HANDS THAT SHED INNOCENT BLOOD
God’s image is debased and his wrath is justly incited every time a person (innocent blood) made in God’s image is unjustly destroyed. Approximately, there are 200,000 abortions per day worldwide (WHO). What blood could be more innocent than the blood of an unborn child?
"lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land, which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus the guilt of bloodshed be upon you" (Deuteronomy 19:10).
One of the evilest things that do exist is also one of the seven things that God hates—shedding innocent blood. This hateful sin was right there in the beginning (Genesis 4). The sixth commandment tells us, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13). The Bible also says, "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15). The "blood" is "innocent" not because it is without sin, but because it has not committed a capital crime, which would warrant death. Every time a person made in God’s image is unjustly destroyed, God's wrath is justly incited. There is no debasing of God’s image without consequences. Blood guilt requires God’s vengeance and vindication.
After the flood, God gave Noah these instructions, “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.” (Genesis 9:6) .
He formally announces his demand for an accounting for the shedding of innocent blood. If a man takes another man’s life, God said, "I will require a reckoning." In other words, God saw the need to restrain evil behavior, so He instituted civil government to act as the protector of human life. God hates it when we choose to do this evil. Doing right in the sight of the Lord means acting to stop the shedding of innocent blood. "Save those who are being led to their death; rescue those who are about to be killed. If you say, ‘We don’t know anything about this,’ God, who knows what’s in your mind, will notice. He is watching you, and he will know. He will reward each person for what they have done "(Proverbs 24:10-12). God hates the shed of innocent blood.
Cain and Abel
Cain killed his brother Abel; he hadn’t done anything wrong (Genesis 4:1-8). In fact, Abel did exactly what he needed to do in God’s eyes by giving the first and best of what he had as a sacrifice. Cain’s jealousy pushed him to the point where he killed his own brother. The first account of innocent blood being shed in the Bible is in Genesis 4. The brothers Cain and Abel have both offered sacrifices to God, but only Abel's was accepted. Cain became exceedingly angry and indignant (Genesis 4:6-7). He allowed anger, rage, hate, and jealousy to take hold of him; instead of repenting of disobedience to God's instruction concerning sacrifices, he decided to destroy the object of his anger. He murdered his brother, hid the body, and pretended he didn't know anything about it.
God is not deceived by this act, and neither is the Devil. For God looks into Cain's heart and sees the evil there. Cain could have confessed his sin, but he did not; instead he lied.
"And now you are cursed by reason of the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's (shed) blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a vagabond on the earth (in perpetual exile, a degraded outcast)" (Genesis 4:12).
Even at this point, Cain could have repented and been forgiven, but he would not. In fact, he was telling God that he would have to accept him because of his fine gift. There is nothing we can offer God that will make Him accept us. It is only by accepting Jesus Christ as Saviour and afterward living by God's directions that we can be acceptable to God. Cain began to tell God about the harshness of his sentence. In light of his murder of his brother, this attitude shows his opposition to God's laws. He should have considered his sentence light compared to the sentence he deserved.
David and Uriel
David had Uriah sent to the front lines of battle to be sure that he was killed (2 Samuel 11:15). This direction from the king was murder. David’s fear of being caught in a lie was great enough that he found a way to get out of it, and he didn’t even consider the loss of life as a consequence. Uriah was not involved in any of the circumstances that led to his death. He was out on the battlefield fighting just like he was supposed to be as an innocent man.
Manasseh
"Moreover, Manasseh shed a lot of innocent blood, filling Jerusalem from one end to the other--besides his sin in making Judah sin, by doing evil in the sight of the Lord" (2 Kings 21:16); also "he burned his children as an offering to his god in the valley of Ben-hinnom" (2 Chron. 33:1–10). Children were gifts from God given by Him to parents who then turned and killed them and sacrificed them to demons. This was a terrible affront to God, a great rebellion, and a terrible sin that brings curses on a family line for many generations, possibly forever. It takes genuine repentance for one's own and/or one's ancestors' sins (2 Kings 24:2-4).
