This week, there has been a lot of big news about Russia and its pursuit of power. The superpower has been flexing its muscles by violating the airspace of multiple European nations, which caused NATO to launch planes of its own as a deterrent to President Putin and his army.
Unfortunately, the response didn’t work and Russia launched one of its largest attacks on Ukraine this weekend killing innocent civilians. The UN is keeping a close eye on the largest threat to our European allies.
Even President Trump has voiced his shock and disappointment over President Putin’s actions. No one should be surprised by Putin’s and Russia’s actions. President Putin is notorious for being a corrupt and evil man:
- Greedy
- Deceptive
- Violent
- Murderous
I recall growing up in the 1980s during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. The old Soviet Union was blood thirsty for power and control. The powers that be were focused on expanding their geopolitical and ideological influence through global communism.
These days it seems like many Americans want to buddy up with our former enemy that has only gotten worse under Pres. Putin’s ungodly leadership. Many people have forgotten we are to have nothing to do with those who do evil acts like murder (Leviticus 24:17, Proverbs 28:17).
What Is Murder
Most of us understand murder is evil and wrong, regardless of who is doing it. Murder is both a physical and spiritual problem. Murder is defined as “The act of unlawfully and unjustifiably killing a person.”
The act of murder is the spiritual and physical opposite of what God and His people do. The practice is eternally connected to Satan, his angels and hell itself (Genesis 3:4, John 8:44, Revelation 21:8).
That is why the Bible has a lot to say about murder (Deuteronomy 19:5, Matthew 5:21-26, James 4:2). Murder has physical, legal, and spiritual consequences, so we all need to be careful not to commit it.
God’s people called to be different from this corrupt and fallen world (Deuteronomy 26:18-19, Colossians 3:1-3, 1 Peter 2:9). Surprisingly, it was one of the most religious leaders whose pride and hatred turned him into a murderer of God’s people, before God humbled him and gave him new life (Acts 9:58-8:3; 9 1-5; 22:4-8).
The Apostle Paul’s failures and transformation are proof that even the most educated religious leader has the potential to do evil. After his conversion, the apostle was committed to doing good and wrote over a third of the New Testament we have today (Romans 13:9, 1 Corinthians 15:22, Galatians 5:19-21). The Apostle Paul remembered his Jewish education about murder.
Rāṣaḥ
The Torah tells us how God created all life in the beginning (Genesis 1:1-31). There was no death until the first Adam listened to the lies of Satan and sin and death entered the world (Genesis 2:17; 3:4-19).
The prophet Moses tells us how the offspring of the first Adam, Cain, committed the first murder (Genesis 4:1-26). Then we see Cain lying to God about his brother’s murder. The Hebrew word in the Old Testament for murder is rāṣaḥ, and it can also mean “Slay, kill, slayeth, or death,” depending on the context it is used in.
Our Jewish forefathers understood the seriousness of murder because God warned them about it, even in the 10 Commandments (Genesis 9:6, Exodus 20:13, Leviticus 24:17, Deuteronomy 5:17:)
- I am the Lord thy God.
- You shall have no other gods before me.
- Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.
- Keep the Sabbath.
- Honor your mother and father.
- Thou shalt not murder.
- Don’t commit adultery.
- Do not steal.
- Thou shalt not lie.
- Don’t covet your neighbor’s wife.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus reminded His followers about the seriousness of murder (Matthew 5:21-22). Jesus emphasized His and God’s connection to life and birth (Matthew 7: number 13-14, John 14:6).
Our Rabbi confronted the Pharisees about their lives and abuse of power by doing the works of the devil (John 8:44). He even came to the aid of a woman caught in the act of adultery, by Jewish law, she was guilty and deserved death by stoning (John 8:3-11).
The perfect man refused to even accuse her of her sins, much less stone her (John 8:10-11). The religious leaders were out for blood; Jesus was giving out life and love. Our Lord brought life and hope to those who deserved death. He often healed the sick and raised people from the dead ( Mark 5:42, Luke 7:15, John 11:44).
Luigi Mangione
In other big news this week, the judge in the Luigi Mangione case dismissed some of the serious charges against him for the murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Mangione has not even been found guilty of murder yet, and many conservatives are calling for the death penalty because they are out for blood, like Mangione, who listened to the lies of Satan.
The irony of capital punishment is it also results in spilling the blood of another person created in the image of God, whom Jesus also died for and may not even accuse him Himself.
By no means am I saying Luigi Mangione is innocent, just pointing out we all need to be reminded of the dangers of judging the sins of others, lest we forget, we have also sinned because of our evil hearts (Matthew 7:1-29):
- Unloving
- Hateful
- Prideful
- Arrogant
- Unforgiving
I believe we are all guilty of throwing stones and unkind words and accusing others of the very things we are guilty of ourselves (Romans 3:23). It should humble us all to remember that we, too, are sinners in need of grace.
I am not saying we shouldn’t speak out against evil, just to be more careful with our words and how we judge others (Matthew 12:36-37, Romans 14:12). We each need to remember to be more like God and less like this fallen world (Genesis 1:26, John 8:12).If we are serving the living God of life, we don’t need to ever practice rāṣaḥ.
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