Topical Bible: Blood: Shedding of Human: Always Punished

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The shedding of human blood is a grave sin in the biblical narrative, consistently met with divine judgment and punishment. From the earliest accounts in Scripture, the sanctity of human life is underscored, and the act of taking a life is met with severe consequences.

Genesis 4:10-12: The first recorded instance of human bloodshed is the murder of Abel by his brother Cain. God confronts Cain, saying, "What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand." This passage highlights the immediate divine response to murder, emphasizing that the blood of the innocent cries out for justice.

Genesis 9:5-6: After the flood, God establishes a covenant with Noah, reiterating the value of human life: "And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed; I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man: Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind." This decree establishes the principle of retributive justice, underscoring the divine mandate that the shedding of blood must be avenged.

Exodus 21:12: The Mosaic Law further codifies the punishment for murder: "Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death." This legal stipulation reflects the seriousness with which the act of murder is regarded within the covenant community, ensuring that justice is served and the sanctity of life is upheld.

Numbers 35:33-34: The law concerning cities of refuge also addresses the issue of bloodshed: "Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell. For I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites." The land is defiled by bloodshed, and the only remedy is the execution of the murderer, reinforcing the idea that unpunished bloodshed pollutes the community and incurs divine displeasure.

Deuteronomy 19:10-13: The provision for cities of refuge is reiterated, with the stipulation that intentional murderers are not to find sanctuary: "Show him no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you." This passage emphasizes the necessity of purging the community of blood guilt to maintain divine favor and communal well-being.

2 Samuel 12:9-10: The narrative of David and Bathsheba illustrates the personal and national consequences of bloodshed. After orchestrating the death of Uriah, David is confronted by the prophet Nathan: "Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own." David's actions result in ongoing strife and violence within his own family, demonstrating the enduring repercussions of shedding blood.

Proverbs 6:16-17: The wisdom literature also condemns the shedding of innocent blood, listing it among the things the LORD hates: "haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood." This moral teaching aligns with the broader biblical theme that God abhors violence and demands justice for the innocent.

Isaiah 59:3: The prophets frequently denounce the shedding of blood as a cause of divine judgment: "For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice." The prophetic critique often links bloodshed with societal corruption and calls for repentance and justice.

Throughout Scripture, the consistent message is that the shedding of human blood is a serious offense against God and humanity, invariably resulting in divine judgment and the necessity for justice. The biblical narrative upholds the sanctity of life and the principle that those who shed blood must be held accountable.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Genesis 9:6
Whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Blood-Shedding
... which for you, and for the whole human race, there ... truth; but to unbelievers it will
always be a ... of our Saviour's blood, and in the blood-shedding alone, for ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 3 1857/the blood-shedding.htm

The Sins of Communities Noted and Punished.
... that which he did in Jerusalem." * Wantonly shedding the blood ... of prophecy, if we
consider the human race as ... was trodden without the city; and blood came out ...
/.../lee/sermons on various important subjects/sermon xxix the sins of.htm

The Blood of the Testament
... Ah! but Christ drives all the serpents out of the human heart when he ... And almost
all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 58 1912/the blood of the testament.htm

The Blood of Sprinkling (Second Sermon. )
... ye refuse him that speaketh because the present phase of human madness dares to
dispute the divine way of human redemption ... Without shedding of blood there is ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 32 1886/the blood of sprinkling second.htm

Treatise v. An Address to Demetrianus.
... What is this insatiable madness for blood-shedding, what this ... and religious patience,
always quiet and always grateful to ... it given to any of the human race to ...
/.../cyprian/the treatises of cyprian/treatise v an address to.htm

David's Anger
... thou, which hast kept me this day from shedding blood, and from ... It does not even
always supersede it altogether ... that great divine law out of the human mind; for ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/david/sermon iii davids anger.htm

On the Glory of Martyrdom.
... so that in that judgment-day their blood-shedding would make ... reward is so great as
that human infirmity can ... attainments of glory, the title of blood is sealed ...
/.../on the glory of martyrdom.htm

The Priesthood of Christ
... supplications, and the most exquisitely painful experience of human infirmities,
on ... or sacrifice of the body of Christ, by the shedding of his blood on the ...
/.../arminius/the works of james arminius vol 1/oration iv the priesthood of.htm

On the Atonement.
... too weak to carry His cross, through exhaustion of the human; and on the ... confessing
their sins, and expecting remission only through the shedding of blood. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/finney/sermons on gospel themes/xii on the atonement.htm

Some Gospel Truths Opened, According to the Scriptures; Or, the ...
... 2). Which hope is begotten by the Spirit's shedding abroad the ... for thy rejecting
and trampling on the blood of his ... he shall take my divine and human nature, my ...
/.../the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/some gospel truths opened according.htm