"Hands That Shed Innocent Blood" 11/11/25
- Matthew Deneault
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Dear brothers & sisters,
Our Lord hates hands that shed innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17). This shouldn't be controversial. Murder is wrong. The LORD told Noah “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image." (Genesis 9:6)
The severity of the punishment reveals the seriousness of the crime. In the cause of justice, there is a time for governing authorities to take the life of one who has unlawfully taken the lives of others. This is controversial in our day, but the fact remains that God takes murder seriously. Further on in the revelation of God, we learn there are distinctions in the Law of God between killing someone by accident (Deuteronomy 19:5), killing someone in self-defense (Exodus 22:2), and killing someone in cold blood. Only the latter was punishable by death, because intent matters.
The key word in Proverbs 6:17 is "innocent." Such a person has done nothing to deserve death. When the innocent suffer God sees and He will not let their death be in vain.
When God says "I hate the hands that shed innocent blood" he isn't speaking in hypotheticals. God hates any and all acts of murder, including but not limited to:
The murder of the innocent in the womb.
The sacrifice of babies in embryo either discarded, frozen indefinitely, or 'donated' and murdered for 'research' purposes. The tragedy is that their parents chose IVF because they wanted a family. Sadly that family didn't include those embryos.**
The legislation in Canada that approves of the terminally ill receiving 'assistance' in killing themselves.
The murder of children in school shootings.
The slaughter of Christians in Nigeria (some estimates are upwards of 52,000 dead over the last 16 years)
**In some cases a couple may choose not to discard any embryos (praise God), but this lowers the chance of a successful pregnancy astronomically and is not the norm. If you would like to learn more about the ethics of IVF watch the following videos:
https://youtu.be/AFvYMBcfH84?si=Td2sf4YBbVCiZHfb (8 minutes)
God hates murder, so let us seek justice for those whose lives have been unjustly taken and let us stand firm against any and all forms of murder.
Let us also turn towards ourselves. We are told by the Lord Jesus that not only will God judge the one who commits murder, but also "everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment" (Matthew 5:22 CSB). James, the brother of our Lord, expands on this principle and writes "What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don't they come from your passions that wage war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war..." (James 4:1-2 CSB). Your actions spring forth from where your heart is. Murder and war doesn't arise from a vacuum. Our fights, those harsh words that we instantly regret (relationship-killers), come from a heart that wants my way. All anger is not sin, but we must watch lest we sin in anger (Ephesians 4:25). Let us watch our hearts, then, for from our hearts flow "the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
We don't like to be told this, but the potential for murder is within all of us. Who of us is not guilty to some degree? And there are degrees. Yelling harsh words at your child is certainly wrong, but murdering them in the womb is worse. An angry thought may be taken to task and killed by the grace of God, but when that thought is put to action there are consequences that cannot be undone. The good news is there is forgiveness for the heart ruled by anger, there is grace for murderers through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, for all who would confess their sin (name it, no excuses, cf. Psalm 51) and turn from that life of sin to receive the pardon of Christ. The grace of God truly is able to transform murderers into saints.
So then, let us hate the murder of the innocent, stand up to protect the weak, and be on guard lest anger and bitterness take root in our own hearts.
In Christ's Service,
Matt
Matthew Deneault
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