An attorney was speaking to a woman who had just lost her husband. He said to her, “Your husband did not leave a will, so we need to know the last words he ever said to you.” She replied, “I don’t want to tell you.” The attorney said, “Look, he did not leave a will. We need to know the last words he ever said to you.” But the woman refused to tell him. “I don’t want to tell you,” she said. “It was something between the two of us.” The attorney pleaded, “Just one more time, I beg you; please tell me the last words your husband ever said to you?” Finally the woman relented. “Okay, I’ll tell you,” she said. “The last thing he ever said to me was, ‘You don’t scare me. You couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with that old gun.’”
The sixth commandment is found in Exodus 20:13 and reads, “You shall not murder.” Or in other words, “No Murder, He Wrote”.
I think that when many of us hear this commandment, we think to ourselves, finally, one that we should have no trouble keeping. Unlike coveting.
I am not a murderer. I have never killed anyone. I would never kill anyone. To be the shortest verse in the OT it sure has a lot of meaning and application behind it. To fully understand we need to look first at what it does not mean, and then see how it applies to ALL of us and then see how to guard against breaking it.
1) What It Doesn’t Mean
We have to be careful to be good students of the Word, to read the context and see if the translation lines up with the rest of Scripture. For instance, the KJV actually translates this verse as “Thou Shalt Not Kill”, which has been used by many as the foundation for various beliefs. Such as:
A) Becoming Vegetarian
If you want to be a vegetarian there is nothing wrong with that. However, do not use the Bible as your basis for being vegetarian. The Bible clearly allows for the eating of meat.
Gen. 9:1-3 – ” Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. 2 All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear and terror. I have placed them in your power. 3 I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables.”
B) Being Anti-War
Again, I would say that I am definitely not PRO-war, in the sense of being FOR war. However, I understand that war is sometimes necessary. Also, in the Word God, again, instructed the children of Israel to go to war.
I Sam. 15:18 – “And the LORD sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ “
Psalm 144:1 – ” Praise the LORD, who is my rock. He trains my hands FOR WAR and gives my fingers skill for battle.”
This is not a pacifist God.
C) To Not Kill Insects or to Forbid Hunting
Please kill all of the mosquito’s that you can for me and all the spiders you can for Marci, Michelle’s sister. I think she saw Arachnophobia at an impressionable time in her life. As for hunting, again, I point back to Gen. 9:3 – “I have given them to you for food.”
A man was arrested for shooting a California Condor. He was taken before the judge who was an animal rights activist, and everyone knew this guy was going to prison. The judge said, you have killed this rare bird, and my duty is clear. But do you have anything to say for yourself before I pronounce your sentence? The man said, yes, we were starving, hadn’t eaten in weeks. I’m out of work, and too proud to accept government help. I’m ashamed of what I have done, but it was a matter of life and death for me and my children. The judge said, I feel sorry for you, and since you killed it to eat, I’m gonna let you go this time. As the man walked out of the courtroom the judge said wait, I have to ask, what does California Condor taste like? The man replied, It’s not as sweet as spotted owl but not as tough as bald eagle. [There’s a man who didn’t know when to shut up]
D) Self-Defense
Ex. 22:2-3 – “If a thief is caught in the act of breaking into a house and is struck and killed in the process, the person who killed the thief is not guilty of murder. 3But if it happens in daylight, the one who killed the thief is guilty of murder.”
God does not ask us to stand by and allow others to steal from us or cause us harm.
E) Capital Punishment
When trying to determine whether this would violate the 6th commandment, you look to Scripture to interpret Scripture. One chapter after The Ten are given, God gives at least 14 offenses to sentence someone to receive the death penalty. He is not double-minded. He didn’t say “Thou SHALT NOT KILL” and then give the orders to kill in the next chapter.
The verse is more properly translated “You shall not MURDER”
Unfortunately, murder is in the news nightly. We are exposed to it SO much, it takes something truly heinous to even raise our eyebrows anymore.
Casey Anthony
Anders Behring Breivik planting a bomb a little more than a week ago outside an Oslo, Norway office which killed 7 people, then driving to the island of Utoeya and shooting 86 dead at a youth camp of the ruling Labour Party – now that gets our attention! But how many murders happen in our country daily? Around 41 per day.
God knew every act of violence that would happen on this whole earth in the moment when He looked at Adam in the garden and said, “What have you done?”
Ron Mehl – Tender Commandments – “God knows that men and women will simply destroy themselves. He understands all too clearly the roots of murder that grow in the human heart. And were it not for His intervening grace and restraining hand, man could very well have eliminated himself from the world and ended his own history – probably a long time ago. Yet God, in His love, has not allowed that to happen. And that is why, when He met with Moses on the mountain before the eyes of the watching nation, He included these four weighty words among His ten commands: “You shall not murder.” NO Murder He Wrote!
2) Applies to ALL of US
When discussing THE TEN, this is one where many of us think “I can skip that week, because that one isn’t a problem. But here’s something you need to know about the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the OT, God laid out these laws. Don’t kill. Don’t commit adultery. That’s pretty straightforward. But God is not just concerned with the outside, he’s also concerned with your heart! He’s not just concerned that your body is doing the right actions, he’s concerned that your heart has the right attitudes!
1 John 3:11-15 (NLT) – “This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.”
Matthew 5:21-22 (NLT) “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.”
Remember, what Jesus did, is move the commandments from just outward actions – “kill” – to inward attitudes and motives – “hate.” So God doesn’t just care that you act right. He cares that you ARE right on the inside. That you have the RIGHT STUFF on the inside.
