God’s Image Study • Commandment 6: You Shall Not Murder
Throughout this commandment, life and death have remained before us. Deuteronomy brings those alternatives together with witnesses, love, and our response to God’s instruction.
Heaven and earth bear witness
In Deuteronomy 4:25–26, Moses calls heaven and earth to witness against Israel while warning about corruption and idolatry. The warning concerns their continued life in the land they are entering. Read Deuteronomy 4:25–26, ASV.
Deuteronomy 30:19 again names heaven and earth as witnesses. This time, the declaration places life and death, blessing and curse, before the people and directs them to choose life.
The Hebrew verb comes from בָּחַר — bāḥar (H977), meaning to choose. The choice concerns both those being addressed and their descendants. Examine Deuteronomy 30:19 in Hebrew.
Here, the witnesses named are heaven and earth. Scripture’s use of testimony reaches beyond the human witnesses we examined in the judicial passages.
What does choosing life involve?
The next verse continues:
“to love Jehovah thy God, to obey his voice, and to cleave unto him”
— Deuteronomy 30:20, ASV, excerpt
Three Hebrew verbs help us follow the instruction:
אָהַב — ʾāhav (H157): love.
שָׁמַע — shāmaʿ (H8085): hear or listen; here, responding obediently to His voice.
דָּבַק — dāvaq (H1692): cling or hold fast.
The verse joins these actions to YHWH (יהוה) and identifies Him as their life. It also retains the promise concerning the land sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Examine Deuteronomy 30:20 in Hebrew.
Choosing life therefore has an expressed direction: loving God, listening to Him, and remaining attached to Him.
The heart can turn away
The preceding verses describe the opposing direction: a heart turning away, refusing to hear, and being drawn into serving other gods. The passage connects that departure with death and loss of continued life in the land. Read Deuteronomy 30:15–18, ASV.
The choice is made visible through allegiance and conduct.
God’s testimony concerning life
First John 5:6–9 names the Spirit, the water, and the blood as witnesses in agreement. John then identifies God’s testimony concerning His Son. Verses 11–12 explain that God has given eternal life and that this life is in His Son. Read 1 John 5:6–12.
This keeps our Born Again Study connected to the present examination: life from God must remain central when reading passages about life and death.
First John 3:14–18 also connects passing from death into life with love for the brothers. Hatred, murder, and the absence of abiding eternal life stand beside the contrasting example of Christ giving his life and the instruction to care for others. Read 1 John 3:14–18.
Am I listening to the instruction that leads to life, and does my treatment of others reflect it?
Threads to Follow
Witness and response: Retain what each passage establishes through its witnesses.
Love and allegiance: Keep loving God, hearing His voice, and holding fast to Him together.
Commandment 6 summary: Our next post will gather the study’s findings on murder, hatred, testimony, reconciliation, and love.
The books were opened…
🌿 By Maria Emilia
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