Ahab, Jezebel and Naboth
Ahab wanted to have the vineyard of Naboth but he refused to sell. Ahab came into his house, jumped into bed, whined around and pouted until he manipulated Jezebel to solve his problem. She had Naboth framed and killed. God pronounced the consequences of that curse (I Kings 21:19), saying that "the dogs that licked Naboth's blood would also lick your blood (To Ahab)" (I Kings 21:21); I will bring evil on you and utterly sweep away and cut off from Ahab every male, bond and free (to Ahab's sons)" (I Kings 21:23), the dogs will eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel (To Jezebel)". These things happened just as God said.
Jesus Christ
When Jesus was killed, the man who sentenced him to death knew that there was nothing Jesus had done wrong to deserve to die (Matthew 27:23-24), but that is what the people wanted.
Taking a Bribe
Psalm 15:5 tells us that those who will take a bribe to slay the innocent will not dwell in the tabernacle or on God's Holy Hill. "Cursed
is he who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person; all the people shall say, Amen (Deuteronomy 27:25)". This will include all parties participating in the abortion of unborn children: the father, mother, doctor, nurses, and others who agree to the abortion. It includes those who are bribed to lie or kill, and judges who accept bribes to cancel sentences or give light sentences to those who have committed murder or have lied to protect the guilty.
What if we found ourselves in a place where no one would ever see what we did or know what we were contemplating? How would that change our actions? If murder comes from the intention of the heart, we might have the thought that we would never miss someone if they were gone, but lack the opportunity to act on that impulse. That impulse is what the Lord hates. That is what we need to guard against as far as the "shedding of innocent blood" because now we are under the spiritual law.
This is an abomination to the Lord: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren (Proverbs 6:16-19). The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good (Proverbs 15:3). Most people who shed innocent blood don’t start out with such intentions. It happens in a rage or panic.
https://mountzionblog.org/hands-that-shed-innocent-blood/
Shedding innocent blood is the biblical term for the unjustified taking of human life. It is the biblical term that best describes abortion.
Abortion
One way individuals unknowingly shed blood is through abortion. This is the expulsion or removal of a growing fetus from the womb; an act of forceful removal or killing of an unborn baby. Much of this could be a result of sexual immorality. Abortion Life begins at conception; science can not alter that reality. Studies have shown that babies begin learning language within 30 hours of being in the womb. The Scriptures reveal that God has planned the future course of the future being even before conception. Therefore, abortion has serious moral implications.
It is something that is prevalent in our world today that exactly fits the description of the scripture that talks about "the hand that sheds innocent blood". Babies are innocent and have done nothing that is worthy of death, but so many people feel that they have the right to kill a child because of the inconvenience they might cause. According to W.H.O., there are an estimated 40–50 million abortions worldwide each year. This corresponds to approximately 200,000 abortions per day.
What blood could be more innocent than the blood of an unborn child? What crime could be more heinous than a mother killing her own child, unless it is a doctor who gets paid for killing babies?
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20).
God is keeping track of each precious one. He takes each child that was rejected and killed by its mother into his loving arms. And he will see that justice is done. They will be punished on the day of judgment unless they repent, and He will use governments to punish them now and to punish each other. He brought destruction upon His people Israel because they offered their children as sacrifices to idols. They even sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood (Psalm 106:37–38). To punish Israel for her sins, God used Nebuchadnezzar, whom He referred to as "my servant" (Jeremiah 25:9); but Babylon was so violent and evil that she was later punished as well (Jeremiah 25:12).
The Bible says, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13). Murder includes the taking of the most innocent of lives: those of unborn children in the womb. Performing, receiving, or encouraging an abortion absolutely makes one guilty of shedding innocent blood.
Jesus made it clear that murder is committed not only with the hands, but also with the heart. The basic principle that underlies God’s hatred of shedding innocent blood is our sinful tendency to injure others, and it is as possible to commit this sin with the heart as with the hands.
