Deuteronomy 21:1-9. If someone is found slain, lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who the killer was, your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. 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. The Levitical priests shall step forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the Lord and to decide all cases of dispute and assault. Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, and they shall declare: “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, Lord, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent person.” Then the bloodshed will be atoned for, and you will have purged from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
Guilt of sin and crime are not just those of the individual but of the entire community. Why should I not judge your nation for all of my innocent children murdered in the womb? Is it not the fault of the entire nation? Your nation has not only actually passed laws permitting this abomination, but grants community money to pay for it. Your nation has made an industry of murder and the sale of the parts of these precious bodies. Why does it surprise you that your nation is under my wrath? Why should I not abandon you to your blatant sin? Why would I return to you? Yes, I have forgiven you and all those who committed this act but have repented. Yes, I see your individual hearts. But, as a nation, there has been no repentance for the practice continues. The heart of your nation continues to be hard. I love you, but will not coexist with this. Choose. What is the desire of your heart? Is it to return to the Nation I blessed, that blessed me? Or is it to continue to murder the innocent and profit from that sin? (2021)
Amanuensis 