What other scriptures highlight the seriousness of taking innocent life? The weight of blood-guilt in Proverbs 28:17 “A man burdened by bloodguilt will be a fugitive until death; let no one support him.” (Proverbs 28:17) Solomon paints a sobering picture: blood-guilt creates a restless, lifelong exile. Scripture consistently echoes that verdict. From the very first murder • Genesis 4:10 – “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.” ‑ God Himself testifies that innocent blood has a voice that reaches heaven. God’s covenant with Noah • Genesis 9:5-6 – “…I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood shall be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.” ‑ Post-flood humanity receives a universal, never-revoked mandate: human life is sacred because it bears God’s image. The Law codifies the sanctity of life • Exodus 20:13 – “You shall not murder.” • Exodus 21:12,14 – Premeditated killing requires capital punishment; no asylum may protect the murderer. • Numbers 35:31-34 – No ransom may buy off justice; bloodshed defiles the land until the murderer pays with his own life. • Deuteronomy 19:10-13 – Cities of refuge prevent accidental killers from dying, but willful murderers must be surrendered. • Deuteronomy 27:25 – “Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.” Wisdom literature reinforces the theme • Proverbs 6:16-17 – “Hands that shed innocent blood” rank among the seven things the LORD hates. • Psalm 106:37-38 – Child sacrifice “polluted” the land with innocent blood, inviting divine discipline. Prophets warn of national consequences • Isaiah 59:2-3 – Blood-stained hands build walls between people and God. • Jeremiah 22:3 – “Do not shed innocent blood in this place.” Social righteousness includes protecting the vulnerable. Jesus deepens the command • Matthew 5:21-22 – Anger that could lead to murder is already liable to judgment; the heart crime precedes the hand crime. • Matthew 23:35 – From Abel to Zechariah, all unrighteous blood is remembered by God and will be reckoned. New-covenant writers hold the same line • Romans 13:4 – Government “does not bear the sword in vain” but is “an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” • Revelation 21:8 – “Murderers… will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.” Eternal judgment matches temporal seriousness. • Revelation 22:15 – “Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers…” Life in the New Jerusalem is barred to the unrepentant shedder of innocent blood. Putting it all together • God hears innocent blood (Genesis 4). • He demands personal accountability (Genesis 9; Exodus 21). • He forbids any compromise with murder (Numbers 35; Deuteronomy 27). • He hates the very shedding of innocent blood (Proverbs 6). • Prophets declare that such blood defiles individuals and nations (Isaiah 59; Jeremiah 22). • Christ locates the root in the heart (Matthew 5) and promises final reckoning (Matthew 23; Revelation 21). Scripture—from Genesis to Revelation—treats the taking of innocent life as a direct assault on God’s image, a pollution of the land, a crime demanding both earthly justice and, if unrepented, eternal judgment. |
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