Nobody knows what happened. A crime is real, but the facts stop short of any name.
A sin is committed. A man is found slain in the land. But no one knows anything about it. No one can tell whether it is murder or manslaughter, or who did it. It lies far beyond anything people can know. And yet, there it is, an undeniable fact. Sin has been committed, and it lies as a stain on the Lord's land, and no one is able to deal with it.
The crime touches more than the victim. It stains the land, and it touches God's own rights.
Deuteronomy 21 gives another rule to keep blood from defiling the land. As in other places, it declares that life belongs to God. When people violate His rights, He will not overlook it.
No one can be charged, so distance decides who must answer.
If someone was killed and his body was found away from any city or town, and no one knew the murderer, then the elders and judges of Israel had to find out which city was nearest. The elders of that city then had to take responsibility and face the matter righteously.
The order of the officials carries the argument.
First of all, the elders and judges appear on the scene. The claims of truth and righteousness must be met. Justice and judgement must be fully upheld. This is a great central truth running all through the word of God. Sin must be judged before sins can be forgiven, or the sinner justified. Before mercy's heavenly voice can be heard, justice must be fully satisfied, the throne of God proved right, and His Name glorified. Grace must reign through righteousness.
The same writer marks what changed once the victim died:
Only after the blood was shed could the ministers of grace come forward. The heifer killed in the valley changed the whole situation.
Commentators differ on the heifer. One reads the broken neck as a sentence carried out rather than an offering:
There the elders were to break the heifer's neck (v.4). This was not a sacrifice at all, and no blood was shed. It reminds us instead of Exodus 13:13: "Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck." This is judgment, not sacrifice. So it condemned the murderer, even though no one knew who he was.
Another sees in the unyoked animal a picture of Christ, and finds the strangeness of the rite in how closely the crime and its cure are pressed together:
The heifer that never wore a yoke makes us think at once of the red heifer used for purification from sin (Numbers 19), and it seems just as clearly to speak of Christ. Here a penalty borne by a substitute seems to be displayed, even to some who dispute it elsewhere. Through all this, the broken neck of the victim strangely ties together the deed that has to be cleansed away and the thing that cleanses it.
One writer applies the scene to Israel. The slain man is Christ, and His death carries two opposite meanings.
It is just like this that Christ has been found slain in this world, and God is willing to see it that way. He is found slain among them, among Israel themselves… He will not accept their excuses, and He will not treat them as guilty beyond all hope. When grace has turned their heart, He will provide for them, so that the very sacrifice of Christ may work with all its power to atone and clear them of the guilt of shedding His precious blood… On man's side it was the worst possible guilt; in God's grace it is what alone cleanses from guilt.
Verse 8 records a prayer. One writer says its answer is still ahead.
There is a full expiation coming through Him who prayed for them on the cross, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."… Then the prayer in verse 8 will be answered in grace, when Israel turns to the Lord on the day He appears.
- Defilement. Blood shed in the land stains it before God, even when no one can name the killer.
- Responsibility. When no one can be charged, the nearest city must answer, and its elders must face it.
- Righteousness. Judges come before priests. God judges sin first, then forgives, so grace reigns through righteousness.
- Substitute. A heifer that never wore a yoke dies in the valley. Some read this as judgment on the unknown murderer, others as a picture of Christ.
- Forgiveness. Full expiation comes through the One who prayed on the cross, and there comes a day when Israel's prayer over innocent blood is answered.
then thine elders and thy judges shall go forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain;
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
and the city that is nearest unto him that is slain, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer that hath not been wrought with, that hath not drawn in the yoke;
A body is found in open country, and no one knows who killed him — a crime human justice cannot solve, yet it stains the land. This verse puts the duty on the nearest town and names what that town must bring: a heifer that has never worked and never worn a yoke.
No one knows who the killer is, so the law starts with distance. The town that turns out to be nearest has to face the crime.
A man was killed, and his body was found away from any city or town. No one knew who the murderer was. The elders and judges of Israel then had to find out which city was nearest. The elders of that city had to take responsibility and face the matter justly.
Even which town is nearest is not too small a thing for God. One writer pauses right there as he works through the law:
"The city that is nearest to the slain man" — God takes care even of that.
