Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Friday,
April 20, 2018
#6 – Exo 20:13 “You shall not murder.”
One of the main objectives of the Mosaic Law is to provide a stabilized military who are willing to defend their nation and protect their freedom.
The Ten Commandments provide a phenomenal basis for establishing a stabilized military organization made up of males and females who have an understanding of the basic concepts of authority.
MAT 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”
MAT 6:27 “And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life’s span?
You are to be a warrior not a worrier!
“What about Thou shalt not kill?”
The word for “kill” (ratsach) should be translated “murder”; therefore, it has nothing to do with military life. The Hebrew word harag means to kill legitimately.
Ecc 3:3 “There is a time to kill and a time to heal”!
If you kill when it’s time to heal then you’re a murderer.
To kill the enemy as a military representative of your country is not only compatible with the plan of God, but it reveals the character and integrity on the part of the soldiers commanded to do so “as unto the Lord.”
In spite of man’s efforts for peace, there will be warfare until the Second Advent of Jesus Christ (Mat 24:6; Mar 13:7; Luk 21:9).
It was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Hosts, the Commander of the Armies, who gave the orders for the Jewish Army to fight and defeat, and in some instances, to annihilate the enemy.
A man must have a lot of character to fight and die for his country and to do it right with such character that it is built upon the principles of freedom found in the Ten Commandments.
Exo 20:13 is the Prohibition of Murder. In the English this commandment reads: “Thou shalt not kill” but it should read Thou shalt not commit murder.
GEN 9:6, the Lord said “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.”
LEV 24:17 ‘And if a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death.”
The prohibition of murder is designed for the preservation of Divine Institution #1 — Volition.
In committing murder, you are depriving another of his life and freedom.
The operation of free will is the basic issue in the angelic conflict, and the Decalogue is designed to protect every free will during the course of the angelic conflict.
Murder is prohibited by the Word of God, whereas killing IN DEFENSE of one’s own person or nation is sanctioned by the Word of God and is absolutely necessary in many instances for the preservation of freedom.
We are going to study the difference between “killing the enemy” and “murder” by studying
The Doctrine of Warfare.
Point 1. The Concept of Warfare as Taught in Scripture. In spite of man’s efforts for peace throughout the ages, warfare will exist until the Millennium, Mat 24:4‑7.
MAT 24:6 “And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
MAT 24:7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.
Man has never accomplished and will not accomplish in the Church- age or Tribulation what only Jesus Christ can accomplish in the Millennium……which is perfect world peace.
War is used by God to kill off the leaches of society; in reality it is a cleansing agent.
There is a book of wars that comes directly from the Lord
Num 21:14 Therefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, what He did in the Red Sea,
Point 2. A strong military prevents war and protects divine establishment.
The main principle is that all freedom comes through military victory.
- The spiritual factor of Bible doctrine in the soul, prayer, and the grace of God, Neh 4:8‑9.
- Military preparedness, Neh 4:8‑9, 13‑15.
- The spiritually mature believer
b. Military preparedness
Freedom, prosperity, and life are sacred under the laws of divine establishment and must be fought for in order to be protected.
Lack of training,
No respect for authority,
Lack of courage,
No self-discipline,
Trading of security for freedom.
Failure to fight for freedom means slavery.
Social degeneration is always characterized by disdain of the military and police.
God uses the military to demonstrate the degeneracy and decline of a nation.
One military leader said; “Victory depends on training, not numbers.”
True courage is also intensified by thoroughness of training.
Heb 11:34 – where we learn that freedom was perpetuated because the people became courageous in battle.
Heb 11:34 They quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
Notice the phrase “became mighty in war”
Under the laws of divine establishment, all national freedom and security comes through military victory.
Killing is legitimate when we are at war, whereas murder is taking a life and violating another’s free will.
The book of Jeremiah teaches that Jewish military failure in 586 B.C. was attributed to the spiritual and moral decline of the people.
