Exodus 20:13
The sixth commandment is short and to the point, just two words in the Hebrew, Donât kill. Who can argue with that?
Well, a lot of people can.
This commandment has been used as an argument against war. It has been used as an argument against abortion and capital punishment. Pacifists use this commandment to argue against any violence at all. Vegetarians use this commandment to argue against eating meat. Do people disagree on any of these issues? I would guess we could have quite a discussion on these issues ourselves.
Donât kill. What does this mean? Does this commandment forbid all killing?
One way of figuring this out is to look at the rest of the law of Moses. When God gave the law to Moses, what else did he say?
Last week I read a section of the law in which parents of a disobedient son were to bring him to the elders who were to stone him to death. In fact, there are 23 behaviors in the law God gave to Moses that were to be punished by putting to death the offender. In addition to disobedience to children, capital offenses included kidnaping, bestiality, violations of the Sabbath, incest, homosexuality, sacrificing to false gods, and witchcraft.
If this sixth commandment prohibits all killing, why did God proscribe capital punishment for these offenses?
God also instructed Moses to go to war against the people who inhabited Canaan. If this commandment prohibits war, why did God instruct Moses and Joshua to lead Israel into war?
Donât kill cannot include all killing because the same God who gave to Moses this commandment also instructed him to use capital punishment and to go to war.
Another way of understanding what this commandment means is to look at the Hebrew word translated kill.
There are at least eight Hebrew words that can be translated as kill. The particular word used in this commandment is never used in the legal system or in the military. There are other Hebrew words used for capital punishment and the killing that takes place in war. The word used in this commandment is never used for the hunting and killing of animals.
What the sixth commandment prohibits is not killing, but the unlawful killing of a human being.
This commandment forbids the unjust taking of a legally innocent life. It forbids murder in cold blood, manslaughter in the heat of a passionate rage, negligent homicide resulting from recklessness or carelessness.
You shall not kill unlawfully. That is what this commandment means and this is why the NIV translates this commandment as You shall not murder.
Why is this commandment important? Well if you are mad at me because of something I did and are coming at me with a knife or gun, it will seem like a pretty important commandment. But there is a greater importance than even my own life.
Commandments 5 through 10 are covenantal commandments.
âHonor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. 13 âYou shall not murder. 14 âYou shall not commit adultery. 15 âYou shall not steal. 16 âYou shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 âYou shall not covet your neighborâs house. You shall not covet your neighborâs wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.â
These are commandments that protect the community to whom the covenant with God was given and who have the responsibility of passing on that covenant to future generations. God gave to Israel a precious gift. They were his chosen people, people he chose when he made his covenant with Abraham. And now that he had delivered his people out of slavery in Egypt, he was giving them laws that would serve to protect them as a community.
When we read these commandments we tend to read them as individuals. I must not kill, commit adultery or steal. But we tend not see the larger purpose we are supposed to serve.
We are still the community of God. Through faith in Jesus we have become the adopted children of God. Through faith in Jesus we have become the true children of Abraham. We are still the community with whom God has made his covenant and it is still our responsibility to pass on the knowledge of that covenant to our children and to their children.
One of our weaknesses in the worldwide church is that we have adopted the cultural value of individualism. This is very true for the West and may be less true for some other cultures. But especially the West lives in a culture of individualism that sees everything serving me, my interests, my welfare, my happiness. When my life is not going well, the world is failing in its duty to make me happy. And unfortunately, we carry this cultural value with us into our faith and into the church.
As Christians, we need to strip off this individualism and see that we serve, first and foremost, God and his purposes, not ourselves, not our own self-interests. The Christian life is not really about us, it is about God and bringing glory to him.
If you do insist on looking at this from a selfish point of view, it is when we live obedient lives to God and serve him, focusing on his purposes, that our deepest needs are met as a byproduct of our focus. But I am not sure a selfish motivation will get you very far along the path.