In “The Tender Commandments”, Mehl says, “This morning I woke up at about 3am and couldn’t go back to sleep. I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and an amazing thing happened. I took the tube of toothpaste, squeezed it, and do you know what came out? Toothpaste. I kid you not. It wasn’t mashed potatoes. It wasn’t Jello. It wasn’t scented topical muscle rub. Just white, minty toothpaste.
And God knows that when I put HIM first in my life, the first thing that will come out of my life when I am put under pressure will be His love. When my life has been filled with the love, peace, long-suffering, patience and kindness of God, then when I am squeezed by people, circumstances, challenges, troubles, and problems, the Lord knows that out of my life and out of your life will come expressions of His love and His grace.”
In his autobiography, “Number 1”, Billy Martin told about hunting in Texas with Mickey Mantle. Mickey had a friend who would let them hunt on his ranch. When they reached the ranch, Mickey told Billy to wait in the car while he checked in with his friend. Mantle’s friend quickly gave them permission to hunt, but he asked Mickey a favor. He had a pet mule in the barn who was going blind, and he didn’t have the heart to put him out of his misery. He asked Mickey to shoot the mule for him. When Mickey came back to the car, he pretended to be angry. He scowled and slammed the door. Billy asked him what was wrong, and Mickey said his friend wouldn’t let them hunt. “I’m so mad at that guy,” Mantle said, “I’m going out to his barn and shoot one of his mules!” Mantle drove like a maniac to the barn. Martin protested, “We can’t do that!” But Mickey was adamant. “Just watch me,” he shouted. When they got to the barn, Mantle jumped out of the car with his rifle, ran inside, and shot the mule. As he was leaving, though, he heard two shots, and he ran back to the car. He saw that Martin had taken out his rifle, too. “What are you doing, Martin?” he yelled. Martin yelled back, face red with anger, “We’ll show that jerk! I just killed two of his cows!” Anger can be dangerously contagious.
Try explaining that to your friend! 
You see, anger affects everyone. Not just you, but those around you. It’s very contagious! Hebrews 12:15 – “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.”
Have you ever mistaken someone’s not returning a call, an email, voicemail or a FB message? Have you ever harbored hard feelings toward them because of it only to later find out that they never received it or were on vacation, etc.? Had no idea what you were talking about? Be careful, give people the benefit of the doubt. How would you have liked to stand there as your friend listened to that voicemail?
Have I murdered anybody by my words? Have I allowed my actions or words to be filled with contempt or malice toward a relative or neighbor or acquaintances? Have I arrogantly shown contempt for others on the highway, in the store, at the gas station, or at work? Have I struggled to love someone who is not loving back? Have I held this struggle up in the light of the cross?
How are you feeling about this commandment now? Ever broken it? I have.
3) How to Guard Against Breaking It
Eph. 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” If there has been a murderous spirit in your heart, that needs to be repented of right now. Whoever you are angry at needs to be forgiven and that anger released. It is far better to suffer some injury than to be guilty of murder, even if it is only hurting you.
You see, when we begin to devalue human life, then none of us are safe. Why do you think there’s such disrespect in our society today? For at least three generations, we have been teaching our children that people are just another kind of animal, evolved from another species of animal. The current movie “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” teaches that with a little help the apes are far superior. Just 6 summers ago (2005), the London Zoo posted a sign in front of their newest exhibit, reading, “Warning: Humans in Their Natural Environment.” The exhibit featured eight Homo sapiens in a sealed enclosure adjacent to another sealed enclosure of various primates. The human “captives” were chosen from an online contest, and spent their time sunning on a rock ledge, playing board games, and waving to spectators. A signboard informed visitors about the species’ diet, habitat, worldwide distribution, and threats. The goal of the exhibit, according to Zoo spokesperson Polly Wills, was to downplay the uniqueness of human beings as a species. “Seeing people in a different environment, among other animals,” said Wills, “teaches members of the public that the human is just another primate.” Tom Mahoney, one of the participants in the exhibit, agreed. “A lot of people think that humans are above other animals,” he said. “When they see humans as animals, here, it kind of reminds them that we’re not that special.”
That’s not what the Bible says. Chuck Colson says, “In contrast to much of the world, the message of Scripture is that human dignity does not come from usefulness. Dignity does not come from a person’s religion, nor their sex, nor from their skin color, nor age, nor because of their power or status. Human dignity is something we are conceived with because we are made in the image of God. A quadriplegic has the same dignity as an Olympic athlete; a Muslim the same dignity as a Christian; a Samaritan the same dignity as a Jew. These are our neighbors whom we are to love as ourselves.”
God’s command, “You shall not murder,” is more than just a prohibition against murder. At its foundation, it calls us to respect all human life, to treat one another with dignity as image-bearers of a holy God. That is why abortion, euthanasia and suicide are SO wrong.
1 John 4:20 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”
Our relationship with God is directly tied to our relationships with people. That’s because those people are made in the image of God.
Eph. 4:26-27 – “And ‘don’t sin by letting anger control you.’ Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.”
How many marriages or relationships have been murdered by anger-controlled people. The Bible clearly indicates that we give the enemy a foothold in our lives by holding onto anger. Isn’t it time that the devil loses his footing in your life?
Matt. 5:23-24 – “So if you are presenting a sacrifice[e] at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.”
So serious is the effect of a broken relationship with others that God would rather have us heal that before coming and worshiping Him! A relationship with God is much more satisfying when we also have healthy relationships with others. Our own love for God cannot be pure when mixed with anger or hatred for others.
It is just 4 little words, but o how important to our lives and the quality of relationships in our lives: “No Murder He Wrote”.
