Part #3 "Hands That Shed Innocent Blood"

Hands that shed innocent blood.
This is speaking of murder or the taking of an innocent life. Again, this something that we see over and over again today in many different ways.

In the short time of my life, I have known of many senseless murders that have taken place by senseless people. 

Far too many kill themselves because they don't feel life is worth living anymore. 

I have known of many married couples where the man or the women get so upset at their spouse because they either are seeing someone else or they think they're seeing someone else and they will find a weapon and kill their spouse and often turn around and take their own lives.

Because of Jealousy or uncontrolled anger many have committed this sin that God hates. 

Another example we see of senseless murder can be found in the news just about every night. 

Terrorist who have been fooled, deceived into thinking that if they kill those who hold to a different religion that they will go to paradise. This is a false doctrine completely.

People will strap on bombs or drive a car full of bombs and kill both themselves and the innocent victims around them all in the name of a false god.

Some of these people simply have no regard for life.

We have several biblical examples of those who shed innocent blood. Our first example comes from,
Genesis 4:3-12 "And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.
 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering,
 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
 6 So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
 7 "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
 8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"
 10 And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground.
 11 "So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
 12 "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth." (NKJV)

This murder was caused by Cain's jealousy. Instead of being happy for his brother and trying to improve his own relationship with God, all he could think about was himself, so he murders his brother and had to pay the consequence of his sin.

He no longer had success at growing food and he would have to wander the earth without a place to call his home.

Sometimes people around this world who stand for 'The Truth of God' will be murdered. We see this in the Biblical instance when Stephen was grabbed up and put on the defense for God's Truth.

The bible describes Stephen's innocence by saying his face looked like an angel. Stephen gave his defense and then at the end it became ugly as we pick up the passage in,

Acts 7:51-60 "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 "who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it." 54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, (like Acts 2) and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep." 

This murder came from pure hatred for what Stephen stood for and is an example to us that we must stand on the truth even IN FACE OF LIVING.

We could also look at King Herod and how he had all those babies 2 years and under killed because he felt his power as a king was threatened; 
or how David had Uriah killed because he was trying to cover up his adulterous affair with Bathsheba.

But out of all the types of murder there is one that I THINK IS POSSIBLY WORSE YET.

I will pick this same lesson up next time in a second part. God bless...