This sixth commandment is important because when it is violated, the community suffers and when the community suffers, it is less able to carry out its purpose which is to take the covenant God has made with us and pass it on to our children and to their children.
John Donne was a poet and priest in 16th century England. In one of his sermons he wrote of our interconnection as a community. I have printed this in the bulletin. He sat in bed hearing the church bell ringing and wondering who had died and wrote this as a reflection on that experience.
No man is an island, entire of itself
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main
if a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were
any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind
and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls
it tolls for thee.
When my neighbor is murdered, I suffer. When life is not honored and respected, the ability of the community to pass on the covenant God has made is diminished. What happens to someone in the community affects me. This is true for mankind but it is especially true within the community of faith. We are not just individuals, we are part of a larger group. When an Iraqi priest is murdered, the community of faith suffers. When an Iranian pastor is unjustly jailed, we suffer. We are not alone. We are not an island.
God has created us to be a community of believers and we have the responsibility of passing on our knowledge of the covenant he has made with us to future generations. It is for this reason that the covenant must be protected and the family must be preserved.
The sixth commandment teaches us about the sanctity of life. We are made in Godâs image.
Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, âLet us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.â
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Of all creation in the universe, we are made in Godâs image. Not rabbits, not seals, not flowers, not birds. We are made in Godâs image. We carry the imprint of our creator in a way no other part of creation does.
We are made in Godâs image and we are wonderfully made, as the psalmist wrote in Psalm 139:13-14
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my motherâs womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
On May 21, 1972, Laszlo Toth, a 33-year-old Australian geologist, slipped into St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. As the faithful waited for the Popeâs blessing, Toth dashed past the guards and attacked Michelangeloâs Pieta, a beautiful statue of Mary holding the dead body of Jesus. He swung his sledgehammer fifteen times and broke off Maryâs arm, knocked off a chunk of her nose and chipped one of her eyelids.
The world was horrified at such an assault. You simply do not destroy something that is so beautifully made. It was wrong for Toth to destroy what did not belong to him but even if he had enough money to buy up paintings by Rembrandt and antique Chinese vases, he would not have the right to burn the paintings and smash the vases with a hammer. Remember how the world reacted to the Taliban in Afghanistan when they blew up the giant Buddhist statues?
Works of art and beauty are treated with honor and respect. (Now if you want to burn a lot of what passes for art today, I will not object but this takes us into another discussion.)
Humans are the art work of God. Each of us is created with a distinct personality. We may resemble someone else but we are unique creations of God. Even identical twins have different fingerprints.
The intricacy and delicacy of our creation is astounding. We are fragile yet durable. We are an engineering marvel. As far as camera technology has taken us, it cannot begin to duplicate what we can see with our eyes. All we have to do to move our toes is think and our toes move. There are no buttons to press. No levers to pull.
Even more amazing is the way we can think, explore and reflect. We feel passion and excitement. We can experience the presence of God.
We are amazingly and wonderfully made.
What right do we have to destroy what God has made in his image? We are Godâs masterpieces and need to be treated with honor and respect.
Only God can create life and we have no right to destroy what God has made.
This is what we say in our marriage ceremonies. We believe that God brings people together in marriage, into a one flesh relationship and after the couple exchange their vows, the minister will quote the teaching of Jesus about marriage:
Mark 10:6
Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.
What God creates, we dare not destroy.
Only God can create life and only God has the right to take life.
This is the argument against euthanasia.
It is difficult to see someone suffer. For almost seven years, I have gone each week to see Noreen Maxwell. She is one of the most intelligent women I have known. She worked with British intelligence during WWII. She spoke fluent French, Italian, Spanish as well as her English. She learned Danish to communicate with the underground during the war. She spoke Greek and who knows what other languages. She was part of the United Nations from the beginning of its existence and the first female head of a UN delegation.
I went each week to read to her because her eyesight had failed and we would discuss the books and my sermons that I also read to her. We had wonderful times together. Going to see her each week was something I looked forward to.
