Life for Life

By Beth | October 30, 2018 |

But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die. Exodus 21:14 (ESV)

I don’t know what was behind the fearless approach the shooter in Pittsburgh took when he stormed into a Synagogue. It appears though, that he had not considered the consequences of his actions. He was shot but not killed. He will face the legal system which may or may not apply justice.

Justice is what God demands in this, and every other case, of murder. According to Exodus 21:14 (at top) a man who willfully murders another is to be put to death.

God does not mess around with the one who takes the life of another. He calls it murder, whether it is an innocent baby in the womb or an innocent 97 year old woman peacefully sitting in her synagogue. God does not discriminate.

I understand that the man who shot and killed eleven people in Pittsburgh (I refuse to give his name any press) hated Jewish people. From a biblical perspective what he did is murder. His motive for murder should not matter as much as the act.

It distresses me that the legal charges are for hate crimes. That could imply that if it wasn’t hate, it would have been ok to kill – or perhaps a lesser crime. Murder is never allowed.

The Bible allows for accidental death but any willful killing of another is sin against God as well as the person.

As Americans, when the government can prosecute us for crimes that happen in the mind any one of us could be the victim of criminal charges because someone doesn’t like something we think. Who knows where that will take us?

Has freedom of speech been replaced by a presumed freedom from responsibility?

I cannot imagine hating so much that I would want to kill someone, no less hating so much that I am blind to the fact that my hate does not give me license to kill.

This man in Pittsburgh took eleven lives that were not his to take. Only God can determine when a life should end.

I hate this man’s hatred. I love God’s Law. I cannot execute judgment for what he did as only the civil government has such power. However, neither I nor the civil government should be able to charge him for his thoughts or hatred. It is his actions that have broken the law of God and that should be the Law of the land.

I pray for comfort for the families of the dead.

And, I pray this shooter will pay the price of his crimes. Life for life (Exodus 21:23-24 {ESV}).

Intentional Influence: A Woman’s Guide to Biblical Mentoring.