The Sacredness of Life | Rev. Brooke Hartman

In our society, we take the sacredness of life for granted. We might argue about what it means, but few people would serious argue life isn’t sacred in public.  This hasn’t always been the case. The commandment prohibiting killing may have been one of the most controversial commandments for the Hebrew people. Ancient peoples did not have anything life a universal prohibition on killing. They might have subscribed to a morality which taught them, “Do not kill a family member.” “Do not kill a fellow citizen.” Or “Do not kill a colleague.”

 

But “Do not Kill”? Nobody believed in that. In most ancient society’s if you had a deformed baby, you could kill it. If you had an enemy, no one would be surprised if they suddenly disappeared. If your slave wasn’t working hard and you accidentally beat them to death, it was more a poor business decision than a crime against humanity.

 

Then Moses comes down the mountain with a tablet from God and the sixth commandment reads “Do not kill.” We can debate when a killing in self-defense is justified. But there’s no debating the power of this commandment. God is the author of life and to kill another human being is to destroy God’s creation and to thwart God’s purposes for creation.

Scripture - Exodus 20:13