Brother Paul
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The question has been asked, since the 6th commandment clearly teaches “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13), isn’t God violating His own word when He commands Joshua to destroy every man, woman, and child, in some of the Canaanite cities?
The answer to this will become clear, so please read slowly and do not misconstrue the intent. God has made it plain that he takes, “…no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they would turn from their ways and live’ “ (Ezekiel 33:11)! You see, God is even willing to show mercy to murderers, like King David or Saint Paul, so long as they sincerely repent! But Jesus brings this even a step further in Matthew 5:21-22 when He tells us that even harboring unrepentant hatred toward another is as bad as actual murder itself. Instead we Christians are called to “overcome evil with good”, and as much as is humanly possible, we are to “live peaceably with everyone” (Romans 12:17-21), for this is one of the ways that many will be able to tell that we are the children of God (Matthew 5:9; 43-45).
In the Scriptures, killing is not always a violation of the 6th commandment. It really depends on two things:
who has a right to kill, and
what are the seen and foreseen circumstances or events that brought about this death.
First off, regarding who has a right to kill? Only God, whom He allows or appoints, and who He so commands has such a right. However, for the most part, He reserves that right only to Himself. Why? What gives Him this right? Because He is the creator and giver of “bios” life, and without Him there is no life, therefore, only He has the ultimate right or authority to take life and do with it as He pleases. But as we have seen in the above mentioned passage from Ezekiel, it actually grieves Him when this must take place.
But wait we create things also. However, when we create something, it is not alive, and we depend on things that already exist. But do we still not have the right to destroy what we create (I did not say pro-create as in offspring) if it is dysfunctional or not to our liking and make something else of the materials? Of course we do! I made a wooden cup once, but eventually it swelled, and warped, and no longer could serve its’ purpose. Then one day it split and began to leak, so I threw it into the yard for the kids to play with, and eventually it was destroyed, but that was my choice was it not? Yes, I understand that this is not a living thing, but the idea of one creating something, and having absolute control of its’ destiny is the point being made here. That is why God says, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay!” Only then is vengeance truly justified, for the Lord does not judge by outward appearances but knows the thoughts of the heart and the outcomes of all future actions.
Secondarily, when God says, you shall not kill, that does not mean in an absolute sense, as you will see, for we must first understand what He is saying here, and in order to do that, we must discern what He means here by the word “kill”!
There are three different words in the Tanach (Old Testament) used for killing. Likewise, in order to uncover the circumstances or events under which killing is sometimes allowed, one must take into account the context of the act.
The Hebrew word “rasah” or “rashah”, as it is used here in the 6th Commandment, refers specifically to premeditated murder. However, it can also be used in the sense of manslaughter, as when one kills by mistake, or without intent, as in the case of Numbers 25:11; Deuteronomy 4:42, 19:4, Joshua 20:3-5, and elsewhere! Thus the exact meaning of this word must always be determined by its’ context. We must always see it in relation to the surrounding statements.
Next, we have the word “hemit”, which carries no sense of guilt or iniquity as in the case of righteous capital punishment, or when the killing is the result of an attack from a wild beast, etc.! The root of this word is related to the word “emet” or truth. We see this usage in Leviticus 20:4; Numbers 35:19-21; Deuteronomy 13:10; 17:7!
Finally, when God orders the execution or destruction of an individual or group, the word “haraq” is used (See Genesis 20:4; Exodus 4:23, etc.,). This form of killing is used in the prevention of foreseen evils beyond our comprehension. By eliminating these people, God is sparing millions of others. He is preventing perversion and corruption. Therefore, this form of killing is always just, whether or not we finite humans can see the full implications of His doing it.
The question has also been asked, “Why couldn’t God just make the devils repent and then save them rather than condemn them all to eternal death in Gehenna? I mean, didn’t Jesus die for all sins? Can’t He save them as well?”
And the answer is, “Yes, He could have, but He won’t, because these are free-will beings who not only have made this choice, but God has foreseen that, even if given many opportunities, yet they still will not repent.”
Therefore, regarding this type of death that they will suffer (eternal separation from the presence of God), and believing they know what this means, they still choose faithless rebellion, and so God is entirely justified, and no person who truly understands this can feel sorry for the malevolent spirits of this universe who are being so judged. Clearly there are human spirits like this as well! In the end Gehenna is merely the place God has provided where He is not and in fact is giving them their way.
Now then, according to the Scriptures a murderer is almost always a person who sits and premeditates the killing of another human being for some ultimately selfish reason such as hatred, jealousy, political power, revenge, profit, control, etc.! Originally mankind was made in God’s image, so when we take a life and shed another’s blood, we offend God. Mankind was also meant to be a progenitor of others and so when we murder, we eliminate the life of all those who were meant to have a life because of us who are not yet born.
You see, unlike the “abortion for convenience” mentality so prevalent in America and Europe today, according to the Bible, God sees all these killed unborn beings as humans, and as “persons”, and therefore, considers the premeditated taking of their lives to be murder. Did you know that in the story of Cain’s murder of Abel, Genesis 4:10 is actually saying that his brother’s “blood’s” (plural) are crying out to God? The early Rabbis all understood this word in this way, though it can be plural or singular, and so this is what I believe as well. If you “murder” a person, you are also murdering all their potential offspring. God takes humanity’s mutual preservation of each individual’s life very seriously. So seriously in fact, as well as being aware of the human’s natural tendency for revenge and errors in judgment, we see that in the time of the Covenant of the Law with Israel, He also set up places of refuge (entire cities), and commanded each case be judged with fair trials obtaining witnesses (two or more that must be in agreement), but gave them a law the stemmed from the time of Noah which said, “If a man sheds the blood of another, by man his blood shall be shed”, and then finally recommends forgiveness for most sin and provides a system of blood sacrifice for sin, culminating when He gave His only begotten Son (Isaiah 53/John 3). The provision of animal sacrifice was of course only temporary looking forward to this “once for all” sacrifice of His Son (Hebrews 10:10), as an atonement that satisfies the requirement of life for life (Genesis 9:6/Isaiah 53). For without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Therefore, this intent of God to treat each individual life as sacred is so serious that, as eluded to above, that Jesus the Messiah says that even anger and insult are violations of the 6th Commandment.
So why did our Lord do all this for us? Because of the potential danger that lurks within each of us when we act out as our own lord (Genesis 3:5). Sad as it seems to admit it, the source of these heinous and dangerous motivations is a genuine potential that lies within each of us (Matthew 15:19)! Who can deny it? Only the self-deluded!
Brother Paul
Posts: 235 | From: Cambridge, MA | Registered: Dec 2009
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