a)      We may think of hands as being part of our upper body, and that is true.

b)      In the Bible “hands” often refer to a person’s deeds.

c)      Ps. 7:3; 18:20, 24; 24:4.

2)      A figure of speech used in the Bible and by us on a regular basis is a “metonymy.”

3)      A metonymy is where we say one thing, but we mean something else.

a)      Prov. 6 – these hands “shed” something.  They shed blood.

b)       They shed INNOCENT blood.

4)      Homicide is a word that means the life of another human being is taken.           

5)      Sometimes the life that is taken is innocent.

a)      Cain killed Abel; why?  1 Jn. 3:12 says Abel was “righteous.”  Innocent blood was shed.

b)      When Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband was killed, innocent blood was shed.

c)      When John the Baptist died, innocent blood was shed.

d)     When Stephen was killed, innocent blood was shed.  All these deaths were homicides.

6)      In the Old Testament we read about four different types of homicide.

a)      The Old Testament recognizes what we might call “justifiable homicide.”

b)      Ex. 22.

7)      This passage talks about thieves.

a)      Ex. 22:1 says a man who stole one ox had to give back 5 oxen to the victim.

b)      If a sheep was stolen, 4 sheep were to be returned for every one sheep that was taken.

c)      Verses 2-3 of Ex. 22 – READ

8)      If a thief broken in during the night and the homeowner killed the thief, the homeowner was justified.

a)      God does not look kindly on criminal activity.

b)      We know God does not want any to perish (2 Pet. 3:9), and this includes thieves.

9)      A second type of homicide in the Bible is one that our law readily recognizes.

10)  There are “accidental deaths.”

11)  In the book of Numbers (35:22-28) we read about some deadly accidents.

12)  Verse 22 speaks of pushing someone; perhaps the idea is two people rough housing.

13)  A third category of homicide is what we might call “judicial homicide.”

14)  This means a person is guilty of murder and they need to be removed from society.

15)  A fourth and final category is premeditated murder.      

16)  Deut. 19:11-13 – READ

17)  Premeditated murder was a crime where God said mercy and pity were not deserved.

18)  When we look at the shedding of blood from the standpoint of murder, we find some key lessons.

19)  We learn that in life some actions are accidents.

20)  When we study about murder, we find that it is associated with theft.

21)  We learn from our references that were given that God expects wrongdoers to be punished.

a)      One day the Son of God will return and those who shed blood but were not forgiven will pay.

b)      They will answer for every drop of blood they shed.

c)      Others who are unforgiven will also answer.

d)     Are we ready for that day?