The crime is real. But nobody can name the criminal, and no human effort can settle it.
A sin is committed. A man is found slain in the land. But no one knows anything about it. No one can tell whether it is murder or manslaughter, or who did it. It lies entirely beyond the range of human knowledge. And yet, there it is, an undeniable fact. Sin has been committed, and it lies as a stain on the Lord's land, and man is completely unable to deal with it.
So why bring in judges at all, when what the town needs is forgiveness? Because God never grants it at the cost of righteousness:
The claims of truth and righteousness must be met; justice and judgement must be fully upheld. This is a great foundational truth running all through the word of God. Sin must be judged before sins can be forgiven, or the sinner justified.
The heifer qualifies by what it has never done. That same mark appears on the red heifer used for cleansing from sin in Numbers 19:
The heifer that has never been broken to the yoke reminds us strongly of the red heifer of purification for sin (Numbers 19), and it just as clearly seems to speak of Christ. Here a penalty borne in another's place seems to be shown, even to some who dispute it elsewhere.
Why does the yoke matter? A yoke is what you put on an animal to bend it to your will:
It must also never have worn a yoke, because a yoke means a restraint on the will, which was never true of Christ. When He says, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:30), this is not a burden He takes on Himself, but one He places on a believer. The will of the Lord Jesus is perfect, and needs no restraint.
Commentators differ on what kind of act this is. Some read it as atonement. Others note that the rite uses no altar and sheds no blood — the elders break the heifer's neck instead:
This was not a sacrifice at all, and no blood was shed. It reminds us of Exodus 13:13: "Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck." So this is judgment, not sacrifice. So it was a condemnation of the murderer, even though no one knew who he was.
The law pictures something larger than one unsolved murder. One writer applies it to Christ, killed in Israel's own land:
This is exactly how Christ has been found slain in this world, and God is willing to regard it so. He is found slain among them, among Israel themselves. He will not excuse them because their own hands did not do the deed. When grace has turned their heart, He will make sure that the very sacrifice of Christ, in all its expiatory power, clears them of the guilt of shedding His precious blood. We must remember that the death of Christ has two sides, one on man's part and one on God's side. From man's side it was the worst guilt possible; in God's grace it is what alone cleanses from guilt.
- Nearest. The town closest to the body must answer for it, even though no one there knows the killer.
- Judged. Righteousness moves first: God judges sin before He forgives sins.
- Unyoked. The heifer had never been broken to man's will — the mark, writers say, of the One whose will needed no restraint.
- Broken. The rite sheds no blood and uses no altar, so writers differ: is this expiation, or a sentence carried out?
- Cleansed. The same death that is humanity's worst crime is, in God's hand, the only thing that washes the crime away.
and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto an ever-flowing watercourse, which is not tilled, nor is it sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the watercourse;
Deuteronomy 21 opens with a body found in open country and no way to name the killer. Verse 4 gives the strange remedy: the elders take a heifer down to an untouched valley and break its neck there. Why an animal that never worked? Why that patch of ground? Why a broken neck instead of an altar?
The law begins where human justice runs out.
A sin is committed, and a man is found slain in the land. But no one knows anything about it. No one can tell whether it is murder or manslaughter, or who did it. The whole thing lies beyond the range of human knowledge. And yet, there it is, an undeniable fact. Sin has been committed, and it lies as a stain on the Lord's land, and man is wholly incompetent to deal with it.
Verse 4 is exact about the place and the method, and both are unusual.
This involved taking a young heifer that had never been worked or put under a yoke. The elders brought it down to a valley with running water, a valley still in its natural state. There the elders were to break the heifer's neck (v.4). This was not at all a sacrifice, no matter of bloodshed. In fact, it reminds us of Exodus 13:13: "Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck." So this is judgment, not sacrifice. It would therefore be a condemnation of the murderer, though no one knew who he was.
Others read the same details as picture language.
Putting away an unknown murder seems to find an interesting application in the nation itself... He died for them as the heifer died in the rough valley for the unknown murder. The heifer is a picture of Christ, and the rough valley a picture of His deep humiliation.
The heifer had to be one that had never worked. That single detail sends commentators to another animal in the law, and to Christ.
