The Ten(der) Commandments: “The Love of Life”
Exodus 20:13
God knows very well how far humanity has fallen.
God knows better than any what kind of world this has become because of man’s rebellion. You and I may react with shock to the stories of violence or murder on the morning news, but not God. God knew the morning news last night. He knew it thousands of years ago. He knew the kind of violence people would be capable of the moment when He looked at Adam in the garden and said, “What have you done?” There was a time when the world was a perfect place, but that time passed by quickly.
All too soon the earth became filled with violence and bloodshed, so much so that God finally plucked one godly family out of the mess and sent a flood to wipe the planet clean and begin again. Even then God knew it would not be enough. Even then he knew what the only possible final remedy would be... and what it would cost Him.
God knew that if the evil in people’s hearts was left unchecked, men and
women would simply destroy themselves and tear society apart. That is why, when God met with Moses on
the mountain before the eyes of a watchful people, He included these four powserful words among His ten commands: “You shall not murder.”
When you read this commandment in the King James Version, it reads,
“Thou shalt not kill” which is precisely how most of us learned it. That is a broad statement, and in fact has been used by people throughout the years to justify their positions on a wide range of issues, from stands against capital punishment and abortion all the way to stands against killing animals for food.
Thou shall not kill is broad indeed!
There is a problem with the King James interpretation, however. That is not at all how the Hebrew people would have understood this commandment, and apparently it is not how God understood it either. In fact, in the very next chapter of Exodus (21:12) God decreed that anyone who struck another person so as to cause that person’s death should themselves be put to death. If God’s intention was to prohibit all killing, then God Himself was rather quickly violating His own command! What was going on?
The Hebrew people were coming out of a culture where life was cheap. For many long years they had been slaves in Egypt, disposable commodities in the eyes of the pharaoh, subject to death at an Egyptian’s slightest whim. Now they were starting their own culture, struggling to solidify their basic moral foundation. They were about to head toward the Promised Land where they would soon be warring against the indigenous people there. Like it or not, clearly there were times when some killing, at least, would be allowed. The question was, what would be the limits?
The sixth commandment sought to provide an answer. A more accurate translation of this commandment, found in most modern translations, reads,
“You shall not murder.” From the beginning it was not seen as a prohibition against all killing, but as specifically as a ban against unjustified killing of people, killing with malice or premeditation. The Bible clearly indicated that for the sake of justice and protection, death may sometimes occur, but that there must always be limits.
Every culture that I am aware of agrees with this and says that murder is wrong, but have you ever wondered why that is so? It is not just that people need to be protected from one another, although that is true. A deeper reason goes all the way back to creation itself. Genesis 1:27 says,
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
The reason that the wrongful taking of human life is wrong is that every human being ever conceived has been was stamped with the image of God. Every human being ever conceived carries an imprint of God’s image. It may be easier to see in some folks than in others but it’s there in all people.
It is that mark of God’s image that is the basis for this commandment. That is why murder is wrong, but eating hamburger is ok! It’s because humans are stamped with the image of God, but cows are not. That doesn’t mean we should be cruel to animals, but it means they are in another category. Every boy and every girl, every man and every woman has been stamped with the image of God, and that makes people precious indeed. Because every human life bears the image of God, the taking of life is a serious thing.
I suspect that this sermon is beginning to sound to some of you like a typical pro-life sermon, very much what you would expect from a conservative pastor. You are just waiting for me to weigh in about abortion or capital punishment. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to keep waiting. It is simply beyond the scope of one sermon to address all of the life and death issues that face our society today. What I will do is to simply acknowledge the questions and the struggles of good, faithful people today to find honest, faithful answers.
I know that the tendency of most of us is to go directly to the issues of the day to try to apply this commandment. When we do, so many questions arise about war, euthanasia, abortion, or the death penalty. Are they always wrong? Are they ever allowable? Under what circumstances? These are not lofty, philosophical questions. They are the agonizing questions that people face in times of crisis. They are the questions of a family whose loved one is on life support. They are the questions of a young girl who is pregnant and terrified. What’s right, what’s wrong?
Rather than try to address each issue today, I’ve decided that it is more important this morning to focus on the root of this commandment. When I do, I see that because God created life and put something of his image into all people, we must not treat life lightly or take life indiscriminately.
“You shall not murder” should be foundational for our society.
What then should we do? If we know what we should not do, what then should we do? What if this commandment had been written in the positive? What if instead of “You shall not...” it had been written, “You shall...?” In fact, I think it has.
The evidence is clear: God doesn’t want us simply to avoid committing murder, but also to actively promote and protect human life. Throughout history, when God’s people have taken this truth seriously, amazing things have happened. We begin to have concern for the poor. We begin to have compassion toward the weak. We begin to speak for those who have no voice. We begin to work for justice. We begin to see that these too are issues about life. We begin to see that even more than avoiding death, we are to promote life!
If you know anything about the character of God as revealed in Scripture, you know that God desires - demands - that we do those things if we want to experience his blessing. It is an act of love. Paul expressed this well in Rom 139-10, where he wrote,
“The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Let’s remember that Jesus came not just to bring salvation from death; he came to bring life: abundant, eternal life. The opposite of committing murder is promoting life. We are to choose life - not just for ourselves, but for those who are poor and needy and oppressed or denied justice. We are called to promote and protect human life, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
I know that the issues we face today are difficult, emotionally charged, and rarely as clear-cut as we would wish. However, the sixth commandment reminds us that we are always called to respect life. We are made in the image of God. Life is not cheap. From conception to the end of life, your life is precious and valued by God. Let us make sure it is valued by us.
