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Thou Shalt Not Kill
August 7, 2021
As we continue our study on the ten commandments, today we look at the command to not kill. This command is given to us very plainly in Exodus.
Exodus 20:13
Thou shalt not kill.
The Hebrew word for kill is ratsach, Strong’s Hebrew word 7523 and it means to murder. Murder was with mankind for almost as long as mankind existed on earth and the very first murder recorded among people was committed by Cain when he took the life of his younger brother, Abel. God had respect for the offering of Abel and did not have respect for the offering of Cain, and this made Cain angry and jealous to the point where he killed Abel.
In the story, we don’t know the why God only had respect for Abel’s offering. We know it had something to do with the fact that what Cain offered was not well compared to Abel. God told Cain that if he did well as his brother Abel, that his offering would also be accepted and warned that if he didn’t do well sin would lie at the door. Cain had difficulty understanding the message of God, and instead of waiting on God, or going back to God to seek clarification, Cain decided to kill Abel.
God then confronted Cain over the death of Abel who told God that Abel wasn’t his responsibility. God then let Cain know that He was aware that Cain had taken the life of Abel, and as a punishment, Cain would be living a life on the run in a state of poverty. Even with this punishment, God took pity on Cain and placed a special mark on him to prevent the exacting of revenge against him.
Genesis 4:1-15
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
Murder is a recurring story in the Bible with several instances of murder mentioned in various places. Murder can look different based on the circumstances and God will still look at it as murder. For instance, one time King David, a man after God’s own heart, effectively had a man murdered to cover up another sin. In this case, the fog of war covered up the murder which was designed to shield the King from a charge of infidelity.
David had sent his army to fight against the children of Ammon and the city was well-defended. The practice of the day was to lay siege to the city, putting a blockade around it. Similar strategies are used today, though most modern examples of sieges are economic rather than military sieges. While the military of David was away, the King noticed Bathsheba, the wife of a deployed soldier, and started an affair with her. Bathsheba became pregnant at a time when her husband was away fighting. David craftily brough Uriah the Hittite, her husband, home on what looked like official business. The ulterior motive was to have Uriah spend the night with Bathsheba so that there would be a plausible reason for her pregnancy. Uriah was so committed to the other soldiers; he would not visit his wife as they could not visit their wives. David’s plan did not work.
David then ordered Uriah to be placed into the heat of battle and to have troops near him withdraw to expose Uriah to the fiercest battle conditions. Uriah did die in the fight and to the casual observer, it would look like a valiant life lost in the fog of war.
2 Samuel 11:1-17
And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.
But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?
And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.
And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some. of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
David would be punished for his sin and for plotting to take the life of Uriah. Even though David did not physically take the life of Uriah, David deliberately put in place a series of events that led to the murder of Uriah on the battlefield.
Jesus faced death from Herod, King of Judea. When Jesus was just a toddler, Joseph was warned by an angel in a dream to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt. In Herod’s mind, he was trying to take the life of a threat to the kingdom never realizing his very actions had been prophesied in the Bible. Soon after Jesus and His family were in Egypt, and in Judea all of the male children under age two had been killed.
Matthew 2:13-18
And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
As an adult, Jesus taught on murder explaining the motivations behind murder. Murder begins with anger and hatred towards another person. Jesus taught that instead of allowing anger and hatred to destroy us individually, we need to seek reconciliation with anyone with whom we have strong feelings, lest these strong feelings ruin our lives. Through these verses we can see that murder and anger are linked together.
Matthew 5:21-26
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
We know from Revelation that murderers are included in a long list of people who will lose their life and be forever dead in the lake of fire. These verses do not mean there is no forgiveness for these sins. There is forgiveness for all sin except the unpardonable sin. These verses show that people who refuse to repent of these sins and ask for forgiveness will lose their life. Murder is a very serious sin with a root deeper than anger we tend to overlook.
Revelation 21:7-8
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Jesus explains the tap root of murder that extends beyond the topsoil of anger, showing that murder started with Satan, who was a murderer from the beginning. Somehow, instead of being grateful for all that God had given, Satan was deeply angry with that God had not given, power and control. Satan’s quest to unseat God through rebellion was like an act of murder, because like murder, it was also rooted in anger. To cover the anger, Satan lies and transforms darkness into light. The spirit of murder precedes the spirit of lies.
John 8:42-47
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
God hates sin because sin is who Satan is. Hands that shed innocent blood are among the things that God hates. Notice God also hates the proud look, arrogant self-pride, and minds that focus on evil.