The heifer that never wore a yoke reminds us strongly of the red heifer of purification for sin (Numbers 19). It seems just as clearly to speak of Christ. Here punishment borne in another's place seems to be set out, even to some who dispute it elsewhere. Through all this, the broken neck of the victim strangely joins two things: the deed that must be cleansed away, and the thing that cleanses it. It is as if Christ were murdered and yet dying to put away the crime...
Commentators differ on whether this rite makes atonement at all. One writer leaves the matter with God:
They bring no offering to make atonement for the guilt, because no one knew who was guilty. Instead they were to ask the Lord to provide atonement according to His own perfect wisdom, and to ask that He would not charge Israel with the guilt of this murder (v.8). God would Himself provide atonement on their behalf, and the guilt of innocent blood would be put away.
The order matters. Elders and judges act first, and the priests step forward only once the heifer is dead.
Notice what happens the moment the death of the victim meets the claims of justice. A new element enters the scene. "Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward." This is grace acting on the blessed ground of righteousness. The priests are the channels of grace, as the judges are the guardians of righteousness... The heifer beheaded in the valley changed the aspect of things completely.
One writer presses the picture further:
It is just so that Christ has been found slain in this world: God is willing to regard it so. He is found slain among them, among Israel themselves... He will not excuse them because their hands did not actually do the deed. It was of course done long before; still it was done there... He will not accept excuses, and He will not judge them as guilty beyond hope. He will provide for them when grace has turned their heart. His purpose is that the very sacrifice of Christ, in all its expiatory power, may clear them of the guilt of shedding His precious blood. We must remember that the death of Christ has two aspects... Humanly it was the worst possible guilt; in God's grace it is what alone cleanses from guilt.
- Stain. A murder no one can solve still lies as a stain on God's land, and man cannot deal with it.
- Valley. The ground is never plowed and the water runs free. Commentators read that rough valley as a picture of how low Christ came.
- Yoke. A heifer that never worked and never wore a yoke points back to the red heifer, and on to Christ.
- Order. Judges act before priests: justice is met by the death first, and only then does grace come near.
- Outcome. The elders ask God Himself to provide atonement, and commentators apply that to Israel, one day cleared of the blood of Christ.
and the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Jehovah thy God hath chosen to do service unto him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah; and according to their word shall be every controversy and every stroke.
A body lies in open country, and no one knows who killed the man. Why do priests appear at all in such a case, and why only after the elders break the heifer's neck?
One writer draws out how helpless the case is:
A sin is committed. A man is found slain in the land. But no one knows anything about it. No one can tell whether it is murder or manslaughter, or who did it. The whole thing lies beyond the range of human knowledge. And yet, there it is, an undeniable fact. Sin has been committed, and it lies as a stain on the Lord's land, and man is completely unable to deal with it.
Elders and judges act first in this chapter. Only afterwards do the priests step forward.
This is well worth noticing. The moment the death of the victim met the claims of justice, something new enters the scene. "Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward." This is grace acting on the blessed ground of righteousness. The priests are the channels of grace, as the judges are the guardians of righteousness... The ministers of grace could not present themselves until the blood was shed... All is to be settled on the glorious and eternal principle of grace reigning through righteousness.
What does it mean that God chose the priests "to minister to him"? One writer compares this book with Leviticus:
We must remember that this book of Deuteronomy treats the priests in a noticeably different way from other books... The question here is not so much their service in standing between the people and God. It is their helping the people in what they owed to Him. In Leviticus it is the first of these. There the question is drawing near to God. The people could not go into the sanctuary, so the priests went in for them. Deuteronomy assumes the people are about to enter the land. So here we have more the family order of the nation with the LORD their God, and the priests the Levites help this along.
The same writer takes this clause as comfort, and not for Israel alone:
How precious this is, and how full of comfort! Every dispute and every assault is to be tried by the word of the minister of grace — for repentant Israel in a coming day, and for every repentant soul now.
Another writer asks who answers to these priests today:
In the Church of God today there is no such earthly centre of human authority, but Christ is the Centre, and His own presence alone will settle such things. We need to depend on Him together, with one mind, for He is the one Judge we may depend on. The priests would answer today to those believers who act in genuine priestly capacity in intercession for the saints of God. In communion with the Lord (the Judge) they may then pass on His answer to the people. Consulting the Word of God and obeying it will always keep this on safe ground.
