Thou Shalt Not Kill!

Deuteronomy 5:17

THOU SHALT NOT KILL! Can’t you just hear that being proclaimed with a thundering voice. But then we read in the Bible where many of the “heroes” killed people. Some of these were in war, while others were in cold blood. What are we supposed to do with that? It can be confusing and cause some people a lot of difficulty. Some people take that to mean that there can never be a righteous side in a war. Others take this to mean that all capital punishment is wrong. Some people live with guilt from having to take a life in military combat, a law enforcement situation, or perhaps in defense of their family. We must ask ourselves, what exactly does this verse mean?

You shall not murder.

Deuteronomy 5:17

Many of us did not grow up with this verse being phrased this way. Even if we did hear “murder”, what exactly does that mean? This is a great place to start.

The Hebrew word translated “kill” or “murder” literally means “to dash in pieces”. This has the idea of what we would term “malice murder”. In order for a killing to be deemed “malice murder” there has to be premeditation. This is not speculation. Moses was clear in the book of Exodus when the law was being first given: “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.

“But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.

“And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

Exodus 21:12–15

Some may wonder, where does self-defense or war fit into this? Let’s start with self-defense. In a true self-defense situation, the person did not enter that circumstance with any kind of premeditation. They may have had something on them that could be used as a weapon, but they did not enter into the situation with prior knowledge that something might happen. If they had prior knowledge that something might happen, and they did not try to avoid that situation, they could be found guilty of murder because a reasonable person would avoid the danger in the first place. However, when someone threatens us, or a loved one, we have a right to protect our life, or the life of a loved one. This is self-defense, and God makes allowances for this in the law.

Combat is a different situation. There is preparation which means premeditation to kill. However, in this case the person is following orders. It is quite literally a situation of kill or be killed. God sanctioned wars in the Bible. Israel defeated the Amalekites and other people groups in Canaan. God said that this was a judgment of sin and a fulfillment of a promise made to Abraham. God had the Babylonians attack Judah as judgment for sin. God uses wars to judge nations. In the process individuals have to do terrible things. I do not say any of this lightly. The things they see and do, they then have to live with. While some memories never leave us, we do not have to live with guilt. War, unless war crimes are committed, is not murder.

Finally, there is the subject of capital punishment. God gave governments the right to deliver justice. Back in the passage from Exodus, there was a command to execute those who murdered someone else. Capital punishment is both Biblical and righteous. God, in His righteous judgment, will sentence people to Hell for all eternity. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). God is carrying out a form of eternal capital punishment. When governments exercise righteous judgment and carry out appropriate capital punishment, they are using their God given authority. They are doing right. They are doing what God ordained them to do.

Moses’s commandment here was that we should not hate our neighbor. We should not stalk them like a tiger, waiting for the opportunity to kill. We should not act on that fantasy and take human life. If we do, we are guilty of murder and breaking this commandment.

Father, we live in a world that kills people for no good reason. Thank You for making Your standard plain. Help us to not hate our brother so that we are not tempted with thoughts of causing harm or death. I pray for those who have had to do terrible things in the line of duty. Give them peace and understanding.