In Deuteronomy 21:1-6 God prescribes the following offering for when a murderer was able to allude justice: "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 her 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." After that the elders of the town, in the presence of the priests, would wash their hands, declare innocence, and ask for God's acceptance of this atoning offering.
What was the meaning of this? The heifer that had never been worked, the field that was never plowed, and the stream of fresh water all were unused and therefore undefiled. As with all animal sacrifices, God was showing that he forgave his people, tarnished as a community because of the unsolved murder, by transferring the punishment from the guilty to an innocent substitute. Of course, he was preparing them for a much greater atonement to come...
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