Topical Bible: Murder: God: Curses Those Guilty of

◄ Murder: God: Curses Those Guilty of ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

Murder, the unlawful and premeditated taking of a human life, is a grievous sin that is explicitly condemned throughout the Bible. From the earliest chapters of Scripture, God establishes the sanctity of human life, created in His image, and the severe consequences for those who violate this divine order through murder.

Divine Prohibition and Consequences

The prohibition against murder is first articulated in the Ten Commandments, where God commands, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13). This commandment underscores the value God places on human life and His expectation for humanity to uphold this sacred principle.

In Genesis 4, the account of Cain and Abel provides an early example of murder and its consequences. After Cain kills his brother Abel, God confronts him, saying, "What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground" (Genesis 4:10). As a result, Cain is cursed and becomes a restless wanderer on the earth, illustrating the divine judgment that follows the act of murder.

Curses Pronounced on Murderers

The Bible contains several instances where God pronounces curses on those guilty of murder. In Deuteronomy 27:24, during the pronouncement of curses from Mount Ebal, it is declared, "Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret." This curse reflects the seriousness with which God views the act of murder, especially when committed in deceit and treachery.

In the prophetic literature, God continues to express His abhorrence of murder. Through the prophet Hosea, God condemns the violence and bloodshed in Israel, stating, "They commit falsehood; thieves break in, and bandits raid in the streets. But they do not consider that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds surround them; they are before My face" (Hosea 7:1-2). The imagery of bloodshed and the divine remembrance of such acts highlight the inevitable judgment that awaits unrepentant murderers.

The Role of Justice and Retribution

God's justice demands retribution for the crime of murder. In Genesis 9:6, God establishes the principle of capital punishment for murder, declaring, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind" . This decree underscores the gravity of murder and the divine mandate for human authorities to administer justice.

The cities of refuge, as described in Numbers 35, provide a legal framework for distinguishing between accidental and premeditated killing. However, even within this system, the intentional murderer is not spared: "But if anyone strikes another with an iron object so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death" (Numbers 35:16). This reinforces the principle that deliberate murder is met with the ultimate penalty.

New Testament Affirmation

The New Testament reaffirms the prohibition against murder and the spiritual consequences for those who commit it. Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, expands the understanding of murder to include harboring anger and hatred in one's heart: "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment" (Matthew 5:22). This teaching emphasizes the internal disposition that can lead to the act of murder and the need for repentance and reconciliation.

The apostle John further emphasizes the incompatibility of murder with the Christian life, stating, "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer" (1 John 3:15). This underscores the spiritual death that accompanies the sin of murder and the necessity of transformation through Christ.

In summary, the Bible consistently portrays murder as a heinous sin that incurs divine curses and demands justice. The sanctity of human life, created in the image of God, is upheld throughout Scripture, and those guilty of murder face both temporal and eternal consequences.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Genesis 4:11
And now are you cursed from the earth, which has opened her mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand;
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Thou Shalt not Kill.
... forbidden, all cause also is forbidden whence murder may originate ... although he does
not kill, yet curses and utters ... mirror, to regard the will of God, and with ...
//christianbookshelf.org/luther/the large catechism/thou shalt not kill.htm

Sixth Commandment
... pointed out that the Jewish race, the people of God, always counted ... OTHER KINDS OF
MURDER. ... after night drunk, and when his mother remonstrates, curses her grey ...
//christianbookshelf.org/moody/weighed and wanting/sixth commandment.htm

The Instrumentality of the Wicked Employed by God, While He ...
... in respect of David, as David himself says of Shimei's curses. ... the murder of the
sons of Ahab, and the ... that there is no concurrence between God and man, when ...
/.../the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 18 the instrumentality of.htm

The Mission of the Christian Home.
... He murdered the children of others; you murder your own; he ... you meet it before the
bar of God, it will ... witness against you, and pour down its curses upon your ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/philips/the christian home/chapter ii the mission of.htm

The Third Commandment
... plead with the judge to spare him because it was his custom to murder. ... things go
cross and the dice runs against them, run against God in oaths and curses. ...
/.../watson/the ten commandments/2 3 the third commandment.htm

Let us See How He Continues after This: "These Events...
... words beginning thus: "Hold not Thy peace, O God of my ... of treason, so as to merit
the curses pronounced against ... you beget a son, your son shall murder you; and ...
//christianbookshelf.org/origen/origen against celsus/chapter xx let us see.htm

Antipater's Navigation from Rome to his Father; and How He was ...
... him, on the contrary, with bitter curses, while they ... was no more to be imposed upon
than God himself; of ... with disturbance, and caused them to murder one another ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 5 antipaters navigation from.htm

The Polity Settled by Moses; and How He Disappeared from among ...
... that their hands are innocent of this murder, and that ... were diligent about the worship
of God, and the ... After this, curses were denounced upon those that should ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 8 the polity settled.htm

Paul Before Felix.
... under a dreadful imprecation speedily to perpetrate the murder. ... Had he never heard
the complaints and curses of the ... sees, or seems to see, the God of justice ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture xxvii paul before felix.htm

Grace Abounding
... its appointed season; yea, on that blasphemer who curses God, the day ... ever, that
deed of foul adultery and murder; yet that did not stop God's love from ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 9 1863/grace abounding.htm