Point 3. The military image of Jesus Christ.
First of all, the Lord fought for Israel at the Red Sea, Exo 14:14 “The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”
As God, the Lord cannot sin, therefore, we must conclude that if the Lord fought, then war is not sinful.
The Hebrew phrase adonai sabaoth = “the Lord of the armies,” is one of the titles for our Lord Jesus Christ as the protector of Israel.
This is His title as commander and chief of the angelic army,
Jos 5:13‑6:2; Zec 14:3‑4.
The concept of Christ as a warrior will continue until the Armageddon campaign, Zec 14:3‑4.
It is the Lord who will fight those great nations at that time.
The Lord Jesus Christ also delivered Israel, and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in 701 B.C., Isa 37:36.
At Armageddon, in Rev 19:11‑15, He will break His own record, according to Rev 14:19‑20; Isa 63:1‑3.
Notice that in righteousness He wages war.
Because “a just war” is always righteous.
At this time there will be maximum slaughter by TLJC, Joel 2:20; Eze 39:11‑13 describes the stench.
Joel 2:20 “But I will remove the northern {army} far from you, and I will drive it into a parched and desolate land, and its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up.
Our Lord is a warrior and uses legitimate force rather than violence, which is evil.
Point 4. The Biblical Principle of universal military training.
In Num 1:2‑3, Jesus Christ commanded a census be taken so they would know who was able to go to war.
Universal military training demands total national conscription or universal enlistment is mandated, Num 1:2‑3.
Numbers is the book of the mobilization of Israel’s army.
Newly married, = Deu 24:5 when a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army, nor be charged with any duty; he shall be free at home one year and shall give happiness to his wife. In other words.
Each generation must be trained in war, Judges 3:1‑2.
Jdg 3:1 Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them ({that is,} all who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan;
Jdg 3:2 Only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly).
The Bible definitely teaches freedom through military victory.
There must exist in the national entity a capable professional staff of high ranking officers whose life is devoted to preparing and planning for war.
Luke 14:31 teaches that every nation should have a core of professional military officers and non-commissioned officers who plan and prepare for war.
Luk 14:31 “What king or ruler of a nation, when he advances to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and take counsel whether he is strong enough with 10,000 men to attack the one coming against him with 20,000 men?.”
True motivation for military training comes from God Himself.
2Sa 22:35, “He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”
Psa 144:1 “Blessed be the Lord my rock who trains my hands for war and my finger for battle.”
Military training is useless and neutralized when men of a nation are apostate, degenerate, full of emotional revolt and scar tissue of the soul, anti-establishment, addicted to drugs, and antagonistic to authority.
The failure of the military on the battlefield indicates lack of training, self-discipline, respect for authority, motivation to courage, spiritual incentive to resist and fight.
The failure of the military indicates a general lack of character and stability among the citizens of that national entity. The military is an index to the character of the people of a nation.
The Jewish failure during the Chaldean invasion by Nebuchadnezzar, B.C. 587 can be attributed to the spiritual and moral decline of the people.
The army becomes the index of national character. Armies defend freedom; armies also destroy freedom — Jeremiah 34:7.
JER 34:7 when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the remaining cities of Judah, that is, Lachish and Azekah, for they alone remained as fortified cities among the cities of Judah.
The military image of Jesus Christ continued into the next generation and Joshua had the shock of his life in the generation after Moses.
Joshua was making a personal reconnaissance when all of a sudden he encountered a soldier with a drawn sword. It happened to be the Lord Jesus Christ and it was one of those times when the Lord appeared in the form of a man or a Theophany.
He challenged Joshua. Joshua said he was in command of the armies of Israel, and Jesus Christ said, “No you’re not!” Then the Lord gave His rank, and it was Adonai Tsabaoth.
It is actually the title of the Lord Jesus Christ as the commanding general of the Jewish troops and it should be translated “the Lord of the armies.”