At times, God called people to enter into war with the goal of killing their enemies. The Bible clearly distinguishes between this type of killing and murder.
The Old Testament Law declares and expresses the mind of God. It demonstrates God’s hatred for sin and His desire for just judgment.
God places a high value on life. His desire was for man to be fruitful and multiply and bring forth abundantly in the earth (Genesis 9:7).
The children of Israel were a thorn in the flesh of the Egyptians. The Israelites multiplied and grew stronger with each increase in affliction. In an effort to change this pattern, Pharaoh sent out the edict for the midwives to kill all the Hebrew male children at the time of birth. Because they feared God, the Hebrew midwives refused to obey the command. What would the world have missed out on had the midwives obeyed? In the very next chapter, the Bible tells of the birth of a baby boy. He was hid until he could no longer be hid, and then he was released into the care of the Almighty God. According to the law, this boy should have been killed. His name was Moses (see Exodus 2:1-4).
A tremendous spiritual and physical battle wages around the value of life and the determination of when life begins. Unfortunately, Christians have incorporated the unscriptural terminology of the world by allowing the opposition to define these most important matters. This is especially true concerning the birth of a child. According to the Bible, a woman who is expecting is said to be “with child” (Genesis 16:11; Matthew 1:18). Modern terminology removes the direct association of the unborn to life. Sadly, the termination of the unborn life is simply labeled as an “abortion” rather than murder (the ungodly shedding of innocent blood). To abort means the cancellation of a mission. A woman who is “with child” has another living soul “with” her. As time progresses in the child’s development within the womb, the mother becomes “great with child” (Luke 2:5) until she is “ready to be delivered” (Revelation 12:4; see also 1 Samuel 4:19; Isaiah 26:17).
Imagine the vulnerabilities of a watchman who refuses to keep his eyes open to every possible angle from which danger could arise. No doubt the enemy would scout the land observing the bad habits of the watchman. If the watchman fails to examine each point of entry, the enemy will attack from the unprotected angle. In like manner, believers are to walk circumspectly. The word circumspect means to look all around. Believers are to be sober and vigilant knowing that their enemy, the Devil, “walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). God’s enemies always search for the weak spot where the hedge has been cut down or ignored. This is why there is no angle in the believer’s life that can be safely ignored.
