Deuteronomy 21:1 - Meaning and Application

God had already given laws to pursue a deliberate murderer with energy and effect, so that putting him to death would remove the guilt of blood from the land (Deuteronomy 19:11). But if the murderer could not be found, the people must not think the land was safe from pollution just because the crime was not their fault. God therefore set up a serious public ceremony to remove the guilt, as a sign of how much they feared and hated that sin.

The case here is this: a body is found, and no one knows who killed him (Deuteronomy 21:1). At times, God’s providence has brought hidden crimes into the light, and guilt has found the guilty in surprising ways, giving rise to the saying, “Murder will out.” Yet that does not always happen. Sometimes the devil’s promise of secrecy and safety in this life seems to hold for a while, but only for a while. A time is coming when secret murders will be exposed, because “the earth will disclose her blood” (Isaiah 26:21), and there is also a future judgment when those who escaped human punishment will stand before God’s righteous court. The fact that so many murders and other sins go unpunished now shows why there must be a day when God calls everything to account (Ecclesiastes 3:15).

God gave clear directions for what to do in this case. First, it is assumed that a careful search had already been made for the murderer. Witnesses were questioned, and the details were closely examined, so that if possible the guilty person could be found. If, after all that, no one could be charged, then the elders of the nearest city were to take responsibility for the matter. If there was doubt about which city was nearest, the great Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish court, was to send officers to measure it carefully (Deuteronomy 21:2, 3). Public leaders should care about the public good. Those with power and reputation in the cities must use their influence to correct wrongs and reform what is bad in the towns and countryside around them.

The priests and Levites, who served as religious leaders and teachers of the law, were to help and oversee this solemn act (Deuteronomy 21:5). They were to make sure everything was done according to God’s law, and especially they were to speak for the people in the prayer offered on this sad occasion (Deuteronomy 21:8). Since God was Israel’s king, his ministers also served as the people’s magistrates. In matters of law and dispute, they were to guide the nation by God’s word. This was a great privilege for Israel, and they were expected to use those leaders in all matters, especially in sacred ones like this.

Then they were to bring a heifer, a young cow, down into a rough, uncultivated valley, and kill it there (Deuteronomy 21:3, 4). This was not a sacrifice, since it was not brought to the altar. It was a solemn act showing that if the murderer had been in their hands, they would have put him to death. The heifer was to be one that had never worn a yoke, which some understand as a sign that the murderer was a worthless, lawless man. It was to be taken to a rough valley to show the horror of the crime and that bloodguilt makes a land barren. The Jews said that if the murderer was still not found after this, the valley where the heifer was killed was never to be plowed or sown again.

The elders were to wash their hands over the killed heifer and declare that they had not shed this innocent blood themselves, and that they did not know who had done it (Deuteronomy 21:6, 7). They were also to say that they had not hidden the murderer, helped him escape, or supported him in any way. David alludes to this custom when he says, “I will wash my hands in innocence” (Psalm 26:6). Pilate may have had this custom in mind when he washed his hands, but he shamefully twisted it. He knew Christ was innocent, yet still condemned him and tried to free himself from the guilt of innocent blood. A protest means nothing when the facts say otherwise.

The priests were then to pray for the land and nation, asking God to be merciful and not send on them the judgments that tolerated murder deserved. The murderer was likely from their city, or at least sheltered there, so they had reason to ask that they would not suffer because of his presence among them, as in the case of Korah’s company (Numbers 16:22). They were to pray, “Be merciful, O Lord, to your people Israel” (Deuteronomy 21:8). When we hear of the wickedness of the wicked, we should cry out to God for mercy on our land, because it groans and trembles under such sin. We must help empty the measure by our prayers when others are filling it by their sins.

This solemn act served several purposes. It gave people a reason to talk publicly about the murder, which might help uncover the truth. It also made them fear the guilt of blood, which stains not only the conscience of the person who sheds it, but also the land where it is shed. Blood cries out to the magistrate for justice, and if justice is refused, it cries to heaven for judgment. If so much care was needed to protect the land from guilt when the murderer was unknown, then it would have been far worse if the murderer were known and still protected. This ceremony taught everyone to do all they could to prevent, discover, and punish murder. Even the heathen sailors feared the guilt of blood (Jonah 1:14).

It also teaches us not to share in other people’s sins or become involved after the fact by approving the sin or protecting the sinner without speaking against it. We have fellowship with evil works if we do not reprove them, but instead remain silent where we should bear witness against them. The repentance of the church in Corinth over one member’s sin produced carefulness, clearing of themselves, indignation, fear, and a desire for justice (2 Corinthians 7:11). That same spirit is pictured in the solemn ceremony appointed here.