Life (Oct. 8, 2023) Exodus 20.13

Sometimes there are portions of scripture that do not need to be explained. They are clear. They are concise. And they speak to us in terms that we understand. This scripture seems to be one of those clear scriptures. It should be obvious to us that we are not to murder. But is this what is at stake here in this passage? There seems to be a lot more going on here than just the committing of murder.

Most of us have heard this commandment as Thou shalt not kill as found in the King James Version. There are other versions where this is the translation. This translation has been used as a blanket command. It is used to justify taking stands against capital punishment, abortion, suicide, euthanasia, self-defense and even war. In other words, it is used to prohibit all killing. But is that what this means?

The Hebrew term is ratsakh, which means to murder, strike down, slay, kill. It is one of seven verbs used for the word killing. It is used in only forty-seven places in the First Testament and is specifically used for murder. Walter Kaiser Jr. says this about the word: “If any of these seven words could signify “murder,” where the factors of premeditation and intentionality are present, this is the verb.”[1] This word is about killing in a premeditated way. It is about murder.

But there is so much more to this word than just murder. What about war? There is premeditated killing there for sure. What about capital punishment? What about abortion or euthanasia? Or what about suicide? It is said that the word kill is a translation that should be used as it covers so much more.

As Albert Curry Winn points out, where there is a rule, there is always someone trying to make an exception to it. When it comes to self-defense, war, and capital punishment, we find those exceptions. The Bible makes those exceptions. The law makes provisions for capital punishment, self-defense and war. Therefore, these seem to be all right.

Yet, there is more to what can be said here. It is known that there are those who are against abortion who have no qualms with capital punishment. In fact, there are some who believe that capital punishment is not done enough (kind of makes you wonder about their “pro-life” stance). And there are those who are in favor of abortion who are against capital punishment. There are those who are total pacifists, nuclear pacifists and those who believe in power through strength. All this is to say that the sixth commandment is one that is very complex with no simple answer. It is like the old joke, where there are three Presbyterians there are five opinions on the matters that seem to be covered in not murdering or killing.

It is interesting that the command could come down to do not kill. As humans we are very good at killing one another. From the time Cain slew Abel to the smart bombs and drones of today, we have always found ways to kill one another.

Think about this for a moment. From 1618-1648 the Thirty Years War raged in Europe. It was fought mostly with handheld weapons. It is estimated that over 30 years, between 4 and 12 million people lost their lives during this conflict, with 450,000 being combat deaths. The rest were from disease and famine that was caused by the battles that raged over the landscape, destroying crops and leaving the dead to rot in the fields. It is said that Germany lost over 20% of its population. Killing took all forms during this time.

As time went on, new weapons were developed that could kill more people faster. Firearms became the weapon of choice in armies across the globe. The casualties lists became longer. We were killing more.

In the 19th century there were wars that made the old wars look tame. The American Civil War listed casualties (dead and wounded) of up to 675,000. Wars in Europe saw new and more “efficient” weapons being deployed.

Then comes the 20th century. In World War I there were about 20 million deaths, 10 million military and 10 million civilians. The military saw the advent of truly mind-boggling ways of killing unleashed. The machine gun, the rifle that could hold up to ten rounds and be fired at 30 rounds per minute, artillery that could send shells 73 miles away, poison gas, bombs dropped from airplanes. It was truly called the War to End All Wars because of the killing that was involved in the conflict.

If one thought that The Great War was a tragedy of killing, one was not at all prepared for what came next with World War II. In this war there were 15 million military deaths and 38 million civilian deaths. There were new weapons that made killing easier and faster. There were horrific mass murders such as the Holocaust where 6 million Jews were killed for just being Jews, but there were others as well such as the Nanjing massacres in China and atrocities that occurred on all fronts. And in the end the specter of complete annihilation was seen in the destruction of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the advent of the atomic bomb.

Today we make bigger and better ways to kill. We have drones in the skies, smart bombs and nuclear missiles. How do we justify all this killing? I know that there are some who say, “We must defend ourselves” and I agree that there must be some defense. But people, if we can kill 53 million people in roughly six years, imagine what we can do today with the weapons that we have? We must take a hard look at the sixth commandment and see where we are.

And it is not just in wars that we are killing or murdering one another. It seems that every week we hear of a mass shooting in this country. It is estimated that there are above 300 million guns in this country alone. That is one gun for almost every man, woman and child. That is too many. I am not for taking everyone’s guns away from them. The genie is already out of the bottle. But I am for sensible gun controls that do not allow senseless killings. One quick story about this. When Gabbie Giffords was shot in AZ over 11 years ago, it was reported that the gunman had an extended clip that allowed him to carry 31 rounds of ammunition. My father, whom no one could ever accuse of being a liberal, said that that was not necessary for any gun. It could only be used for killing more people. He was talking about the sixth commandment.

But what causes killing in the first place? Deep down we know that it is with our hearts. We have anger and rage, thoughts that make us just want to take someone out. Look at the first murder. What happened there? Anger over a sacrifice not accepted and another that was. Have we really changed at all?

We must realize that all life belongs to God. Terence E. Fretheim states that taking human life for any reason makes us act in God’s stead. “In the face of this there should be a lengthy pause filled with careful soul-searching and the absence of vengefulness and arrogance. As a result, taking human life should be very rare indeed.”

Before we think that we are not so bad because we do not murder listen to the words of Jesus one more time: “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.”[2] It is anger that leads us down the path to murder. It is rage that leads us to kill. And it does not have to be the actual killing but thinking it in our hearts and minds.

Do you wish that I never did this series on the commandments? It makes it hard for us to say that we have kept them all. We, in our hearts, commit murder when we are angry with someone to the point of wishing harm upon them. But there is someone who can help us. Jesus said come follow me. The one who kept all the commandments is the one who can lead us in the paths that we need to go, the one who can take our anger and help us to love those who are our enemies. What would it look like if we did not kill? Isn’t that something to look and work forward to? Amen.

[1] Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. “Exodus.” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis–Leviticus (Revised Edition). Ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008. 482. Print. [2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.