S2:E5 - Why Does God Tell Us, "You Shall Not Murder"?

Welcome back Press Pause! While this isn’t a true-crime podcast, we are talking about murder this week as we examine the sixth commandment. Here’s our question and answer for this week’s episode.

Q: Why does God tell us, “You shall not murder”?

A: So we will not hate or be hateful to others but rather love and befriend them.

The first murder recorded in history is all the way back in Genesis 4. Before Cain killed his brother Abel, the Lord warned him about the jealousy and anger in his heart. Here’s how Genesis 4:6–7 describes it.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Because God values the life of every person, he commanded us not to murder. But God didn’t just make a law. He knows our hearts, so he warns us against the kind of sinful jealousy and hatred that can lead us to harm other people. Grab your Bible, and read Genesis 4 together before listening to this week’s episode.