Please explain?

[alexiscurious]

Atonement for an Unsolved Murder
21 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, 2 your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. 3 Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke 4 and lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer’s neck. 5 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. 6 Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, 7 and they shall declare: “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. 8 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, 9 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.


Does God dictate what to do in these types of situations or did someone just make this up? Why is this necessary?

 

[Jeremy E Walker]

Atonement for an Unsolved Murder
21 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, 2 your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. 3 Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke 4 and lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer’s neck. 5 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. 6 Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, 7 and they shall declare: “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. 8 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, 9 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.


Does God dictate what to do in these types of situations or did someone just make this up? Why is this necessary?

God dictated this.

It was necessary in order to atone for the shedding of innocent blood.

 

[oi_antz]

God dictated this.

It was necessary in order to atone for the shedding of innocent blood.

Can you please explain your reasons for these beliefs? It will be a useful response. The verses leading into Deuteronomy 21 indicate that Moses is making this statement, and is recorded as a statement of fact by someone else who knew about it. Why did you say God has dictated these words? And, do you understand why this action is necessary to atone for shedding of innocent blood, or do you just believe it without understanding it? These things are not clear in your response. It would be nice, helpful, useful and decent to assist people in gaining understanding when they seek it. That is usually appreciated, and I will be grateful for it.

 

[juvenissun]

Atonement for an Unsolved Murder
21 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, 2 your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. 3 Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke 4 and lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer’s neck. 5 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. 6 Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, 7 and they shall declare: “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. 8 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, 9 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.


Does God dictate what to do in these types of situations or did someone just make this up? Why is this necessary?

If the dead is a pagan, then it won't take so much trouble.

One of God's people died in mystery, then his brothers NEED to take care of it. What's said is the best way to handle this situation.

What would be done today if someone was found dead in the woods and no cause can be identified? In comparison, Jews did A LOT MORE than what we do today.

 

[parsley]

The laws were written while the Hebrews were in transit in the desert, with no other governing system. They needed some set of laws to live by.
Adherence to the laws was "so you would live long in the land" (and not kill each other).

Readers these days tend to assume that since the laws were in the Bible, they were completely religious laws. They will say things like, "We are free from the Law."

But we live under regional jurisdictions now, that accomplish some of the same things.

Moses led what was believed to be 2.5 million people out of Egypt, through the desert for 40 years. Imagine all the selfish and destructive behavior that could come up, in a lawless mass.

The passage above seems like a formality for closure. Each country tried to determine who the criminal was, and instead of starting a war over blaming the neighboring nation, they created a formality to say "case closed."

Some of the animal deaths were used for food after ceremony, so it was not like they enjoyed torturing innocent animals. People had to eat, and the ceremony added respect for what those involved had to go through. It even recognized the value of the life, when it appears to do the opposite.

I once worked in a region where blood feuds went on for generations. If one person was wronged, the families would despise each other without letting the offense drift into the past.

The arrangement in the verse, helped eliminate the risk of continual sabotage and rivalry.