“The elders of that city shall take an heifer which hath not been wrought with and which had not drawn in the yoke … unto a rough valley which is neither eared (plowed) nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley” Deuteronomy 21:3-4 KJV

“The elders of that city, shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been worked and which has not pulled in a yoke… down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley.” Deuteronomy 21:3-4 NASB

Deuteronomy 21 contains the original “murder mystery.” A man has been found slain in the field and no one has been apprehended and found responsible. Moses, directed by the Spirit of God, outlined how the loss of a life was to be dealt with and how the land was to be cleansed and “the guilt of innocent blood” put away.

The ritual required the elders from the city, closest to the murder, to bring a heifer into a valley specified as barren. There, they were to put the heifer to death and then wash their hands over the heifer proclaiming their innocence. The presumption of guilt was directly related, thus, to the nearness to the victim. The guilt which hung over the city was transferred to the heifer.

In this ritual was a glimpse of a far greater transaction and contrast:

A Fruitful Heifer in a Fruitless Valley

The heifer was chosen as the source of life. In contrast, the slaying took place in a barren valley which had never seen the plow or the reaper. The Lord Jesus, the source of life, the only fruitful Man Who ever graced planet earth, came to a barren and fruitless scene. Here was One replete, abundant, and rich with all the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit. He was marked by love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Never had earth seen such a Man. His fruitfulness was made more evident by the sinfulness in which He moved.

Here God could finally rest His eye and find all His heart ever longed to see in a Man. Here was a Man like none other. And yet, this is the very One Who had to descend into the valley and give His life.

Life amidst the Lifeless

The barren valley was a reminder of the curse; here was the fruit of sin. A world once meant to teem with fruit and yield an abundance of harvest is found barren. Sin had done its deadly work. Into this valley of death came the very Life of life. Life stepped into death and brought forth life! He must come into the valley of death to conquer it and make it possible to bring forth fruit for the pleasure of God. Any and all fruit in a believer’s life comes by way of the death of this Life.

Beauty amidst Barrenness

The very beauty of the heifer must have been a marked contrast to the rough and barren valley. In like manner, the beauty of Christ is such that it makes everything else appear ugly and barren. All that was lacking in the valley of this world was in Him. He is the summation of all that is lovely (Song of Songs 5:16).

Consider

Look at Deuteronomy 21 and see how many pictures and reminders of Christ you can see.

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