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. – Deuteronomy 21:6-7

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 14, 2018): Deuteronomy 21

Ty Hutchinson tells a fictional story of a serial killer in Detroit in his novel “Cork Town.” In the subplot of the story, the various police chiefs and officials in the area are accused of hanging the murders on one man who was subsequently convicted of the crimes. But the police chiefs also know a different story. The first is that the man who is accused and convicted of the murders is guilty of murders he committed during the commission of a bank robbery. The second thing that the chiefs know is that he is not the serial killer. They believe that the real serial killer was killed by the robber during the commission of his crime, a bank robbery where the robber killed most of his hostages. And this belief is bolstered by the cessation of murders after the killings at the bank. Until, seven years later, the killings begin again and the police chiefs begin to become afraid that their lie is about to be revealed.

With the story, Hutchinson latches on to a truth of our culture. While our police forces are very good at their jobs and solve many crimes, cold case files do exist, and sometimes the crime just can’t be solved. The only place where all the crimes come with a satisfactory conclusion is on our televisions sets, the movies we watch, and in books like those written by Ty Hutchinson. And when a crime is not solved, the investigation tends to die slowly, with a whimper and ends up in a judicial version of a dead letter office. The evidence is boxed and then filed with the distant hope that maybe, someday, more evidence will be found that will lead to a solution to the crime. The decision of the police chiefs in Hutchinson’s novel is probably the ultimate in unsatisfactory solutions to a cold case, because not only does the perpetrator get away with the crime, the investigation is stamped as “solved” and there is no further attempt to find the perpetrator.

Moses gives instructions on what to do when you encounter a serious crime that can’t be solved. After an investigation that has yielded no leads or witnesses, and there is no place to go for further analysis, the leaders are to gather in a field and make a sacrifice. Then they are to wash their hands over the sacrifice and make a solemn declaration before God. Their declaration is twofold; they will declare that they did not commit the crime and that they did not see with their eyes the one who did. The second part of the declaration would probably include that their investigation also has not revealed anyone else who had seen the crime being committed with their eyes.

The ceremony would accomplish two important goals. It marked the crime as an important moment in the life of the nation, and it honored the one who had died, recognizing that the death should never have happened. The crime was going unsolved, not because it was unimportant, but because every effort had not yielded a solution to the criminal activity.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 22