Commentators differ on the heifer itself. Some read it as a picture of atonement:
We cannot fail to see that the blood of Christ is, above all, that of which Israel is here guilty (see Psalm 51), and the blood of Jesus is the only atonement for the sin which shed it. The elders excuse themselves by pleading their ignorance of what had been done. The same thing will happen with Israel... However, there is nothing but the blood of the heifer which never bore the yoke that can wipe away sin.
Others point out that the neck was broken rather than the blood poured out, and read the act differently:
This was not at all a sacrifice, no matter of bloodshed. In fact, it is a reminder of Exodus 13:13: "Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck." This is judgment rather than sacrifice. It would therefore be a condemnation of the murderer, though it was not known who he was.
- Guilt. A killing no one can solve still stains the land, and no human court can deal with it.
- Righteousness. Elders and judges act first, because justice must be met before grace can come near.
- Grace. Only after the heifer dies do the priests come forward. Grace stands on the ground of righteousness.
- Word. God chose the priests to serve Him and to bless in His name. Their word decides the case — comfort for every repentant soul.
- Today. There is no earthly centre of authority now. Christ is the Centre, and believers who intercede for others pass on His answer.
And all the elders of that city, that are nearest unto him that is slain, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck is broken in the watercourse,
Someone lies dead in a field, no one knows the killer, and the guilt of that blood still stains the land God gave Israel. In verse 6 the elders of the nearest town wash their hands over a heifer with a broken neck — and the question is what that washing can and cannot do.
The hand-washing is public and representative. It is done in the presence of the priests, and it says something precise about the men who do it.
When a person was found dead in a field and the elders had broken the neck of the heifer, the priests were to be there as witnesses to the declaration of the elders of the nearby city. Those elders were to wash their hands over the heifer to show that their hands were clean of the murder that had taken place (v.6). This was no confession of guilt, but the opposite. Then, speaking for the city itself, they were to declare that their hands had not shed this innocent blood, and that they knew nothing about what had happened (v.7).
Clean hands do not settle the matter. What the elders cannot do, they ask God to do.
They bring no offering to make atonement for the guilt, because no one knew who the guilty person was. Instead they were to ask the Lord to provide atonement in His own perfect wisdom, and to ask that He would not charge Israel with the guilt of this murder (v.8).
Notice the order in which the officials act.
Notice, with much interest, what happens the moment the death of the victim meets the claims of justice. Something new enters the scene: "Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward." This is grace acting on the blessed ground of righteousness. The priests are the channels of grace, as the judges are the guardians of righteousness. Only after the blood was shed could the ministers of grace step forward. The death of the heifer in the valley changed everything.
Commentators differ over what the heifer's death means. One reads the broken neck as judgment:
In the valley the elders were to break the heifer's neck (v.4). This was not a sacrifice at all, and it involved no bloodshed. In fact, it reminds us of Exodus 13:13: "Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck." This is judgment, not sacrifice. So it condemned the murderer, even though no one knew who he was.
Another sees the animal that never wore a yoke as a picture of Christ:
On the other hand, the heifer that had never worn a yoke reminds us strongly of the red heifer used for purification from sin (Numbers 19), and it seems just as clearly to speak of Christ. Through all this, the broken neck of the victim strangely ties together the deed that must be cleansed away and the death that cleanses it — as if Christ were murdered and yet dying to put the crime away.
One writer applies the whole scene to Israel and to Christ.
In just this way Christ has been found slain in this world, and God is willing to see it so. He was found slain among them, among Israel themselves. God will not excuse them because their own hands did not do the deed. He will not accept excuses for it, and He will not judge them as guilty beyond hope either. When grace has turned their heart, He will provide for them, so that the very sacrifice of Christ may serve in all its atoning power to clear them of the guilt of shedding His precious blood. On man's side it was the worst possible guilt; in God's grace it is the one thing that cleanses from guilt.
The best-known hand-washing in the Bible copied this ceremony.