Proverbs 6:16-19
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
In life, we know that we will have those moments in our life when we feel all is against us. We can take comfort that in the darkest moments of our life that God will lead us through these darkest moments, described by David as the valley of the shadow of death. When others seek us harm, God will protect us.
Psalm 23:1-6
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
In writing to the Romans, Paul advised that they were to, like God, hate that which is evil. Instead, we are to cleave to that which is good. Murder is rooted in anger and similar attitudes of vengeance.
It is not our place to take vengeance or pass judgment on another person as this gives place to anger which can lead to murder. We are to allow God to take vengeance on people who commit wrongs against us knowing that not only does God have a plan for us in our life that could involve allowing wrongs to be committed against us, but also knowing that God will repay those who bring hurt to us. We need to trust God and not ourselves and allow God to bring justice to our life. When we are hurt, when we are attacked, we cannot allow wrongs committed against us to be the seed that cause us to do wrong. We are not to be overcome of evil and are to overcome evil with good. When evil is done to us we repay with good as how we overcome. When we are presented with situations that might make us angry, we overcome that anger through good. When Satan lays the seed of murder at our feet, we overcome that seed through love.
Romans 12:9-21
Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Later in the letter to the Romans, Paul would write that all of the commandments written to help with our relationships with other people can be summarized in the command to love others as we love ourselves, showing that love is the fulfilling of the law.
Romans 13:8-10
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Even in the most compelling of circumstances, love needs to be the fulfilling of the law. In David’s family, a family with many wives and half brothers and sisters, one brother, Amnon, decided to sexually assault one of his half-sisters, a very evil act. Another brother, Absalom, decided to develop a plan that would lead to the death of the offending brother, and Amnon was killed. Even with the best of intentions, love never works ill towards another. We are to let God repay evil for evil and remember we are to repay evil with good.
2 Samuel 13:20-29
And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.
But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth.
And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baalhazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons.
And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant.
And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would not go, but blessed him.
Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee?
But Absalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him.
Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant.
And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.
bring harm to us, we are all subject to the civil authorities including law enforcement and prosecutors whose job it is to investigate and hold people accountable for violations of law. Repaying evil with good does not include not reporting criminal actions to law enforcement. It just means we do not take it upon ourselves to act as judge and jury.
Job saw the evil of his time, including the act of a murderer who, like a thief, acts in the darkness of night. Living in this world, like Job, we may see the darkness, but we must live in the light. When we see the darkness of evil, we live in the light of that which is good.
Job 24:1-17
Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?
Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.
They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.
Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.
They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked.
They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.
They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.
They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;
Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.
They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.
The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.
In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.
For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
The taking of life was more common in ancient Israel than we can think, and there were cities of refuge that a person could flee to instead of facing death when they accidentally took life.
Numbers 35:9-15
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares.
And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment.
And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge.
Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge.
These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.
Living our life in the valley of the shadow of death, living in a world that knows the darkness and evil that Job spoke of, we must remember that Jesus stands at the door to protect us from the evil around us so that we not only have life, we have an abundant life.
John 10:7-10
Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
James tells us that murder comes from lust. In other writings we see that murder stems from anger, and here we see it stems from lust, because we want what we cannot have and in a strange twist to get what we want we forget that we are friends with God and choose to become friends of this world, a world that is of Satan who is the enemy of God. Instead of seeking revenge for wrongs committed against us, instead of lusting for things we cannot have, we are to humble ourselves in the eyes of God so that God according to His perfect plan will lift us up.
James 4:1-10
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
The message we have through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is to live a life that is the opposite of being a murderer. Cain was the first person to kill a person and it was Satan who was a murderer from the beginning. John tells us that if we hate another person, we are already a murderer in our heart because hate leads to murder. When we hate, we live in a state of death not life. We are called to so much more than hate and death. We are called to life a life that leads to eternal life.
1 John 3:1-24
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.
Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Satan originated murder with the hate and jealousy he had for God the Father. Instead of being grateful for what had been given, Satan lusted for more. Satan wanted more. When more was not given, Satan became angry and rebelled against God drawing one-third of the angels to the dark side. Since that time, Satan has tried to destroy the influence of God over mankind taking what should have been a Garden of Eden for all to a world of darkness for all.
It is only those who are called by God who know the light today, who see that instead of repaying evil with evil, to repay evil with good knowing that it is through this formula that evil is overcome with good, knowing that murder is replaced with eternal life.
We are not to kill. We are not to murder. We are not to have hatred for any person. We are to fulfill the law through love which brings harm to no person.
All verses are from the King James Version.
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