#345 Empathy For The Dead

If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him:

2 Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:

3 And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke;

4 And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley:

5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:

6 And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:

7 And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.

8 Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.

9 So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord.

10 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,

11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;

12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house, and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;

13 And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.

14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

15 If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:

16 Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:

17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:

19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;

20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:

23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. Deuteronomy 21 KJV

Not knowing who was struck down, why they were struck down, or by whom, was still not a light matter and there were those that would and should investigate. If they could not find the murderer then there was still ceremony that took place in order to remove the blame from the land. The guilty may still walk among us, but they do not go unpunished for our lack of concern, nor do we hide them, but rather they live to our ignorance. Remember, what men may not be able to unfold is not concealed to God. This applies to the murderer and to the one whose heart holds malice, whose thoughts are contrary to a Holy God. I am not a saint or a sage, but when I see the heifer and such a ceremony, I am reminded of a God that seems more than reluctant to become desensitized to such a crime. As human beings the ceremony is a reminder that our ability to be cold or hardened is the result, a symptom of original sin. As those being reconciled to such a Holy Being, we must refuse this complacency, for what does it say? It does not seem to regard the lives of others, when we walk by without interest, and those that would say, "well it's no one I know", or "it's not happening to me." When you have done it unto one of the least of these, the least known, the human shadows, the poor, sick, lost, hungry, lonely, and who am I so proud of my wall of disinterest? No, every death should bring me to the reality of my own, and every sin I see in others, everything that appalls should drive me to the cross and I should ask God daily, "am I missing anything?" Is there anything else that bothers You that I have come to accept? Forgive me, Oh God, of my complacency.


There are things that were in this time of the law, socially acceptable, but not the way they had been from the beginning. Just because you were at war with another did not diminish their person. God had chosen to exact final judgment on some, but to Israel, He made clear His intent to show grace undeserved. With that in mind, when a woman was kept alive from their enemy, she was here afforded dignity. She could be your wife, but had to be esteemed as such and her feelings taken into account, for after all, she had just lost so much. Empathy, and it was not to be a respecter of persons, for the oldest son was the oldest not by the favored wife, but by the date of birth, or the right of God. There are those systems that require a change of heart to see. If there was not a Holy God then there is no concern over unrighteousness. If men are not made in His image then there is no concern of claim, of His ownership. The murderer above is free if there is no God, for though we may fear the wolf among us, they couldn't figure out who he was. I don't believe that men wrote these things of their own, that this is merely the God of the Hebrews, but rather I believe it to be God breathed and that the murderer will give an answer, but here it is also that the one without empathy will answer as well. The parent shall not hide the child from justice and in the end no one is hidden anyway. It all ends with God.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.^[c] Do not be conceited.

¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[d] says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”^[e]

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good