For the Community The death penalty is for the sake of a just community. Deuteronomy 19:11-13 “‘But if anyone hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and attacks him and strikes him fatally so that he dies, and he flees into one of these cities, then the elders of his city ...
Life for Life We must flinch at what God requires. Leviticus 24:17 “Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death.” Leviticus 24:21b “…and whoever kills a person shall be put to death.” The fact that this sanction existed before the Ten Commandments (Gen. 9), and is explicitly continued in the New Testament (Rom. ...
Guard Your Heart Murder begins in the heart. Leviticus 19:17, 18 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you ...
Guard Life We are obligated to preserve the lives of others. Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.” Deuteronomy 5:17 “‘You shall not murder.’” This commandment which prohibits the taking of life also obligates men to do whatever is necessary to preserve and defend it. Cain’s question, “Am I my brother’s keeper” (Gen. 4:9), is, in this ...
Murder Life must be honored by all. Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.” Deuteronomy 5:17 “‘You shall not murder.’” Murder is the unlawful, willful, and premeditated taking of the life of another. God forbids murder, requiring the life of one who murders as appropriate retribution (Gen. 9:5, 6). God is the Giver of life; only He has ...
No Wanton Destruction We must not subject the creation to wanton destruction. Deuteronomy 20:19-20 “‘When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not ...
Even Creation Deserves Honor Here is a basis for a theology of creation-keeping. Deuteronomy 22:6, 7 “If you come across a bird’s nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with ...
Honor the Poor The poor and debtors are worthy of honor. Deuteronomy 24:10-13 “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to ...
Honor Elders God commands us to honor the elders among us. Leviticus 19:32 “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.” Luke 14:7-11; Romans 12:10-17; 1 Peter 2:17 The reference here may be specifically to a ruler ...
The Law and Civil Magistrates To rule for good, magistrates must honor God’s Law. Deuteronomy 17:14-20 “When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that ...