Remove Murderers – The Kingdom Curriculum X (3)

Remove Murderers

The Kingdom Curriculum X (3)

“You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17

“But if anyone hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and attacks him fatally so that he dies…you shall purge the innocent blood from Israel, so that it may be well with you.” Deuteronomy 19:11

Purge All Murderous Behavior.

The death penalty for murder – and various other crimes – was established in ancient Israel for three reasons. First, it was a vindication of the honor and integrity of God. God alone has the right to bestow and withdraw life, and those who murdered needed to be reminded of this in the harshest of terms. Men must not in any way presume on the divine prerogatives, the most important of which is the right to take away the life He has given His creatures (Ps. 104:29). The death penalty would provide a terrible reminder of the sovereignty of God and the high value He places on life.

Second, the death penalty removed from the community a potential source of ongoing harm and disruption. Remember, the hearts of God’s people were not disposed to obey His Law (Deut. 5:29). Those who had once acted violently against men and God would have little to restrain them if their hearts again became a safe harbor for hate or revenge. It would take the Holy Spirit to make hearts malleable to real change. In ancient Israel, hearts hardened against their neighbors, and that broke out in murderous behavior, would likely continue in that vein (think of Joab). Those who took the lives of their neighbors unjustly had to be removed.

Finally, the death penalty served to deter others from allowing hatred to fester into murder. Knowing that justice for those who take life meant the forfeiture of their own would have served as a strong inducement to recognize the early warning signs of murder and to deal with them accordingly. We should be instructed by the severity of murder’s punishment to give all diligence to expunge from our hearts and refuse in our behavior any unjust conduct that would issue in harm to our neighbors. The principle in the death penalty is the preservation of life and wellbeing throughout the community. The death penalty has never been revoked; however, as we shall see, its use has been affected and somewhat revised in the age of the Spirit and under the saving power of the Gospel.

The Apostle John taught that those who would follow Jesus must walk in the commandments of God (1 John 2:1-6). Order your copy of The Law of God by going to www.MyParuchia.com and clicking on Publications, Waxed Tablet. Begin meditating on God’s Law today.

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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.