Deuteronomy 21:3-4 - 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 plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in
the valley they are to break the heifer’s neck.
Deuteronomy 21 contains many miscellaneous rules for dealing
with the rarer occurrences the Israelites might have encountered. From who
offers the sacrifice for a man slain with no apparent person to pin in on…to
how to take as a wife a captive form the many battles they would fight.
My first thought was what in the world would God be telling
me to work on from these passages. Then it
hit me. Someone had to make atonement for every sin that was committed. The
elders of the nearest town must find an unworked heifer…and take it to an
unplowed valley…and offer it up to God to atone for the sin that was committed…even
when no one could be blamed for the sin.
Jesus came to fulfill this concept…and offered up his life
as an atonement for all sins. No death penalty would ever be more sacrificial.
No death would ever be required again …for any sin …after his selfless act of
love.
What a great reminder of the price paid for my freedom. I am
so guilty of taking the gift of atonement Jesus gave me for granted. I needed a reminder to thank him today for my
life…and the lives of all my Christian family that believe.
Thank you father for the gift of love you gave to the world
in your son. Forgive me for all the days I have forgotten to thank you. Help me
to find new ways to pay forward his gift …so that more people will come to know
his love ...and receive this wonderful gift of atonement for sin. Amen.
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