“These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.” (Proverbs 6:16-17)

In both the Old and New Testaments the Lord directs people to “be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:16). Scripture provides both His commands and the example of His Son Jesus that we can follow to grow in holiness. But to obey God’s commands we must first know and remember them—to recall in order to act.

In our text, “innocent blood” means the lifeblood of a guiltless person. The first biblical record of a man shedding innocent blood is, of course, Cain killing Abel. God condemned Cain for this violent act against his righteous brother (Genesis 4:10-11; Matthew 23:35). Man’s rebellion continued up to the days of Noah, when “the earth [was] filled with violence” (Genesis 6:13). After the Flood judgment, God underscored the gravity of murder by declaring, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:6).

In Exodus 20:13 and again in Deuteronomy 19:9-10 God explicitly commanded, “Thou shalt not kill.” However, the Israelites “forgat God their savior” and ignored His commands, serving idols and “shed[ding] innocent blood” (Psalm 106:21, 35-38). They rebelled against the prophets calling them to remember and obey God’s instruction (e.g., Isaiah 59:7; Jeremiah 7:6-7). Ultimately, Judas betrayed Jesus into the hands of His enemies, the most egregious example of sin leading to the shedding of innocent blood (Matthew 27:4-5).

May we not be like these people who forgot the Lord and His commands and continued deeper into sin. Instead, may we obey and remember God’s Word: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). DWR