Pilate was determined to escape responsibility for what he was about to do under pressure. So he took part of the Jewish ritual for an unknown murder and used it for his own purpose. He washed his hands in front of the crowd and said, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves." So, even if they could not lift the load off Pilate, they took their own responsibility in the fullest way. No city of refuge will work for them until they look on Him whom they have pierced.
The same gesture reappears in worship, where the point is not ceremony but a life free of defilement brought to God.
The first point then here is "innocency," the washing of the hands being an expression derived from the ordinance in Deuteronomy (Deut. 21:6), where the elders wash their hands to attest their innocence of a murder in the neighborhood of their city. The psalmist means therefore to assert his readiness to pledge himself in like manner that he is not bringing defilement to Jehovah's altar. But who could praise Jehovah, lifting up unclean hands to Him?
- Blood stains. An unsolved killing still marks the land. God will not let unclaimed guilt lie there.
- Hands washed. The elders' washing declares innocence; it is not a confession. Clean hands, yet the city still needs God to provide atonement.
- Justice first. Judges guard righteousness. Only after the victim dies do the priests, the channels of grace, come near.
- Christ pictured. The heifer that never wore a yoke points to Christ, tying the crime to the death that cleanses it. Commentators differ on whether the broken neck is sacrifice or judgment.
- Imitation fails. Pilate copied the ritual and stayed guilty. Cleansing comes only when guilty hands look to the One they pierced.
and shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
A man lies dead in open country, and no one knows who killed him. The elders of the nearest town break a heifer's neck in a valley and say these words over it.
The elders are not owning the crime. They are clearing themselves and the town they speak for, while the priests stand by as witnesses.
When the elders had broken the neck of the heifer, the priests were to be there as witnesses to the declaration made by the elders of the nearby city. Those elders were to wash their hands over the heifer, as a sign that their hands were clean in the matter of the murder. This was no confession of guilt, but the opposite. Then they were to make the declaration on behalf of the city itself: their hands had not shed this innocent blood, and they knew nothing about what had happened.
God gives the elders their words; they do not compose them. One writer notes how rarely that happens:
Twice we read of God giving Israel a form of words to use when they speak to Him. But we do not read that they said those words over and over afterwards (Deut. 21:7-8; Deut. 26:13-15).
The ritual exists because someone has done a real wrong that no investigation can trace. That is why God steps in.
A sin is committed. A man is found slain in the land. But no one knows anything about it. No one can tell whether it is murder or manslaughter, or who did it. It lies entirely beyond the range of human knowledge. And yet, there it is, an undeniable fact. Sin has been committed, and it lies as a stain on the Lord's land, and man is wholly unable to deal with it.
The elders wash their hands over the dead heifer. Where they wash is the point:
"I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O LORD." The true place to wash the hands is where the blood of atonement has forever cleared our guilt.
The same writer traces a rule that runs through the whole Bible. He also finds two deaths in this scene, each saying something different:
Sin must be judged before sins can be forgiven, or the sinner justified. Before mercy can speak from heaven, justice must be fully satisfied, the throne of God vindicated, and His Name glorified. Grace must reign through righteousness… The death of Christ is seen here in its two great aspects: as the expression of man's guilt, and the display of God's grace. We have the first in the man found slain in the field, and the second in the heifer slain in the rough valley.
Commentators read the elders' plea as a picture of Israel's own future plea over the death of Christ.
The elders excuse themselves by pleading that they did not know what had happened. The same thing will happen with Israel. Paul pleads the same way. Yet only the blood of the heifer that never bore a yoke can wipe away sin. That is how God will take the guilt of innocent blood off the people.
Yet clean hands are not what clear them:
He will not excuse them because their own hands did not do the deed. It was of course done long before; still it was done there… He will not take excuses for it. Nor will He judge them as beyond recovery. When grace has turned their heart, He will make provision for them. The very sacrifice of Christ, in all its atoning power, will clear them of the guilt of shedding His precious blood.
The contrast with the Roman governor who tried the same gesture is direct. He had handled the case himself:
There was no excuse for Pilate, any more than for the leaders of Israel. All were guilty of condemning the innocent One. Pilate knew what he was doing. Three times over he declared Jesus to be guiltless. Yet he had the nerve to wash his hands before the mob and say, "I am innocent of this man's blood" (Matthew 27:24). How could he be innocent of His blood? He scourged Jesus and gave Him over to the will of those who cried for His blood.