We talked about her aging and often prayed that she would die before God took her senses from her, but she has spent the last year or so in a condition she did not want. She rarely recognizes me when I go. She sleeps and eats and that is about the sum of her life. She experiences constant pain and discomfort. She is not living a fulfilling life.
I know she is longing to die and be with Jesus. We often talked about that. I have sat by her bed and thought how easy it would be for me to put a pillow over her face and send her to be with Jesus. It would be an act of mercy and yet I cannot do it. She is a creation of God and I cannot destroy what God has created.
Jesus is the lord of life. He is the author and inventor of life. He is the ruler and sustainer of life. Since he is the giver of life, it is also his prerogative to take life and do so at his own time and in his own way.
This is also my problem with abortion. We are increasingly aware of the complexities of life in an unborn child, a fetus, whatever you want to call it. Our daughter is pregnant and we call her child Wiglet.
Wiglet is developing systems that will allow it to survive once it is born and we discover if Wiglet is a he or she. There are incredibly intricate systems developing in Wiglet. Wiglet is Godâs masterpiece.
We have no right to destroy what God has created in his image.
I donât want to get into a discussion of what about the motherâs health or rape or incest. Sometimes there are two evils and we have to choose among them. But abortion is an evil because it destroys a child and because it destroys the life of the community. It also damages the mothers who aborted. Pray for women who have had abortions. They are victims as well as the unborn babies who have died.
We have no right to destroy what God has created. Only God can do that. But God has given to the state authority to act on his behalf. The state has been given the authority to wage just war and to punish by death certain crimes.
In Paulâs discussion of submission to rulers, he wrote in Romans 13:4
For [the one in authority] is Godâs servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is Godâs servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
The state and those who act on its behalf will be held accountable for how they exercised the authority given to them. Many rulers have abused the responsibility given to them and many people have suffered unjustly because of that. But that does not take away from the fact that they have been given the responsibility and the right to wage just war and to punish certain crimes by death.
Even in the case of just war and capital punishment, killing is designed to protect the community of the covenant. The goal is not the destruction of life but the preservation of life. A just war protects the welfare of the community. The purpose of an army is not to kill people but to keep a countryâs citizens safe. Capital punishment prevents a person from further harming members of the community and acts as a deterrent to others.
What is a just war? Is the war in Iraq a just war? Is capital punishment fair? In the US there is a phrase that says, âCapital punishment means those without the capital get the punishment.â This is a cute phrase that expresses the sad truth that those without financial resources and influence are more likely to be put to death for their crime than those with money and influence.
There is wide room for discussion here. The state does not always act as God would want it to act. The state to which Paul said Rome should be subject beheaded him and crucified Peter. But even though the state is imperfect, let the principal stand that just wars and capital punishment are meant to preserve and protect life, not destroy it.
Let me insert here that because of the sanctity of life, we need to pray for the military and for those who carry out the death sentences imposed by the state. Among the victims of a war are those who did the killing. I saw men come back from Vietnam who were never the same because of the horrors of what they experienced. There is a great book and movie, The Thin Red Line, that poses the question, âCan innocence survive the horrors of war?â and the answer is no. Even a just war is a terrible event.
Life is sacred and even when the state is properly exercising its responsibility, there is a price to be paid for those who carry out the actions of the state. So pray for those who carry out the actions of the state.
The sixth commandment also has a figurative meaning. We destroy life with knives and guns but we destroy life also with our words. Someone makes us angry and we curse them. Someone irritates us and we say something that chips away at their soul. Someone hurts us and we strike back by gossiping about them.
When Jesus talked about this commandment he said
Matthew 5:21-22
You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, âDo not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.â 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, âRaca,â is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, âYou fool!â will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Rabbis used the term Raca to excommunicate someone. In common language, Raca was used as a curse.
When I was growing up, there was a little childrenâs saying we learned.
Sticks and stones may break my bones
but words will never hurt me.
