In previous sermons we have looked at the law of God and how it is structured…

• The Royal Law sits at the top of the pyramid… it establishes the overall motive: Love
• Then we have love of God and love of neighbor broken down into 10 statements establishing the guiding principles of social and personal conduct
• Then 618 judgments, statutes, case studies, examples and decrees from God on how the love toward God and neighbor  apply in real life settings

Exodus 20:13 – The 6th commandment

The verse only has two words lo raw-tsakh  “no murder”.

Murder is extreme behavior… considered by most as the ultimate sin… the foulest deed imaginable… probably nobody here has ever committed murder or is likely to… so what is the practical purpose of studying the 6th commandment?

1. Prevent you from becoming a murderer by convincing you it’s evil. True, but that still seems somewhat removed from everyday life. Most humans buy into the idea that murder is bad…  but is our rejection of murder based on a spiritual appreciation of the mind of God on the matter… or is it a terrible fear of the consequences committing murder would bring down upon our head from our secular legal system? What would we do if there really were no consequences?
2. Use the guiding principle of the 6th commandment together with case studies, examples and judgments to show how the commandment can be applied to your day to day lives.
3. Review the attitudes and behaviors that can lead to murder so you can avoid them in the realm of everyday life as we live it. Note: scripture doesn’t just warn you about attitudes and behaviors that can lead to murder… God’s word declares them to be evil and subject to judgment as well.

Why Is Murder Evil?

• Genesis 9:1-6 reveals the principle on which the commandment stands… respect for human life, because it is special… made in the image and likeness of God.
• Genesis 4 violence spins out of control – Cain… Lamech 77 times vengence
• Genesis 6:11-13 violence moved God to cause the flood and wipe out humans and start over

To prevent Noah’s descendants from falling into the same cycle God instituted capital punishment for murder. It is important to note that the level of punishment is proportional to the crime. Life for life… not multiple lives for a life (stops the pattern of escalation indicated in the example of Lamach).

God’s instructions here are the beginning of human government (not OF God) to administer punishment for crimes committed. Also, we have an answer to our question “what would humans do if there were no consequences to murder?”… the world would become engulfed in murderous violence with no respect for human life. (end time like the days before flood… also characterized and time of lawlessness)

Psalm 11:5 God hates violence

Case Studies - How The Principle of 6th Command Is Expanded Upon & Applied

Exodus 21-12-36, Numbers 35:9-54, and Deuteronomy 19-21 contain a number of statutes and applications of how we are to A) practice respect for human life and B) avoid violence.

Exodus 21:12-14 Premeditated Vs. Accidental Death

Verse 12 – A person who murders another person pays is to pay for that life with his own… the only punishment proportional to the crime.

Verse 13 – A distinction is made between murder and accidental death (known as manslaughter). Read laws on Manslaughter (Num 35:16-23; Deut 19:4-5). It’s important to note that causing an accidental death where there was no malice had a punishment associated with it.

Verse 14 addresses the ancient idea of “altar sanctuary”… runs from the scene of the crime to the temple grabs hold of the altar….Logic: I’m seeking forgiveness her at the altar… I haven’t been struck down so God must consider me innocent. YHWH rejects this notion… take him away and give him a trial. God has put judgment and authority into the hands of men on such matters.

Verse 16 – the scenario here is a person who captures another person to sell him into slavery. Capturing and selling a man into slavery is a sin that does violence to the dignity of a human who is made in the image of God. God has a low opinion of slavery… the bible does not advocate slavery. The purpose of biblical laws related to slavery is to limit and prevent abuse of this humanly devised institution.

Verse 15, 17 – violence toward parents considered a capital crime. Note: Includes verbal abuse… a theme we’ll see repeated elsewhere.

Exodus 21:18-21 Violent Behavior Not Leading to Death

Verse 18-19 – if violence results in serious personal injury but the person does not die the one who caused the injury is “not responsible for” having caused murder. He is innocent of murder and does not need to be put to death. However, he is responsible for lost wages and medical expenses.

Verse 20-21 – if violent behavior results in the death of a slave the person who did it is to be punished… meaning he will pay the penalty with his own life. Slave or free he has killed another human being. But as in the previous case… if the victim is able to get up and recover there is no death penalty. As the master, he has paid the penalty for the lost value of the slave's work… and absorbed the cost of care.

Exodus 21:22-32 Cases Which Lead to Cash Compensation

Verse 22-25 Some modern translations render the phrase “miscarriage” other use “premature birth”. The ESV gives the more  literal translation:

When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, etc.

Understanding it to mean miscarriage lets it be used as pro-abortion verse… the logic being that the life of an unborn child is of lesser value (because the miscarried child is assigned a cash value as if it were an article of property). Injury which leads to the death of the mother is what may incur the death penalty.

Understanding it to mean premature birth assumes that the child comes out of the mother alive. Then if either the child or the mother subsequently dies the death penalty is enforced.

