A Double Assault – The Sixth Commandment

A Double Assault

Murder assaults both God and man.

Read Exodus 20:13

“You shall not murder.”

That murder harms another human being is obvious. What may be less obvious is the insult done to God by every act of murder of any kind. Man, after all, is made in the image of God. Man brings to flesh, in certain ways, the divine glory, majesty, and dignity. To strike down the image-bearer of God is to do violence against the Most High Himself. This makes murder a most heinous offense. And when we note that murder is more than the literal shedding of blood unto death – such as hatred – assaulting the dignity of men and the majesty of God becomes something we need to exercise more vigilance over, lest we be unwittingly guilty of transgression. Indeed, the commandment requires not just that we avoid transgressing, but that we give all diligence in preserving and advancing the wellbeing of our neighbors.

The last six commandments are intimately connected to the first four. How can you see that here, in the sixth commandment?

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.