"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."
--Deuteronomy 21:9 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on April 8, 2013 of Psalm 71:1-13; Romans 7:7-25; Deuteronomy 21-22.
Moses spends most of the book of Deuteronomy (starting near the end of chapter four and going through chapter twenty-six) recalling the laws and commandments handed down by God and how they are to be applied and put into practice by the children of Israel after they've entered the Promised Land. The latter part of this section deals with commands concerning human relations. Today's focus verse specifically addresses manslaughter, using the example of a person's remains being discovered but no one is found to have witnessed their death nor is there any evidence available that could help in the assignment of guilt. So the assumption is made that the city nearest to where the body was located is at least partly responsible for the person's death, and therefore responsible for taking measures to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. The ritual described in verses one through eight provide the means for that city to atone itself for the person's death in the eyes of God. Following this procedure would be doing "what is right in the sight of the Lord" and would allow the people to atone from "the guilt of innocent blood".
So many times today, with our near-instantaneous news delivery, we hear of innocent blood being spent, whether in some far off land by senseless war or tyrannical oppression, or here at home by even more senseless murder. How can we, as a society, atone for this blood shed? Sacrificing a young bull and washing our hands over it while intoning sacred words doesn't really fit our American culture. Besides, Jesus came down to be man's last sacrifice, the spotless Lamb, for once and for all (please reference Hebrews 7:27 and 9:12, among others). And since simply trying to wash his hands of Jesus' innocent blood didn't work too well for Pontius Pilate (please reference Matthew 27:24), we, corporately together as a people, need some other way to seek God's forgiveness and try to rectify the situation that caused the death.
Too often innocent blood is shed on our nation's highways. We try to do what we feel would be right in the eyes of God by setting reasonable speed limits, making our vehicles and roads safer, and increasing penalties for those who do not heed society's laws and regulations. The organization Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) is probably the best known for this type of activity, doing everything they can to try to prevent more innocent life from being spilled out. Other groups and organizations work to help end wars and armed conflicts around the world, very often trying to see to the needs of those most impacted by the fighting, especially those left orphaned or widowed. But our society as a whole seems to turn a blind eye to the spilling of the most innocent blood through abortion. Those people and groups who try to combat the taking of this precious life are shunned and vilified. Would God view this as right in His sight? Would He feel abortion to be an action we need to atone ourselves of? Would He consider our actions in this regard to be right in His sight? We can do better. We must do better. Amen.
Almighty God, thank You for showing us that we, as individuals and as a society, bear and share the responsibility when innocent blood is shed. Thank You for inspiring us with various ways we can atone for these occurrences and improve the overall environment so that the circumstances may not repeat themselves, and in that way prevent more innocents from losing their lives. Forgive us, dearest Father, when we fail to act in a manner that would be pleasing in Your sight. Lord Jesus, in Your merciful name we pray. Amen.
So many times today, with our near-instantaneous news delivery, we hear of innocent blood being spent, whether in some far off land by senseless war or tyrannical oppression, or here at home by even more senseless murder. How can we, as a society, atone for this blood shed? Sacrificing a young bull and washing our hands over it while intoning sacred words doesn't really fit our American culture. Besides, Jesus came down to be man's last sacrifice, the spotless Lamb, for once and for all (please reference Hebrews 7:27 and 9:12, among others). And since simply trying to wash his hands of Jesus' innocent blood didn't work too well for Pontius Pilate (please reference Matthew 27:24), we, corporately together as a people, need some other way to seek God's forgiveness and try to rectify the situation that caused the death.
Too often innocent blood is shed on our nation's highways. We try to do what we feel would be right in the eyes of God by setting reasonable speed limits, making our vehicles and roads safer, and increasing penalties for those who do not heed society's laws and regulations. The organization Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) is probably the best known for this type of activity, doing everything they can to try to prevent more innocent life from being spilled out. Other groups and organizations work to help end wars and armed conflicts around the world, very often trying to see to the needs of those most impacted by the fighting, especially those left orphaned or widowed. But our society as a whole seems to turn a blind eye to the spilling of the most innocent blood through abortion. Those people and groups who try to combat the taking of this precious life are shunned and vilified. Would God view this as right in His sight? Would He feel abortion to be an action we need to atone ourselves of? Would He consider our actions in this regard to be right in His sight? We can do better. We must do better. Amen.
Almighty God, thank You for showing us that we, as individuals and as a society, bear and share the responsibility when innocent blood is shed. Thank You for inspiring us with various ways we can atone for these occurrences and improve the overall environment so that the circumstances may not repeat themselves, and in that way prevent more innocents from losing their lives. Forgive us, dearest Father, when we fail to act in a manner that would be pleasing in Your sight. Lord Jesus, in Your merciful name we pray. Amen.
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