Deuteronomy 21:1-14
The Law Concerning Unsolved Murder
1 “If anyone is found slain, lying in the field in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance from the slain man to the surrounding cities. 3 And it shall be that the elders of the city nearest to the slain man will take a heifer which has not been worked and which has not pulled with a yoke. 4 The elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with flowing water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and they shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. 5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled. 6 And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. 7 Then they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it. 8 Provide atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not lay innocent blood to the charge of Your people Israel.’ And atonement shall be provided on their behalf for the blood. 9 So you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
Female Captives
10 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive, 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and desire her and would take her for your wife, 12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails. 13 She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a full month; after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have humbled her.
These laws of unsolved homicides and female captives taken in war are not directly related, yet have some things in common. Both require careful attention and diligence to ensure God is honored and our impulsiveness is kept at bay. Israel was commanded to exercise due diligence when a body was found, not jumping to conclusions, but to first determine the nearest location and put the case in their jurisdiction, not necessarily of the one who discovered the body. They were to also seek the LORD through sacrifice and a sign of their innocence, and to have the spiritual leaders settle the matter as our judges do today. This cleared the innocent from suspicion of guilt so the real perpetrators could be found and justice served. As for war brides, female prisoners of war, they could be taken as wives as long as they were respected and treated well with dignity. This means they were to be allowed to grieve their families before the marriage was consummated. Also if she was not pleasing to the new husband, she had to be set free and not sold as a slave and not treated badly because she had been humbled by killing her family and then taken as a wife and let go afterwards. These laws do not apply today as we do not go around taking women in war for wives, yet the principles of treating wives well in a divorce are similar. Divorce should be amicable and thoughtful, especially if it is the woman’s first marriage due to any attached stigma that others may feel. We can certainly learn some godly principles from these examples.
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