Deuteronomy 21

Heaven is a place without murder. We pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The Lord hears and answers prayer, and surely this prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray is agreeable to the will of God. But we do not see everything on earth in perfect conformity to His will, at least not yet. “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9)

Heaven is not a place of unsolved murders, captives of war, unloved spouses, and rebellious sons. The world has many examples of all of these sad situations.

Israel was to be the one place on earth that would be a display to the world of heaven, where the Law of the God of heaven was practiced. Yet the Law could not remove the curse for sin. Only the righteousness and blood of the Messiah could do that.

At the return of Christ, we will see the full power of His work displayed. Then the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray will be most fully answered, and the will of God will be completely accomplished on earth as it is in heaven.

Until the time when the Messiah first came and brought righteousness to earth and salvation through His blood, the Lord gave His people laws and rituals that testified to the seriousness of sin, and the hope of a better day. But how would righteousness actually come to the earth?

As the people of God waited, they could not consider murder a light matter. Murder brought guilt upon the land. Murder required a penalty. But what if the murderer could not be found. Could the blood of a heifer really make things right? Even if that might purge the guilt of innocent blood in a ceremonial way, at least for a time, would there ever be a better solution without any murder at all?

In Israel, there would be a curb on the power of a soldier's lust. But we are looking for a land without lust, where our eager love for the Lord is the source of every holy delight.

In Israel, it was unlawful for a man to deny his children just because he no longer loved their mother. But we are expecting a better end to the story of broken family life than a mere restraint on evil. We want everyone to experience the love of a perfect husband, and the provision of a fully devoted father.

In Israel, a village did not have to be terrorized forever by a rebellious undisciplined young man who would not listen to his parents. An unruly drunkard would be stoned to death on the testimony of his parents. But who would comfort the mother and father in their loss? Could this be the Lord's best solution to their heart-breaking problem?

A new and better day arrived for the whole earth when the Son of God came in person to take away the curse for all who would believe in Him. According to the Law, a man who was exposed before Israel on a tree was cursed by God. But when God's perfect Son took the curse that we deserved, something new and very powerful came upon the earth.

That perfect Son has risen from the dead. He has promised us a much better day. That day is already reserved for us in the heavens and will surely come here soon with great power. Then the meek shall inherit the earth, and that is a much better end to the saving work of God than a law that manages and restrains evil.