The Ten Commandments - 7
You shall not murder - 1
We continue to discover the moral law of God as found in the Ten Commandments. These commandments are found in the Old Testament of the Bible, in Exodus chapter 20. This time we are going to think about the sixth commandment which says: "You shall not murder." This short but definite commandment teaches us that human life is precious, but we need to be clear right at the start that not all killing is murder.
Very early on in human history men had to learn the seriousness of taking another's life. God said to Noah, in an age that was full of violence, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man." That's Genesis 9 verse 6. It's an extremely serious thing to take someone's life in an act of murder. The very first family of man included in its number the murderer Cain. He was jealous of his brother Abel and became so angry that he killed him. King David once wrote a letter and it cost a man his life. He told his general, Joab, to put the man Urriah in the forefront of the battle and leave him there so that he would be killed. David's lust for the wife of Urriah led him to this dreadful act. Later, Nathan the prophet of God said to David, "Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? YOU struck down Urriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. YOU killed him with the sword of the Ammonites."
David's uncontrolled passion led to the sin of murder. Resentment, anger, greed, jealousy, a cruel streak and lust continue to cause men to kill each other. Never trivialise sin, for a desire for revenge, or a spirit of jealousy, or uncontrolled passion, or a burning anger are not to be seen as insignificant because they are often very close to murder.
In the New Testament, in Galatians chapter 5 verses 19 to 21, Paul lists murder with outbursts of anger, or if you like, displays of temper, and envy and drunkenness as the acts of the human sinful nature, and he says that those who live like this "Will not inherit the kingdom of God." We live in a violent world. The sin of murder is sadly all too common. In the film industry, violence and killing are popular themes. We should not be surprised that a society that is in rebellion against God cares little or nothing for those created in God's image.
As Christians we are to view very seriously all situations where there is the ending of a human life, whatever the reason. The issue of abortion is one which is at the forefront of debate in our day. It is a very serious issue, especially when abortion is so often seen as the easy way out of an unwanted pregnancy, and there is no regard for the life of the unborn child.
We remind ourselves again that all human life is a gift from God and is held precious by Him. We read in Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 5: (God said) "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." Isaiah the prophet could say, "The Lord has called me from the womb." And we read in Psalm 139, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." All these Bible verses teach us that even before birth the individual is known to God and at that stage there is a life which is to be respected and guarded. Wrong thinking about this can even lead to a legalised form of murder.
And then there is the issue of attitudes. The Lord Jesus Christ tells us that "Out of the heart proceeds - murders." Words can be very cruel and destructive. Mental cruelty is a terrible thing. We can virtually destroy people by harsh, critical and wounding words. Sadly, it even happens sometimes in churches when people are not welcomed and not shown love, and where thoughtless things are said which cause deep distress.
An intolerant or cruel attitude can lead to bullying, and this is not confined to the school playground. Some husbands are bullies, some wives, some parents. And there are some children who bully vulnerable parents. Some people know how to taunt and how to "wind people up" as we say. In other words, to make them react to what is being said or done. All these attitudes come from a real disregard for the value of the lives of others. In 1 John 3 verse 15 we read: "He who hates his brother is a murderer." Hatred is usually so strong that in the heart there is a real desire for death of the person hated. The Lord looks on the heart and sees that attitude as if the act had been committed.
Cruel and thoughtless words and actions always spoil and often ruin the lives of those against whom they are directed. They can be regarded as a form of murder and we are all capable of these things. Let us guard ourselves against falling into such sinful acts and be mindful always that the Lord Jesus' command is that we love one another.
In the book of Proverbs we read, "A good name is a precious ointment." You can destroy a person's reputation - their good name - by malicious gossip. Christians should use their tongues to pray for others and to seek God's blessing for them and not to bring them down. The cause of the gospel can suffer and God grieved and His name dishonoured by slanderous use of the tongue to hurt others. Be careful, then, what you say about others. You do not know what trials they are going through. You do not know what deep waters that brother or sister has been through, so be slow to judge them. Do not ruin their lives by the sinful misuse of your tongue.
Another issue relating to this commandment is that of SELF- injury. For the Christian, the body is the temple of God's Holy Spirit so we are not to engage in anything that will harm or abuse it. Habits such as gluttony or alcohol and tobacco abuse, and self-indulgences that spoil the body physically are to be avoided.
It is possible to allow resentment and bitterness to eat away at your soul and your self-respect to such a point that you might even contemplate taking your own life because you feel it is of little worth. This is the issue of suicide. You may have been so tempted - why was this? Was it perhaps through depression, frustration or a deep sense of failure or hopelessness? Was it anger turned against yourself, or self-pity?
Remember two very tragic men in the Bible. In the Old Testament, King Saul, having turned his back upon God and having been defeated in battle, fell on his own sword and so took his own life. There was no sense of repentance for his wrong-doing and so he had no hope and nowhere to go for help. Judas Iscariot in the New Testament, who betrayed the Lord Jesus, was so overwhelmed with his sense of guilt that he too took his own life. How sad!
The message of the gospel is that even for the greatest of sinners there IS hope and there IS forgiveness if they will only turn to God, acknowledging their sins and placing their trust in Christ Who died for them on the cross. Death is not the end, it is not an escape, but it is a hastening to judgement for the unbeliever. The Bible teaches us that "It is appointed to men once to die and after this the judgement." Listening friend, if you are passing through a dark time, and the tempter is putting thoughts of suicide in your mind, do not listen to him. Turn instead to the One Who loves you, Who can turn your life around and give you a lasting hope and peace.
All the commandments of God are positive. We are not to do one thing but we are to do the opposite. We are not to murder, but we are to respect one another. The young are very precious; the old are very precious; the unlovely are very precious; those who are mentally or physically damaged, those with strange quirks of personality are very precious. We do not respect people according to the colour of their skin or their particular background. All nationalities will be around the throne of God in that future day - those of "Every family, language and nation."
To the Christian the Bible says, "Do good to all - especially to those of the household of faith." Murder comes from hate, but the Christian is to be filled with the love of Christ for all men. The Lord Jesus said that we are to "Do good to those who hate you." Human life is a sacred thing, a gift from God, let us respect it and protect it and so obey the commandment that we have been discovering today.
Next time we are going to discover some more principles from this important commandment, and I will explain further that not all killing is to be seen as murder, but that God has set out strict guidelines for our instruction and for the protection of the innocent.