What the Bible says about Self Defense
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Exodus 22:2-3 Verse 2 seems to contradict the idea that Christians should not kill in self-defense. At first glance, this seems to support the "self-defense in one's home" argument, but like Numbers 35:16-28, the distinction is accidental versus intentional. Verse 3 explains this: "If the sun has risen on him [the killer], there shall be guilt for his bloodshed." This statute illustrates that God differentiates between a killing committed when it is dark and one done when it is light. The meaning is not that darkness gives us license to break God's law, but rather that in the dark it is more difficult to determine what level of force is necessary to restrain an unknown intruder. The law gives the homeowner the benefit of the doubt in assuming that he would not deliberately use lethal force, since that falls under intentional or premeditated murder (Exodus 20:13). Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law, and James also exhorts us to "fulfill the royal law" by loving our neighbors as ourselves (James 2:8). Jesus teaches that murder begins in the heart and has everything to do with intention, even if the act of killing is not followed through (Matthew 5:21-22). This instruction reiterates that murder is either accidental or intentional, based on what is in the heart. When applied to Exodus 22:2-3, Christ's words show that when a thief is killed in the dark, there is a good chance that the homeowner acted without animosity or premeditation. But if a homeowner kills a thief when nothing in the circumstance hinders his judgment, he is without excuse—the act was intentional, and he is guilty of murder. David C. Grabbe Does Scripture Allow for Killing in Self-Defense? Related Topics: Accidental Death | Accidental Killing | Self Defense | Spirit of the Law

Numbers 35:9-28 God instructed Israel about what to do when a man was killed. These verses show that God recognizes only two classifications of killing: accidental and intentional. "Self-defense" is not even listed as a possibility! God illustrates "accidental death" as occurring when there is no intent to kill or to harm. It is accidental when there is no awareness that an action will result in the death of another. Deuteronomy 19:5 provides a clear example of such an accident: ". . . as when a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies." However, when there is intent to kill or injure, God's law defines it as murder regardless of what the other person was threatening to do, about to do, or in the process of doing. If a man fires a gun with the foreknowledge that it has the potential to kill another man, it is murder. The "self-defense" category is something afforded by the law of the land, not by the law of God. David C. Grabbe Does Scripture Allow for Killing in Self-Defense? Related Topics: Accident | Accidental Death | Accidental Killing | Killing | Killing, Justification for | Manslaughter | Murder | Premeditated Killing | Self Defense

 

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