- Stain. Blood shed by an unknown hand still marks the land, and no human process can remove it.
- Standing. The elders speak for their whole city. Guilt here is a community matter, not just a private one.
- Sacrifice. The elders wash their hands over a slain victim. The slain man shows man's guilt; the heifer shows God's grace.
- Sequence. Judges before priests — justice satisfied first, then mercy is free to speak.
- Scope. Commentators apply the plea to Israel's future. Ignorance will not excuse the death of Christ, but the blood of Christ clears the guilt.
Forgive thy people Israel, whom thou, Jehovah, hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood to the charge of thy people Israel; and the blood shall be expiated for them.
A killing no one can solve still stains the land. The elders of the nearest town stand over a slain heifer and pray. Verse 8 is that prayer: they ask God to cover what they cannot, for a people He has already redeemed.
This prayer belongs to a case that no search can solve.
Someone commits a sin; a man is found killed in the land. No one knows anything about it. No one can tell whether it is murder or manslaughter, or who did it. It lies entirely beyond the range of human knowledge. And yet, there it is, an undeniable fact. Sin has been committed, and it lies as a stain on the Lord's land, and man is completely unable to deal with it.
Both the request and the answer in this verse translate one Hebrew verb, and its root idea is covering.
kaphar, 'to cover,' Deut. 21:8; Ps. 78:38; Jer. 18:23. It is also translated 'atonement.'
This covering belongs to a particular class. It does not settle a soul's standing before God. It guards God's government of His land, and it comes before judgment falls, not after.
The Old Testament shows atonement in two distinct lights. One has to do with God's ways of government on earth. The other has to do with the standing of people, and of Israel, before Him… Under God's governmental ways it divides into two parts. One is atonement made to prevent God's governmental dealing. The other shows how atonement was made to stop it once it had begun. Examples of the first kind are given in Ex. 30:15-16; Num. 8:19, 31:50, 35:33; Deut. 21:8.
The elders bring no sin offering. Their words hand the whole problem back to God.
They bring no offering to make atonement for the guilt, because the guilty person was not known, but they were to ask the Lord to provide atonement according to His own perfect wisdom, and that He would not charge Israel with the guilt of this murder (v.8). … God would Himself provide atonement on their behalf, and the guilt of innocent blood would be put away (vs.8-9).
The order of events in this law carries the lesson.
The moment the claims of justice were met by the death of the victim, a new element is introduced into the scene. "The priests the sons of Levi shall come near." This is grace acting on the blessed ground of righteousness. The priests are the channels of grace, as the judges are the guardians of righteousness… It was not until the blood was shed that the ministers of grace could present themselves. The heifer beheaded in the valley changed the aspect of things completely.
Commentators read the unnamed victim as pointing to one particular death, and the heifer as pointing to the only remedy for it.
We cannot fail to see that the blood of Christ is, above all, that of which Israel is here (chap. 21) guilty (see Psalm 51), and the blood of Jesus is the only atonement for the sin which shed it. The elders excuse themselves by pleading their ignorance of what had been done. The same thing will happen with Israel… However, there is nothing but the blood of the heifer which never bore the yoke that can wipe away sin.
On that reading the prayer of verse 8 is still waiting for its full answer.
Blood guilt rests on them, for they cried "His blood be on us and on our children." And the nation has suffered as a result of it. But there is a full expiation coming through Him who prayed for them on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." He died for them as the heifer (the type of Christ) died in the rough valley (the type of His deep humiliation) for the unknown murder. Then God will graciously answer the prayer in verse 8, when Israel turns to the Lord in the day He appears.
Commentators differ on whether this rite is an atonement at all.
Here we have the expiation of an uncertain murder. Yet is it an expiation? There is certainly no mention of blood poured out, still less presented to God… But the murderer is not found; and if he were, for him there could be no atonement; the elders who represent the city claim innocence, they do not take the guilt on themselves. So it hardly seems that atonement could work this way.
- Stain — a killing no one can solve still marks the land, and no one in Israel can clear it.
- Cover — "Accept atonement" and "atoned for" translate one verb that means to cover. This covering guards God's rule over the land before judgment falls.
