Does "Don't Kill" only apply to murders?

The Ten Commandments descended from God to the newly liberated Jews on Mount Sinai, showing them the basis of living as a divine people, a shining light on a hill for the world to look towards and see the way of the one true God. ten and then elaborated more with the Levitical law.

Often people observe these rules and believe that they are easy to follow or that they can be selectively followed and ignored in certain circumstances. The sixth commandment is what people feel they can easily avoid. However, God prioritized this law as one of the ten most important.

When God said, "You will not kill" in Exodus 20:13, He meant that no one could take another's life. But Jesus made it clear that one should not harbor hatred, murderous thoughts, or evil feelings for a neighbor.

Why did God send the 10 commandments?

The Ten Commandments were the foundations of the Law on which Israel would be based. As a nation, these rules were important because Israel had to show the world the way of the one true God. The Bible says that "the Lord was glad, for his righteousness's sake, to enlarge his law and make it glorious" (Isaiah 41:21). He chose to enlarge his law through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

God also handed down the Ten Commandments so that no one could pretend to be ignorant of good and evil. Paul wrote to the Galatian church: "Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, because" The righteous will live by faith. " But the law is not of faith, rather 'He who makes them will live according to them' ”(Galatians 3: 11-12).

The law created an impossible standard for sinful people, highlighting the need for a Savior; "Now there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because the law of the Spirit of life has freed you in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8: 1-2). The Holy Spirit helps those who have become disciples of Jesus Christ to grow more like Jesus, becoming more righteous through their lives.

Where does this command appear?

Prior to their stay in Egypt, the people who became the nation of Israel were tribal shepherds. God took them out of Egypt to make them a nation modeled on its rules and ways and "... a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19: 6 b). When they gathered on Mount Sinai, God descended on the mountain and gave Moses the basis of the laws that the nation of Israel was to live, with the first ten being carved in stone with God's own finger.

While God has enacted more laws on Mount Sinai, only the first ten were written in stone. The first four focus on man's relationship with God, encoding how man should interact with a holy God. The last six are about man's interactions with other people. In a perfect world, the sixth commandment would be easy to follow, requiring no one to take another's life.

What does the Bible say about killing?
If this world were perfect, it would be easy to follow the sixth commandment. But sin has entered the world, making killing a part of life and justice is more difficult to enforce. The Book of Deuteronomy outlines ways to uphold justice and obey the law. One of these moral complications is manslaughter, when someone accidentally kills another. God established refugee cities for the displaced, dispossessed, and those who have committed manslaughter:

“This is the disposition for the murderer, who by fleeing there can save his life. If someone unintentionally kills his neighbor without hating him in the past - such as when someone goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the ax to cut a tree, and the head slips off the handle and hits his neighbor so that he dies - he can flee to one of these cities and live, for the blood avenger in hot rage to chase the killer and catch up with him, because the road is long and fatally hits him, although the man did not deserve to die, for he had not hated his neighbor in the past ”(Deuteronomy 19: 4-6).

Here, the law takes into account the pardon in case of accidents. It is important to note that part of this indemnity is the heart of the individual, with the provision of verse 6 being: "... he had not hated his neighbor in the past." God sees the heart of every person and asks the law to do it as much as possible. Such grace is not to be extended under man's righteousness for the willful killing of another person, with Old Testament law requiring: "then the elders of his city will send him and take him from there, and they will deliver blood to the avenger, so that he may die ”(Deuteronomy 19:12). Life is sacred and killing is a violation of the order willed by God and must be faced.

In law-based biblical approaches, killing must be approached with a firm hand of justice. The reason God - and by extension the Law - takes it so seriously is because, "Whoever sheds man's blood, his blood must be shed by man, for God made man to his image ”(Genesis 9: 6). God has given man body, soul and will, a level of consciousness and awareness which means that man can create, invent, build and know good from evil. God has endowed man with a unique mark of his own nature, and every human being carries that mark, which means that every person is loved only by God. Dishonoring that image is blasphemous before the Creator of that image.

Does this verse only cover murder?
For many, control over their actions is sufficient to feel that they have not violated the sixth commandment. Not taking a life is enough for some. When Jesus came, he clarified the law, teaching what God truly desired from his people. The law dictated not only what actions people should or should not take, but also what the condition of the heart should be.

The Lord wants people to be like Him, holy and righteous, which is as much an internal condition as it is an external action. Of killing, Jesus said: “You heard that it was said to the ancients: 'Thou shalt not kill; and whoever murders will be subject to trial. 'But I tell you that all who are angry with his brother will be subject to judgment; anyone who insults his brother will be accountable to the council; and anyone who says, "Stupid!" he will be responsible for the hell of fire ”(Matthew 5:21).

Hating one's neighbor, harboring the feelings and thoughts that can lead to murder is also sinful and cannot live up to the righteousness of holy God. John the Beloved Apostle elaborated further on this internal state of sin, "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has evil thoughts and intentions, even if they have not been prosecuted as sinners" (1 John 3: 15 ).

Is this verse still relevant to us today?

Until the end of the days, there will be deaths, murders, accidents and hatred in people's hearts. Jesus came and freed Christians from the burdens of the law, because it served as a last sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. But he also came to support and fulfill the law, including the Ten Commandments.

People struggle to live a righteous life in line with their values, set out in the first ten rules. Understanding that "you must not kill" is both refusing to take your own life and not harboring feelings of hatred towards others can be a reminder to cling to Jesus for peace. When there is division, rather than delving into wicked thoughts, vitriolic words, and violent actions, Christians should look to their Savior's example and remember that God is love.