Activities Short of Murder

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!

–Psalm 139:17–18 NLT

The sixth commandment not only prohibits acts of murder and attitudes that lead to murder, but it also condemns activities short of murder. The reason God destroyed the world by flood was that “the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11). In books and movies, oftentimes we have a greater tolerance for violence than for other content, such as sexual immorality. Don’t think of violence as a secondary issue. God hates violence because it cheapens the value of life.

Let me show you just how much value God places on your life. In Psalm 139:17–18, David wrote, “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!” (NLT). Isn’t that an amazing thought? God doesn’t think about you occasionally; He thinks about you constantly. In fact, you can’t even count the number of times a day God thinks about you. God thinks about you because He loves you. If you understand that, then you can understand why He would react so strongly when somebody destroys a person He loves–a person He sent His Son to die for.

Consider God’s outrage after the first murder in history. Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve, each brought an offering to God. Abel obeyed God and brought the right kind of offering, but Cain decided to approach God in his own way, so God rejected his offering. Cain became angry and killed his brother. Afterward, God said to him, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). Abel was the first human to die. Can you imagine how Adam and Eve felt when they found the lifeless body of their son? They understood the sanctity of human life perhaps better than anybody because God personally had breathed life into them. Nobody had a right to extinguish that breath of life.

That’s why there is no wiggle room in God’s law for taking the life of another person. Exodus 21:12 says, “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.” If God did not prescribe such a severe punishment for violence, then He would be devaluing human life. But God loves us, and He made us in His image. Our lives are valuable to Him.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “The Sixth Commandment: Preserve Life” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2023.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org; Scripture quotation marked (NLT) taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.