- Ask — the elders bring no sacrifice. They ask God to supply the atonement His own wisdom provides.
- Order — judges before priests: a death meets justice first, and only then does grace come near.
- Answer — commentators see the innocent blood as Christ's and the heifer as a picture of His death. The prayer waits for the day Israel turns to the Lord. Others doubt the rite is an atonement at all.
So shalt thou put away innocent blood from thy midst, when thou shalt do what is right in the eyes of Jehovah.
Deuteronomy 21 opens with a body in a field and no way to name the killer. This verse closes the ceremony and answers a hard question: how is a town cleared of a crime it cannot trace?
The problem is not the size of the sin. It is the reach of human knowledge.
Someone has sinned, and a man is found dead in the land. But no one knows anything about it. No one can tell whether it is murder or manslaughter, or who did it. It lies entirely beyond the range of human knowledge. And yet, there it is, an undeniable fact. Sin has been committed, and it lies as a stain on the Lord's land, and man is completely unable to deal with it.
The land belongs to God, and so does life. That is why Israel could not close the file on an unsolved killing.
Deuteronomy 21 gives another rule to keep the land from being defiled by blood. It also declares, as other passages do, that life belongs to God. When someone violates His rights, He will not overlook it... Yet nothing can wipe away sin except the blood of the heifer that never bore a yoke. So the guilt of innocent blood will be taken off the people.
The animal is not killed on an altar. Its neck is broken in an untouched valley. Commentators differ: one speaks of the heifer's blood, another says no blood was shed at all.
They took a young heifer that had never been worked or put under a yoke. They brought it down to a valley with running water, a valley in its original condition. There the elders were to break the heifer's neck (v.4). This was not a sacrifice at all; it involved no bloodshed. In fact, it reminds us of Exodus 13:13, "Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck." This is judgment, not sacrifice. So it condemned the murderer, even though no one knew who he was.
Notice the order. The elders and judges act first. The priests, who bless in the LORD's name, step forward only after the death.
Here is something worth noticing. The moment the death of the victim met the claims of justice, a new element enters the scene. "Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward." This is grace acting on the blessed ground of righteousness. The priests are the channels of grace, as the judges are the guardians of righteousness... Only after the blood was shed could the ministers of grace present themselves.
The washing of hands is a denial, not an admission. Since no one can name the killer, doing what is right here means leaving the atonement to God.
They bring no offering to make atonement for the guilt, because the guilty person was not known. Instead they were to ask the Lord to provide atonement in His own perfect wisdom, and not to charge Israel with the guilt of this murder (v.8). God would Himself provide atonement for them, and the guilt of innocent blood would be put away (vs.8-9).
Some writers read the scene as a picture of Christ's death. It was the worst crime men ever did, and it is the only cleansing.
It is just so that Christ has been found slain in this world: God is willing to regard it so... He will not excuse them because their own hands did not do the deed. It was done long before, of course; still it was done there... And He will not treat them as beyond hope. He will provide for them when grace has turned their heart. Then the very sacrifice of Christ, in all its expiatory power, may clear them of the guilt of shedding His precious blood... On man's side it was the worst possible guilt; in God's grace it is the one thing that cleanses from guilt.
On this reading, the prayer of verse 8 still waits for its answer.
There is a full expiation coming through Him who prayed for them on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." He died for them just as the heifer died in the rough valley for the unknown murder. The heifer pictures Christ, and the valley pictures His deep humiliation. Then God will answer the prayer of verse 8 in grace, when Israel turns to the Lord on the day He appears.
- Stain. An unsolved killing still stains God's land. Life belongs to God, and He will not let the wrong pass.
- Sentence. The heifer's broken neck in an untouched valley is judgment, not sacrifice. It condemns a murderer no one could name.
- Sequence. The judges guard righteousness and act first. The priests, the channels of grace, come only after the death. Grace stands on the ground of righteousness.
- Surrender. The city cannot name the killer. So it washes its hands, denies the deed, and asks God Himself to provide the atonement.
- Substitute. Commentators see Christ in both figures. The slain man exposes human guilt; the heifer supplies the only cleansing. The prayer of verse 8 is answered when Israel turns to the Lord.