Unwarranted Anger
We are held to a higher standard as Christians. There is a high level of responsibility for us, and murder starts with the intention of the heart. Jesus said, "Anyone who has harbored anger in their heart toward another person is guilty of murder (Matthew 15:16-20)." The most direct nonphysical manifestation of this sin is unwarranted anger. Anger is sometimes justified, but ours is rarely so. Our anger usually falls into the category of which Jesus warned: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment." But I say to you that everyone who is angry with their brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults their brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, "You fool! "will be liable to the hell of fire" (Matthew 5:21–22). Unchecked anger sometimes leads to physical murder (Genesis 49:6), but even if it doesn’t, mistreating others in anger amounts to the same thing. We cannot allow ourselves to be angry with our brothers and sisters for no reason.
There will be times when we find that we are angry, and with just cause. But how we react at that moment is critical. The Bible teaches us to be angry and not sin. We cannot become overcome with emotion and let it push us to the point of sinning. We also have to know that the Bible teaches us to make things right with our brothers and sisters before the sun sets every day. We can’t sit around and stew in our anger. That is the beginning of emotionally killing an innocent man, and that is what the Lord hates. Anger that goes uncontrolled will kill us. "Leave your gift before the altar, and go on your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." (Matthew 5:24).
We shouldn’t even be coming to the altar without resolving issues between our brothers and sisters! This is definitely clear direction to take special care of this area of our spiritual lives because it is important to God. Every day of our lives, we work on our actions to make them line up with the word of God. As Christians, we strive to read the Bible and obey it but we can not stop there. We need to worry about our attitude and our heart. It’s not enough to just be right in our actions and the things that others see. To really please God, we need to be sure that we don’t allow our hearts to drift from him either. That’s how we can be sure that we are not falling into the trap of holding on to anger or being the hand that sheds innocent blood.
Hatred
Hatred is a connected sin, which often arises from anger. Ezekiel said of Mount Seir, "Because you have had an ancient hatred, [you] have shed the blood of the children of Israel" (Ezekiel 35:5). It was hatred in the heart that produced the blood-shedding hands. Love always triumphs over hatred. "Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it" (Proverbs 15:17). And the ultimate motivation for countering hate with love is that it gives evidence that we are "sons of [our] Father who is in heaven. Because he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45).
Envy
Envy, similarly, is closely connected in Scripture to murder (Galatians 5:21). When Joseph’s brothers were envious of him, they plotted his death (Genesis 37:20). Cain’s murder of Abel proceeded, in part, from jealousy.
These things—anger, hatred, and jealousy—are closely linked in Scripture to murder.
In what ways might anger, hatred, and jealousy drive us to injure others?
We can be guilty of heart murder.
• In our thoughts---The apostle John said it as clearly as anyone: "Everyone who hates their brother is a murderer" (1 John 3:15). If you harbor malice and bitterness in your heart and mind toward others, you are guilty of shedding innocent blood. We are called to love others, not hate them.
• In our speech---Jesus said that our speech flows from what is in our heart (Matthew 12:34). If you harbor hatred and bitterness in your heart, it will manifest itself in hateful and bitter speech. We gossip, backbite, and slander those for whom we harbor hatred in our hearts. In fact, when Jesus identified anger with murder in Matthew 5, he showed how that anger manifests itself in speech: "Whoever insults his brother" and "Whoever says, ‘You fool!’" (Matthew 5:22). Such speech, which flows from an attitude of the heart, is tantamount to bloodshed.
• On paper--- Again, this is a manifestation of what is in our hearts, but here it flows through what we write rather than what we verbalize. This is illustrated when David "wrote a letter to Joab," instructing him to "set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down" (2 Samuel 11:14–15). David’s pen was the ultimate tool of Uriah’s murder. Our sin in this regard may not be as blatant, but when we use the written word (email, social media, texting, etc.) to malign others, we have become guilty of innocent blood.
This is a most serious sin. It is an affront to God, who created all people in his image (Genesis 9:6). Bloodshed is a sin that cries to God from the ground (Genesis 4:10), and while heart murder is not exactly equivalent to hand murder, the principle remains. Innocent bloodshed is a devilish sin, for he was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). Ultimately, it is a sin that invites God’s wrath (see 2 Kings 24:4).
