A Murdering Ox

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Exodus 20:13 (NLT) You must not murder.

What it is speaking to me:

This devotional should be as short as the verse (our shortest yet!) right? I mean...don't murder. Got it? Got it. Good. End of devotional.

But there is a little bit more going on here. The Hebrew word for "murder" is not talking about self-defense, war, or capital punishment. It is talking about intentional killing. But it also applies to UN-intentional killing, what we would call manslaughter or negligence.

There's an odd little law tucked into Exodus about an ox. If your ox gores someone and it's the first time, you're not liable. But if that ox had a habit of goring people, and you knew about it and did nothing, and it kills someone, you're guilty too (Exodus 21:28-29). It's not really a law about livestock. It's a law about negligence. Ignoring a known danger to someone else's life is its own kind of violence, even if you never lift a hand.

If you own an ox, be on your guard. But since most of us don't, let's bring it to our context: What about someone serving someone who has obviously had too much to drink one more drink before sending them home? What about the obvious one, drinking and driving? What about texting and driving? Could these be our goring ox?

To state the commandment positively, it is about preserving the life of a creature created in the image of God. It's asking us to actively preserve and promote life, not just avoid ending it. That's the ox owner's job before the goring ever happens. Life isn't sacred because it's useful or convenient, or even because we like the person. It's sacred because they're made in the image of God, and God valued that image enough to ransom it with his own Son.

What is it saying to you?

Is there a "goring ox" in your life right now, a known danger to someone's wellbeing you've been ignoring because dealing with it is inconvenient?

What does simply not murdering, but actively promoting and preserving life look like in your life?

What are we going to do about it?

Is there a "goring ox" in your life? Promote life today.