This saying first appeared in a book in 1894 so it has been popular for a long time, but it is not true. Words do hurt me.
We are affected by what people say to us. When a parent says to a child, âWhy canât you do anything right?â or âYouâll never amount to anything,â that goes deep down and wounds the child. It is like taking a sledgehammer and swinging away.
A girl wants to go to college and be a doctor but her parents tell her, âYou donât want to be too smart. Boys do not like smart women. It would be better to be a nurse.â Or a girl might want to study science but is told that women do not do as well in science as men. These are words that hurt and can hold back the potential of a young woman.
I used to work with my father and he would have me hold the hammer or get him a tool he needed. When I tried something and it did not work and began to explain, âI thought…â he would tell me, âThatâs the trouble Jackson, you thought.â He was not trying to be mean but his words went deep into me and hurt. He said it often enough that I remember it.
We need to speak words of encouragement and life into children. We need to do this to each other.
This is the positive form of the sixth commandment: You shall encourage life.
You can do this with your words.
If you are a parent, you have the responsibility of speaking words of encouragement and life into your child. The world will attack your son or daughter and you need to defend them by building them up, encouraging them to develop the talents God gave to them.
From their earliest years, I would put my daughters to bed at night and whisper into their ear three secrets. You are smart. You are beautiful. You are fun to be with. As they got older, I would ask them, âWhat are our three secrets?â and they would tell me.
I remember one night when our oldest daughter was in tears. It was Valentineâs Day and she had not received a single valentine from any boys. We had just moved to this town a month and a half earlier and other girls had received roses and teddy bears but she was not given anything. I snuggled with her in bed and told her someday she would be loved by a very special man. I did not know then his name would be Matt and he does love her for which I am grateful.
I asked her what our three secrets were and she wouldnât tell me. The world had told her she was not beautiful and that she was not fun to be with so I persisted until she told me. I am smart. I am beautiful. I am fun to be with her. And I told her, âAnd donât you forget it.â
We are responsible to speak words of life and build up our children. If you are not a parent, you can still build up and encourage.
I can remember Ted Torak, who spoke with me when I was interviewed for my Boy Scout Eagle award. I remember his name. I remember where we were for the interview. I remember so many details because he spoke words of encouragement and life to me. He told me I was an impressive young man and had a bright future. I was particularly thirsty and drank those words in deeply. The fact that I remember his name and so many details shows how important those words were to me.
What words of life are you sharing with people?
What makes this such a necessary commandment is that we live in what John Paul II called a âCulture of deathâ.
When we watch the news or read the newspaper, we read about murder after murder after murder.
According to pro-abortion sources, there are 46,000,000 abortions per year.
Television, movies and video games glorify violence. When someone spends hours each day playing a video game in which the goal is to kill people, this affects how they view life.
I was with my nephews in NJ last month and watched them play a video game in which the goal was to kill as many animals as possible. I was disturbed by this but they accepted it as normal.
I read an article in which a retired army officer talked about the process the military uses to desensitize new recruits to killing someone. In previous wars it was discovered that too high a percentage of soldiers did not aim when they shot their rifles. So techniques had to be developed to break down their resistance to killing another human being.
This officer commented that he saw a young person playing one of the violent video games and realized that this game was using the same techniques the army used to desensitize recruits.
I watched a John Wayne and Katherine Hepburn movie with Annie this week that was the first movie we ever saw together. In part of it, the bad guys kill the US Calvary to steal some nitroglycerine. Because I had been working on this sermon, those deaths affected me more powerfully. In other times I would have let this slide by without paying attention but this time I thought about the families of those who died.
The world makes us numb to the reality of death. It encourages us to have a utilitarian view of life and death and we have to fight that. We must resist the cultural values that pull us from a Biblical respect for life and death.
For a Christian it is not enough to say, âI have never murdered someone.â As Christians we need to state the positive, âI work to encourage and build up life in the people around me.â
