Deuteronomy 21

As you read today, it is helpful to remember that the land that God was giving His people was His in the first place. “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof…” (Psalm 24:1). Accordingly, God’s desire was not only for His people to be a holy, set-apart, purified nation, but He also longed for the land in which the Israelites would reside to be clean and undefiled as well. Thus, the provision of commands regarding unsolved murders and individuals who were hanged on a tree as punishment for a capital offense. Let’s look at some important elements of both that foreshadow the sacrificial death of the Messiah.

To the former, elders of the city that was nearest to the individual who lay dead would bring a heifer down to the valley to be slaughtered as atonement for the mysterious death (vv. 3-4). After breaking the heifer’s neck, they would “wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, and they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed. Accept atonement, O LORD, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for’” (vv. 6-8). 

In a display of His grace, God would cleanse the land and forgive His people, thereby satisfying His Law, even though the murderer remained unknown. Warren Wiersbe says of this passage: “That this ritual relates to Jesus Christ and His atoning work is clear from the elders’ words, ‘Do not lay innocent blood to the charge of your people Israel’…On that tragic day when Israel asked to have her Messiah crucified, Pilate washed his hands and said, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood,’ and the people replied, ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children’…Like that innocent heifer, Jesus died for the nation and even prayed from the cross”[i] that God would forgive them of their wrongdoing (Luke 23:34). What grace, indeed! 

Regarding the command to take down a criminal’s body that was displayed on a tree (likely to deter similar nefarious actions from onlookers), “his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance” (v. 23). You may recall from Deuteronomy 16:4 that God also commanded that no “flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day [shall] remain all night until morning.”

Stay with me for a moment as I connect these dots. With those verses in mind, let’s read Luke 23:50-53: “Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid.” And in Galatians 3:13, we read that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’” These are yet more examples of how our Lord Jesus Christ (even in His burial) fulfilled every aspect of God’s laws completely and perfectly. 

In between these two passages are instructions for men when taking female captives to be their wives, along with commands concerning the rights of a firstborn and how to deal with willfully and persistently defiant children. A quick word on each provision, all of which were for the good of the individuals involved, as well as for the broader congregation of people:

·       Although the Israelites were not to take for themselves wives from the land in which they would inherit, they were allowed to marry women from areas far away from Canaan. However, the expectation was that these women would shave their heads, pare their nails, and shed their old clothing (vv. 12-13). In doing so, these new brides would declare their allegiance to Israel’s God by renouncing their former way of living. Isn’t that what we, as the bride of Christ, are called to do as well (Ephesians 4:22)?

·       Having multiple spouses at the same time is nowhere close to God’s design for marriage, and we see a potential pitfall of this polygamous relationship in verses 15-17. In such an arrangement, a man is inevitably going to love one wife over another. So what happens when it’s time to give his inheritance, and the firstborn (who is entitled to the double portion) was born to the unloved woman? Shall the oldest son be unfairly passed over in place of a child born to the more esteemed wife? Not with a just God, who makes clear that the firstborn, even if he is “the son of the unloved,” shall receive his proper “right of the firstborn” (v. 17). Even when sin is rampant in the home, God’s purposes will prevail. 

·       Reading about the rebellious son certainly conjures up images of the parable of the prodigal son from Luke 15. In the context of Deuteronomy 21, this boy’s heart was hardened to his parents’ instruction and discipline, and his disobedience threatened to disrupt the social order of the Israelite community. Such defiance must be dealt with, even if that meant stoning the child (v. 21). May our children understand the importance of obeying their parents’ godly teaching, as it trains their hearts to submit to their Father in heaven, affirms God’s intent for the household, and helps to establish a virtuous society. 

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Journal responses to the following prompts:

·       Have you renounced your old way of living and declared your allegiance to Jesus?

·       Parents, are you intentionally teaching your children God’s truths from Scripture? Are they heeding your instruction? 

[i] Wiersbe, W. W. (2001). The Bible exposition commentary: The Pentateuch. David C. Cook. p. 430.