Injury not leading to death is subject to cash compensation as per vs. 18-19.

Note: I do not know which interpretation is correct BUT even if you interpret the phrase to mean miscarriage… you cannot assume scripture considers an unborn child of lesser value (not fully human) based on the idea its destruction can be paid for in cash.

One reason is… in the fourth example, we will see that indirectly & unpremeditatedly causing the death of an adult human can be compensated for in cash.

Secondly… abortion is neither “indirect”… nor without premeditation. It is a hands-on premeditated act.

Verse 26-27 – the principle of the law was not to put out eyes or cut off hands…  but to punish the offender as much as he had hurt the victim… also to provide restitution to the victim… what good would literal eye gouging have for the victim?

Verse 28-32 Death That Is Indirect & Accidental

If an animal (or perhaps a piece of equipment you own… like a car with faulty brakes) causes the death of another you are not considered a murderer. But, if you know the situation was dangerous and potentially fatal and you did nothing about it… you are responsible for that death.

However, under these circumstances, you may be allowed to pay damages to the family instead of paying with your life. The law applies equally for children as well as adults. In the case of a slave’s death compensation is also made to the master of the slave.

Deuteronomy 22:8 respect for life involves advance concern for safety

The Emotions and Attitudes of Murder

Lev 19:16b-18 Do not use harsh words, slander, anger, grudges, vengeance… endanger the life of another… false testimony in court… to lie about him to cause him to be harmed… perhaps to incite a crowd to take vigilante action etc.

And so the Royal Law says… “do not hate your brother, but love you neighbor as yourself”.

Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus expands the commandment to include the emotions behind the action. Perhaps with Lev 19:18 in mind He points out that not only the act… murder… but the anger that is in your heart… and the harsh words on your tongue are subject to judgment.

Who among us has not burned with anger or hatred toward someone… who has not called another driver “idiot” when they cut you off in traffic?

Murder is a fully formed fruit of a sinful frame of mind. It begins somewhere else… with anger in your heart, contempt, harsh words… and what are these? These are counted among the fruits of the flesh (Galatians 5:19)… which the law and the spirit of God are against on every level.

Eph 4:29-32

James 1:19-21 anger does not work the righteousness of God. Get rid of everything in your life that does not belong there.

Loophole… Righteous Anger Vs. Unrighteous Anger

God gets angry why is it not alright for me to get angry?

You could say anger itself is morally neutral… sometimes its right (rarely the case)… sometimes its wrong (most often the case). This difference is distinguished by the cause: what is it you’re angry about and why are you angry.

Anger can be unrighteous when it is directed toward the wrong object… at God, at an innocent person, at an unexpected detour sign in the road… or when directed at the wrong cause such as a personal offense, embarrassment… or resulting in wrong behavior such as retaliation, vengeance, violence.

You might say “I’m angry at sin”. God gets angry at sin… so my anger at sin must be alright.

But God has a perfect heart… His motives are always pure and just… everything He does is ultimately done with love, seeking the best possible outcome for everyone involved. We cannot say this about ourselves. The motives of the human heart are always mixed… and suspect.

Am I angry at sin… or am I really angry at the way sin affects me? For example: my child sins but deep down I’m really angry because it will make me look bad… corruption in government or business… is it the sin itself that makes me mad or the negative effect it has on my life that gets to me… is it really more offensive to my patriotic pride than my internal moral compass? This requires serious soul searching…

Because human motives are so easily mixed with personal interest, vanity or pride it is always better to wait until the flash of anger passes before proceeding in word or action. Two scriptural ways to control anger:

• James 1:19 don’t get angry suddenly or make quick responses without reflection. So slow down… do some of that soul-searching… what are your motives
• Eph 4:26 don’t let your anger burn slowly, rolling it over and over in your mind like a sweet candy in your mouth

Today people seem proud to be “impulsive”, “emotional”, “passionate”… You might also be getting the message from pop culture telling you to let your feelings flow… telling you your anger should be vented so it can be dealt without in the open… that the honest courageous way to deal with anger.

Be careful, pop culture is giving you bad advice. The fruit of God’s Holy Spirit is self-control, gentleness, kindness, mercy, peace, and patience. We don’t deal with anger through either denial or venting. Instead, anger should be dealt with by confessing it as sin to repented of and overcome by the power of the holy spirit. Proverbs 16:32

As God said to Cain “Sin is laying in wait at your door, its desire is to rule you, but you must rule over it”.

The 6th commandment “no murder” gives us a guiding principle that explains a vital part of loving God and loving our neighbor: to respect and value human life because humans are made in the image of God. The 6th commandment is a guide to our actions and our thoughts. Its real purpose is not to deal only with extreme behavior… but also the common and mundane… as such the 6th commandment is very practical, applicable and relevant to how we live our lives every day.