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Murder is a sin. It is the sixth commandment written by God’s hand on the tablets of stone, given to Moses who then brought the commandments down from the top of Mount Sinai all those years ago to give to the people of Israel, known as the Israelites (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5).
Notice that God does not use the word “kill” and is definitely specific with His choice of the word “murder”. Why is this so? Murder is in reference to taking a person’s life maliciously whether it involves any type of weapon and the end result is death. Murder is killing or taking away human life intentionally. Killing is not murder when humans take the life of an animal so that they can consume the meat or wear their skin. God permits this as He gave us dominion over all of the animals. This began in the Garden of Eden when God gave Adam the benefit of naming all the birds and animals (Genesis 2:19-20). After the Great Flood God spoke to Noah and told him in Genesis 9:2-3 “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand”...the scripture goes on to say we can eat animals in addition to plants.
Therefore we can see that God gave animals into our hands for beneficial reasons and expected humans to be good stewards by looking after our animals well so that they are fed, watered, free from disease, kept safe and sheltered. Animals service human’s needs and can be killed since we have the choice in free will to eat their meat. Historically, killing an animal was done quickly and cleanly with a sharp knife in one swift, deft cut under the neck so that the animal would quickly lose blood as well as their consciousness, and drop to the ground dead. This is the most humane way to kill an animal and takes skill. Having authority and power over animals comes with responsibility but sadly many do not treat their animals well (Proverbs 12:10).
Murder is not allowed by God because He is the author and creator of life. God alone gives life and has the right to take it away, because He alone is capable of restoring it. We are made in His image and God has sanctified life. Genesis 1:26; 5:1, Job 12:10, and Isaiah 42:5 are just a few scriptures to refer to in this regard. Why should anyone take another’s life? It is certainly not ours to take. You may remember or be interested to know that the first instance of murder in the Bible occurred between the first two sons of Adam and Eve.
The First Murder on Earth
Cain murdered his brother Abel in the account found in Genesis 4:1-15 “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, ‘I have acquired a man from the Lord’. Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it’. Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’ And He said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth’. And Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear! Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me’. And the Lord said to him, ‘Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold’. And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him”.
Quite a dramatic account. It reads as though Cain had strong feelings of envy and jealousy towards his brother, even hatred. In these modern times we hear of murders between family members quite frequently. Abortion is also murder of the unborn. The statistics are horrendous and growing exponentially every day. Life is so precious and yet humans have reduced it down to almost nothing. It is a terrible tragedy for just one life to be lost through abortion as it is totally preventable. These unborn babies are sacrificed to the god of convenience. So many cannot have children and desire to adopt babies, while others demand the right to murder their offspring. Humanity has sunk to the depths of great depravity. When one expects to murder their unborn child because the law permits this, then life is no longer considered valuable and sanctified like God intended, but instead disposable depending on the whims or desires of the mother.
Murder can also occur in the mind without even laying a finger on a person. Just thinking about wanting another person dead, dreaming up ways of doing so, even exclaiming out loud “I wish so-and-so was dead” is equivalent to murder in God’s eyes. His ways are righteous and so far above our ways (Isaiah 55:8). It is incomprehensible to me that anyone can wrap their hands around any human’s throat and strangle them to death. It is also a huge stretch to think about planning to murder a family member. And yet as I write this I reluctantly remember a time way back in the late 1960s and early 1970s wishing my physical father would die. He never knew I had these awful thoughts but I did. He was incredibly difficult to live with and I was very afraid of him and could not understand why he was so brutal. I have stored these memories on a back shelf somewhere in the vast array of shelving in my brain in one huge box labelled “Do not open until the right time”. There was no way I would have killed him as he was very strong and could have crushed me like a bug — plus I just couldn’t do something like that. Instead I ran away from home repeatedly until the Police and the authorities finally listened to my pleas for help in order to have peace and to save my life as I believed I was not safe. I never knew that just thinking about murdering was a sin until after God called me nearly 40 years later.
As much as I may not like to admit it, I am guilty of wanting to murder my father in my mind all those years ago. Thankfully God has forgiven me upon baptism as I truly repented of this sin and others. If you have wanted to murder anyone, or indeed murdered your baby through abortion, God can also forgive you too if you are sincere about wanting to change, repent for this sin, seek forgiveness, and accept that you have sinned against God who created and gave you life to use with purpose and for good, as well as all those around you. As remarkable as this may sound it is possible and the peace you will have by God cleansing you is so deep, personal, and worth it no matter how many were murdered through abortion. These babies who never got to have a choice will all one day live again when God resurrects them in their turn, and then they will receive life outside of the womb for the first time and we will get to know them (1 Corinthians 15). Isn’t it simply astounding how perfect God’s plan is despite the sinfulness of the human race?! Once you have truly experienced God’s forgiveness for all the heinous sins committed, you will then be able to live life with a clear conscience. John 14:27 is waiting for you.