God hates hands that shed innocent blood, and He shows no partiality. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good (Proverbs 15:3). People who shed innocent blood separate themselves from God. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity (Isaiah 59:2-3); their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood (Isaiah 59:7); whoever takes that way shall not know peace "(Isaiah 59:8).
The whole world is polluted and drenched with innocent blood. How are people with blood on their hands punished? How can evil be overcome? Much innocent blood is shed. That brings no tears. That is never reported in the newspapers.
People with blood on their hands and countries that are polluted with the blood of innocents need not expect help from God. "Even though you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood "(Isaiah 1:15).
We must repent and choose good rather than evil. Only then will we survive the judgments that are coming upon the world. "But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil "(Deuteronomy 30:14-15). All people will stand before the judgment seat of God to give account for what they have done. Do not marvel at this; "for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:28-29).
God will punish those who perpetrate atrocities. "For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:14). The governing authorities have been appointed as God's ministers, or avengers, to execute wrath on those who practice evil (Romans 13:1-4). Christians should submit to their governments up to the point where they are told to do something that is contrary to the revealed will of God. Then what Peter told the Jewish rulers applies: "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
"He who murders his neighbor in secret is cursed. All the people shall say, Amen" (Deuteronomy 27:24). Even if you never get caught, you and your descendants will be under a curse and will be hunted by others and killed. The Devil will never leave you and your descendants alone until you repent of your sins, accept Jesus as your lord and saviour, break the curses on the family line, cast out the demons, and live according to the Bible thereafter. If you or your children sin in this manner later, the curse will return.
How can we overcome this evil?
Evil must be punished. God turns evil against evil to punish evil. But overcoming evil: conquering evil can only be accomplished by good. It can only be accomplished by the blood of Christ that atones for the sins of the world (John 1:29). Christians are ministers of reconciliation, not ministers of God's wrath: "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you, on Christ's behalf, to be reconciled to God "(2 Corinthians 5:18–20).
We do not interfere with the government's role as God's minister of wrath to punish evil-doers. But neither do we participate in that task because we have a more exalted commission. We are a special task force, not to punish evil, but to conquer evil. We have been appointed as God's ministers of reconciliation. We are told to: "Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good in the eyes of all men. "If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men" .(Romans 12:18)
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine; I will repay," says the Lord. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; otherwise, you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good "(Romans 12:17-21). But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:44,45). "See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all" (1 Thessalonians 5:15). "Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good "(Romans 12:9). Keep away from false matters; do not kill the innocent and righteous." I will not justify the wicked" (Exodus 23:7).
The whole world is polluted and drenched with innocent blood. God will punish evil on the day of judgment, and He is already punishing evil through governments. Christians are God's special task force to conquer evil, calling men to repentance and overcoming evil with good.
It is a very severe thing to take the life of any human being. It is most severe to take the lives of the innocent, the unborn, or the poor. Murdering the unborn in an attempt to cover other sins only gets a person in more trouble than having the child.
As commissioners of God, we call on men to turn away from evil and to do good. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth (Psalm 34:16). "Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell forevermore" (Psalm 37:27)."He who diligently seeks good finds favor, but trouble will come to him who seeks evil" (Proverbs 11:27).
Finally, all of you, be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For "he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. ""' (1 Peter 3:8-12).
Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God "(3 John 11).
James Dina (james@mountzionblog.org)
30th of July, 2020
https://mountzionblog.org/hands-that-shed-innocent-blood/
References
"How should I respond to the shedding of innocent blood?" by Rev. James (Jim) McGarvey
"Three Things the Lord Hates" by Ligonier Ministries
"7 Things God Hates (hands that shed innocent blood") by Alexander Mill
"Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis
"The Lord hates hands that shed innocent blood" by Roy Davison
Going to Jesus (https://goingtojesus.com/gtj_thoughts.html? tname= tft08-13)
