God’s view on the death penalty

In the last post, we took a special look at the first 7 verses of Genesis. Now we’ll look at a different aspect of those verses, precisely what the Bible says about the death penalty. God instituted the death penalty in Genesis 9 3–6. Initially, God’s diet plan for Humanity did not include animals. That changed in these verses. God gave animals to us for food, just as he had given grain and vegetables. But he told us we must never eat any meat look still has the lifeblood in it. God said he would require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life, whether animal or another person. And that death was to take place at the hand of other humans because God made human beings in his own image.

Now we will examine some more scriptures to see what God says about a person’s life’s sacredness. Will look at them as they are unfolded in the Word of God chronologically. The sixth commandment in Exodus 20:13 says that we shall not murder. The Hebrew language has several words that express the idea of killing. However, in this verse, the Hebrew verb “ratsach” can only be translated as “murder.” The word with the Qal stem means murder or slay and refers to intentional, premeditated murder.

God reinforced the righteousness of the death penalty in the Law he gave to the Israelites through Moses. Beginning in Exodus 21:12–14, he said anyone who assaults or kills another person must be put to death. But in cases where it was merely an accident permitted by God, the LORD appointed a place of refuge where the slayer could run for safety. However, it was different when someone deliberately murdered another person. God said that person should be put to death, even if they were found at God’s Altar and dragged away. Then in verses 28–32, God describes what is to happen to an animal that causes another person’s death. If an ox, bull, or cow gored a person to death, God said that the animal must be stoned, and its flesh must not be eaten. In such a case, however, the owner would not be held liable. That changed if the animal had a reputation for goring and the owner had been informed. Both the animal and the owner would be put to death if the owner did not control it. However, the dead person’s family could accept payment to compensate for the loss of life. The owner of the animal could redeem his life by paying whatever was demanded. The same regulation applied if the ox, bull, or cow gored or a boy or girl. But if the animal gored a male or female slave, the animal’s owner would have to pay the slave’s owner 30 pieces of silver. That is equal to 342 grams, valued today at $266.76 total. The ox, bull, or cow would also have to be stoned.

The next reference to the death penalty is in Leviticus 24:17–21. God said anyone who took another person’s life must be put to death. Anyone who killed another person’s animal must pay for it in full — a live animal for the animal that was killed. Anyone who injured another person must be dealt with according to the injury inflicted. It would be a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. Whatever anyone did to another person must be paid back in kind. Whoever killed an animal must pay for it in full, but whoever killed another person must be put to death.

I mentioned the cities of refugees earlier. God designated these places in Numbers 35:9–34, to which people could flee if they killed someone accidentally. Those cities would be places of protection from a dead person’s relatives who wanted to avenge the death. The slayer was not to be put to death before being tried by the community. Six cities of refuge were designated when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the land of Canaan. Three were on the east side of the Jordan River, and three were on the west side of Canaan’s land. Those cities were for the protection of Israelites, foreigners living among them, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally killed someone could flee to one of those cities for safety.

But if someone were to strike and kill another person with a piece of iron, a stone, or a wooden object, it is murder, and that person must be executed and put to death. The victim’s nearest relative was responsible for putting the murderer to death. If someone hates another person and waits in ambush, then pushes them or throws something at them, and they die, it is murder. If someone hates another person and hits them with a fist and they die, it is murder. In such cases, the avenger would have to put the murderer to death when they met.

But suppose someone pushed another person without showing previous hostility, threw something that unintentionally hit another person, or accidentally dropped a huge stone on someone. However, they were not enemies, and a person died. God gave the community regulations to follow when making a judgment between the slayer and the avenger, the victim’s nearest relative. The community would have to protect the slayer from the avenger and escort the slayer back to the city of refuge to which they fled. There they would have to remain until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the sacred oil.

If the slayer ever left the city of refuge’s limits, and the avenger found the slayer outside the town and killed them, it would not be considered murder. Through Moses, the LORD said that the slayer should have stayed inside the limits of the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer could return to his own property.

Nonetheless, the LORD’s commands are clear that all murderers are to be put to death, but only if evidence was presented by more than one witness. No one could be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. Also, a ransom payment could never be accepted for someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution. Murderers were always to be put to death. A ransom payment was never to be received from someone who fled to a city of refuge to allow him to return to his property before the high priest’s death. To do so would pollute the land because God said murder pollutes the land. He said that no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer could purify the land from murder. God told the Israelites not to defile the land where they live because he lived there among the people of Israel.

Considering all of these scriptures, there is much to learn from them that supports God’s instructions about the death penalty in Genesis 9:5–6. We learned that God supports the death penalty for anyone guilty of committing premeditated, intentional murder. There was to be mercy for the one guilty of killing someone accidentally. Still, all murderers were held accountable even if they had to be dragged away from God’s altar. I learn from this that even contrition before God is not enough to absolve one of the earthly consequences for murder. God even takes the ending of human life at the hands of another outside of the death penalty boundaries so seriously that if someone who was safe in the city of refuge left it before the proper time, God would not hold an avenger accountable for finding and killing that person. We may see so much murder in the movies and TV shows, on the news, and talked about all around us that the seriousness of it may have worn off to some degree for many. However, God still takes it just as seriously as he always has.

According to what we have learned, the death penalty for murder should be carried out. There is nothing in the scripture that indicates God’s attitude on this changing. All people are made in God’s image regardless of when they are born to this day. Therefore, every person has the same intrinsic value as God’s image-bearer as anyone else who’s ever been born. We would do well to take the time to seriously consider the seriousness of murder and the reason why it is so severe. We should allow God to define our views on the death penalty. Rather than cheapening life, it helps us recognize each human life’s value. That would make a huge difference and how we view people on a day-to-day basis. When God’s commands for how to handle murder are not obeyed, the land is polluted. We cannot legitimately sing “God bless America” while murder goes unpunished according to God’s standards. This should also give us insights into the consequences for any society that legalizes abortion. God’s patience may be much greater than that of any human, but there even comes a time when we exhaust it and experience a different aspect of his nature. And right now, I genuinely pray for mercy and more time to repent for any way in which any of us have contributed to the devaluing of human life.