In the last twenty years there seems to be a great rise in the murder of innocent people all over the world. Today people have no respect for life and the innocent. Look at the war in Syria look at what goes on in our neighborhoods’ we don’t have to look far to see innocent blood being shed. Why is this happening? When I was growing up you hardly heard of murders and life being taken for no apparent reason today for someone to pick up a gun and shoot at random in a airport or in a mall is nothing. Unprovoked, or what looks like unprovoked, murders have become a common occurrence.
The Word of God says that Whosoever sheds men’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God He made man (Genesis 9:6). Since God created man in His image we must respect and honor God’s image in a human being. We cannot go around unjustly killing people. There is a law for those who plan and carry out murder. There is a curse on those magistrates who do not punish murders (Rom. 13:4).
Keep very far from a false matter and (be very careful) not to condemn to death the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify and acquit the wicked (Ex. 23:7).
Lest innocent blood be shed in your land, which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and so blood guilt be upon you (Deut. 19:10).
In Exodus we see that God set up cities of refuge for those who accidently kill another. God did not want the avenger of diseased to kill while he was hot with anger. (If the avenger killed one who had accidently killed, then the avenger would be guilty of shedding innocent blood and the saga would go on and on.) Therefore God arranged the one who had accidently killed another to stay in the city of refuge until the elders of his city could determine if he was actually guilty of planning to murder. If it was proved that murdered the innocent, then they would go into the city of refuge and bring him out and slay him.
Why do this? V.13, Your eyes shall not pity him, but you shall clear Israel of the guilt of innocent blood, that it may be well with you.
Even today till proven guilty there won’t be justice for the innocent blood that has been shed. This is also is important for redeeming the land where one is found murdered. Deut. 21:1-9, If one is found slain in open land, then the city nearest to the body shall bring a heifer to a valley never sown, break it’s neck, and there the men from the city would wash their hands and say whether they had seen the murder or done it.
V.8, Forgive, O Lord, Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not allow the shedding of innocent blood to be charged to Your people Israel. And the guilt of the blood shall be forgiven them. V.9, So shall you purge the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.
Cursed is he who slays his neighbor secretly. All the people shall say, Amen (Deut. 27:24). Even if you murder and never get caught, you and the generations after you will be under a curse. The Devil will never leave you and your descendents alone until you repent of your sins, accept Jesus as Saviour, break the curses on the family line, cast out the demons, and live according to the Word of God
I Sam. 19:5, Saul had ordered David slain but Jonathan attempted to persuade Saul to stop before he shed innocent blood. Why was Jonathan concerned? We will see that the curse for shedding innocent blood would effect Jonathan and Saul’s descendents, especially the males.
Ps. 94:21, There are those who band together to condemn the innocent to death, but the Lord will turn their own iniquity back upon them.
Six things the Lord hates: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who breaths out lies (even under oath), and he who sows discord among the brethren (Pro. 6:17-19).
Their feet run to evil, and they make hast to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts are of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their paths and highways. The way of peace they know not, and there is no justice or right in their goings; they have made them crooked paths; whoever goes in them knows not peace (Isa. 59:7-8).
From these scriptures we have learned: it is a very serious thing to take the life of another human being. It is most serious act to take the life of the innocent, the unborn or the poor. To murder the unborn in a attempt to cover other sins only gets a person in more trouble. Today so many children are aborted at the drop of a hat. In Sri Lanka on a daily basis it is estimated that women abort 1000 or more babies a day.
The first account of innocent blood being shed in the Bible is in Genesis 4. Cain and Able have both offered sacrifice to God but only Able’s is accepted. Cain lets his jealousy turn into anger, rage, hate. Instead of repenting of disobedience to God’s instruction concerning sacrifices, he destroys the object of his anger by murdering his brother, and hiding the body, pretending he doesn’t know where his Able was.
God is not deceived by any act of ours, God looked into Cain’s heart and saw evil there. Cain could have confessed his sin but he did not; instead he lies. V.11 contains his sentence. And now you are cursed by reason of the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive you brother’s (shed) blood from your hand. V.12, 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). Even at this point Cain refuses to repent.
How do we deal with the curse of innocent blood been shed?
Break the curses
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” Galatians 3:13
Use the Blood of Jesus to cleanse atonement for sin
You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.
Hebrews 12:24
Release and speak blessings over yourself and the nation
You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established for you: and the light shall shine upon your ways.
Job 22:28
