Introduction
‘If someone is found slain, lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who the killer was, your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighbouring towns. Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke and lead it down to a valley that has not been ploughed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer’s neck. The Levitical priests shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault. Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, and they shall declare: “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, LORD, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent person.” Then the bloodshed will be atoned for, and you will have purged from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.’ Deuteronomy 21:1-9
ATONEMENT FOR AN UNSOLVED MURDER
Moses begins by speaking about finding someone who had been murdered but no one witnessed the murder and no one knows how the person was murdered, Deuteronomy 21:1. In other words, sin took place in the land due to the fact that a body lay unattended and was obviously murdered.
He says that the elders and the judges of the land are to measure the distance from the body to the nearest town, Deuteronomy 21:2. The elders of the town nearest the body are instructed to take a heifer, which had never been used for work, lead it down to a valley that has not been ploughed or planted and where there is a flowing stream and break its neck, Deuteronomy 21:3-4 / Exodus 13:13.
The priests are to step forward, for God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in His Name and to decide all cases of dispute and assault, Deuteronomy 21:5. All the elders of the town nearest the body are to wash their hands over the heifer, Deuteronomy 21:6.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Washing the hands, in reference to such a subject as this, was a rite anciently used to signify that the persons thus washing were innocent of the crime in question. It was probably from the Jews that Pilate learned this symbolical method of expressing his innocence.’
A prayer was offered by the elders of the town on behalf of the people that the sin of murder would be forgiven and everyone was declared to be innocent of the murder, Deuteronomy 21:7-8 / Matthew 27:24. The priests were to present the heifer as an atonement offering, Numbers 35:33-34, and so, the heifer would be used to pay the price of sin since no murderer was found.
It appears that the elders functioned as a council to prepare the sacrifice, and the priests, the sons of Levi, would make final judgments and carry out the sacrifice, Deuteronomy 1:9-17 / Deuteronomy 16:18-20 / Exodus 18:13-26. When Israel do this, they will have purged from themselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since they have done what is right in God’s eyes, Deuteronomy 21:9.
MARRYING A CAPTIVE WOMAN
‘When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives, if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife. Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonoured her.’ Deuteronomy 21:10-14
When Israel go to war against their enemies and the God delivers them into their hands and they take captives, and if they notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, they may take her as their wife Deuteronomy 21:10-11.
We must note that taking an enemy’s beautiful woman as a wife didn’t include the Canaanite women, as God said they were to be put to death, Deuteronomy 20:16-17, and He has already commanded Israel not to marry Canaanite women, Deuteronomy 7:1-5.
The shaving of her head, Deuteronomy 21:12 / Leviticus 14:8 / Numbers 8:7, trimming her nails, Deuteronomy 21:12 / 2 Samuel 19:24, and putting aside her clothes, Deuteronomy 21:13, was a ceremony to demonstrate her total separation from the pagan gods and practices of the nation from which she came. In order to show respect to the woman, she was allowed to mourn her parents for a month, Deuteronomy 21:13 / Numbers 20:29.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This is prescribed from motives of humanity, that the woman might have time and leisure to detach her affections from their natural ties and prepare her mind for new ones.’
Notice if the husband got to the point where he didn’t care for her anymore, that is, he’s not pleased with her anymore, he couldn’t just sell the woman to slavery or treat her as a slave because he had already dishonoured her, that is, taken away her virginity, Deuteronomy 21:14. Because she had been elevated above her captive state, she had the same rights as an Israelite woman.
THE RIGHT OF THE FIRSTBORN
‘If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love, when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love. He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.’ Deuteronomy 21:15-17
Here Moses tells us if the one who is loved less gives birth to the firstborn, the firstborn still had all the rights of the firstborn, regardless of the fact that the mother was loved less than the other wife, Deuteronomy 21:15-17 / Genesis 48:22 / 2 Kings 2:9.
It appears that having multiple wives was already happening in Israel at this time, perhaps they followed the example of Abraham who married Sarah and Hagar and Jacob who married Sarah and Leah.
We must note that this was never God’s plan, God had always had in mind one man and one woman in a marriage, Matthew 19:5 / Matthew 19:8 / Ephesians 5:22-31. As we see with Abraham and Jacob, polygamous marriages are full of strife and jealousy and there are always those who are loved less.
A REBELLIOUS SON
‘If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.’ Deuteronomy 21:18-21
Is it possible that this stubborn and rebellious son was the product of polygamous marriage? If a son could not be controlled by the parents, because he is stubborn and rebellious, Deuteronomy 21:18 / Deuteronomy 1:26, then it became the responsibility of the elders of the town to deal with the son, Deuteronomy 21:19.
We must note that the son couldn’t be stoned simply because he was stubborn and rebellious. Notice he was accused of being a glutton, a drunkard and not obeying his parents, Deuteronomy 21:20 / Mark 7:10 / Ephesians 6:1 / Colossians 3:20.
If it turned out that the son was indeed stubborn and rebellious, then it was the responsibility of all the men of the town to execute the judgment of stoning the son to death, Deuteronomy 21:20-21. He must have demonstrated in his rebellion an offence which was bad enough to receive capital punishment, Exodus 20:12 / Exodus 21:15 / Exodus 21:17 / Leviticus 20:9 / Deuteronomy 22:20-27.
Notice again that God says, ‘you must purge the evil from among you’, Deuteronomy 21:21. When all of Israel heard and saw what happened to the rebellious son, they would be afraid and all the sons of Israel would certainly think twice about doing the same, Deuteronomy 21:21 / Deuteronomy 13:5 / Deuteronomy 17:7 / Deuteronomy 17:12 / Deuteronomy 19:19.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This law, severe as it may seem, must have acted as a powerful preventive of crime. If such a law were in force now, and duly executed, how many deaths of disobedient and profligate children would there be in all corners of the land!’
VARIOUS LAWS
‘If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole, you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.’ Deuteronomy 21:22-23
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘There were four methods of execution in use among the ancient Jews, stoning, Exodus 17:4 / Deuteronomy 13:10, etc, burning, Leviticus 20:14 / Leviticus 21:9, the sword, Exodus 32:27, and strangulation. The latter, though not named in Scripture, is regarded by the rabbis as the most common, and the proper one to be adopted when no other is expressly enjoined by the Law.’
If someone was guilty of a capital offence such as adultery, rape, disobedience to parents etc, they were to be put to death, Deuteronomy 21:22. These guilty ones weren’t to be left on the wood hanging overnight, Deuteronomy 21:23 / Joshua 8:29 / Joshua 10:26-27.
The are to bury the corpse that same day because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse, Deuteronomy 21:23. Such an offender couldn’t remain on the face of the earth without defiling it, Deuteronomy 21:23 / Leviticus 18:24-25 / Leviticus 18:28 / Numbers 35:34, and were thereby to be removed after their punishment, Deuteronomy 21:23.
Death by hanging on a tree exposed the body of the one executed, their shameful deeds were publicly exposed to view and it carried with it the curse of God, Deuteronomy 21:23 / Numbers 25:4 / 2 Samuel 4:12. In this way, Jesus was cursed by being hanged on the tree of the cross for our sins, John 19:31 / Galatians 3:13-14.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The curse of God is probably regarded as lying on the malefactor because, from the fact of his being hanged, he must have been guilty of a peculiarly atrocious breach of God’s covenant. Such an offender could not remain on the face of the earth without defiling it, Leviticus 18:25-28 / Numbers 35:34. Therefore after the penalty of his crime had been inflicted, and he had hung for a time as a public example, the Holy land was to be at once and entirely delivered from his presence. The placing of the body on a tree was not that which made the person accursed but was an external sign or token of his being an accursed one. Once again these incidents indicate God’s passionate distaste for unlawful living.’
The apostle Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21:22-23 in Galatians 3:13-14, signifying the terrible death our Lord suffered in our place. The curse of the law is that man had to keep everything which was written in it, Deuteronomy 27:26. The problem is that no one was capable of keeping all the law, no one was capable of being justified through the law and as a result, everyone was left under a curse, that is deserving God’s judgement, Romans 3:9 / Romans 3:23.
The good news is that Jesus took this curse, the punishment for sin, upon Himself for us, Isaiah 53:8. Jesus didn’t become sinful as some believe when they read 2 Corinthians 5:21. Notice the footnote on this verse, Jesus became a sin offering not sinful. He simply took the curse of God, the punishment for sins and thus redeemed us from having to pay the price of God’s curse against sin, Galatians 3:13-14.