Self-Murder

The earliest known English definition for the concept of suicide was written in the 1656 dictionary entitled “Glossographa”, which was composed by Thomas Blount. The definition read simply:

“Suicide, the slaying or murdering of himself; self-murder.”

“Self-murder” is perhaps the best way to simultaneously identify and characterize the act of killing oneself. The action involved is obvious, but also in this definition the word “murder” provides the necessary negative connotation of the act. Furthermore, “murder” is the correct categorization of the act of suicide. Murder is often defined as the premeditated unlawful killing of another human being. Suicide, or self-murder, fits this description: it is premeditated (i.e not an accident, the situation and means to accomplish this must be prepared and utilized to produce the intended outcome), it is unlawful (for reasons we will express shortly), and it results in the death of a human being.

Before pressing on, let’s focus on the word “unlawful” for a moment. We readily recognize that it is wrong to kill another human in a premeditated, unlawful fashion. But is it “unlawful” to kill oneself? After all, if we examine this from a legal perspective, what crime is being committed, what sentence can we pass on a deceased individual, what punishment can be given or rehabilitation offered to the dead? In the moral and spiritual realm, is self-murder a transgression of God’s stated will for mankind?

The Scripture is not silent on the issue of whether human beings should unlawfully kill human beings. Genesis 4 records the first post-Garden sin: Cain murdering his brother Abel, a crime for which he bore the “mark” and lived as a “vagabond” the rest of his life. The “voice” of Abel’s blood cried from the ground up to God, a cry that demanded justice for the heinous sin Cain had committed (Gen. 4.10). Genesis 9 makes this prohibition even clearer:

“And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in His own image.” (Gen. 9.6 ESV)

Focus on two things in Genesis 9. First, man was created in a way that was unique to creation: imago Dei, Latin for “in the image of God” (Gen. 1.27). The prohibition against killing other human beings without license is due to their unique status as images of the Creator. The Creator will not sit idly by while His images, His living “statutes” created to glorify their Creator destroy one another. This would also include when His images decide for one reason or another to destroy themselves.

Second, the reckoning, or the “requirement” that God placed upon human life. The idea is one of accounting, or of having a record of every human life. In short, no man would be able to take a human life without God knowing about it, and based on Gen. 9, without Him doing something about it. In Gen. 9, the solution was a human “avenger of blood”, a concept included in the Law of Moses (For example, see Numbers 35). The important point here is that God does not regard the deaths of human beings lightly, and to address the crime of murder prior to Final Judgment God institutes this system of humans avenging bloodguilt. This whole system indicates the vast importance and significance of human life.

Lastly, and while this point could receive a much more thorough treatment, murder is condemned in the Law of Moses, specifically the 6th Commandment (Ex. 20.13; Dt. 5.17), a law which is only strengthened by Jesus (Matt. 5.21-16), and reiterated by Paul (Rom. 1.29, 13.9). John also describes Cain’s act of murder as proof of his being “of the evil one” (1 John 3.12).

Simply put, the act of killing a human being willfully and unlawfully is sinful, even if the one we kill is ourselves. Of course, this excludes accidental death, judicial death (i.e. capital punishment) and lawful death (the killing of enemy soldiers in warfare, etc.).

Examples in Scripture

Next, we turn to examples of self-murder in Scripture and see what lessons can be drawn from these instances. Sadly, the Scripture is not short on references to suicide. At least six references to a person knowingly and willfully killing themselves exist, and the reader would be well-served by examining each of these references closely:

• Samson (Judg. 16.28-31), who toppled the Philistine temple to Dagon in Gaza atop himself and his captors.
• Saul (1 Sam. 31.1-6) & his unnamed armor-bearer, who fell on their swords.
• Ahithophel (2 Sam. 17.21-23), who also hanged himself.
• Zimri (1 Kings. 16.15-20), who burned down his house around himself.
• Judas Iscariot (Mt. 27.3-6; Acts 1.15-20), who hanged himself.

(You may question the inclusion of Samson (Judges 16.28-31). Consider that Samson says “Let me die with the Philistines.” (v.30), a battle cry in the spirit of Kamikaze pilots and suicide bombers. I will admit that this one COULD be questionable as to whether it qualifies as suicide. We have no problem calling soldiers and/or terrorists who kill others while taking their own lives “suicide bombers”, and Samson isn’t exactly known for being a moral paragon among the Judges. Our tendency to avoid calling this suicide is probably less out of respect for the definition and more in line with wanting to avoid difficult questions. Samson is included in this list because his case fits the key aspects of the other five instances. Admittedly, his specific case might require a fuller treatment on its own—K.S.)

First, in these instances of suicide one should notice that in each case extreme distress is the rule:

• Samson has been betrayed by Delilah, blinded, enslaved, and is being mocked by his captors as proof of Dagon’s (supposed) victory over Samson.
• Saul is wounded, and about to fall into the hands of his Philistine pursuers. Saul’s armor bearer had just witnessed his wounded king kill himself after denying Saul’s request to kill him.
• Ahithophel (in many way Judas Iscariot’s O.T. precursor) sided with Absalom during his coup against King David. Known for his wisdom, Athiophel advises Absalom to attack David, counsel which Hushai the Archite describes as “not good”. After providing his own suggestion, Absalom and the elders declare that “The counsel of Hushai...is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” Ahithophel was no doubt devastated by this turn of favor away from his counsel.
• Zimri, who reigned an entire seven days during the tumultuous end of the northern nation of Israel, won the throne by murdering the previous king (Elah), his family, and his friends. When news of Zimri’s deed got out, “all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel” (1 Ki. 16.16). Zimri fled to the capital of Tirzah, followed closely by Israel who then encircled the city.
• Judas Iscariot has just sold Jesus of Nazareth into the hands of the scribes/Pharisees. Upon realizing his grievous error, he attempts to repent and return the money to the Pharisees, who coldly reply “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” (Mt. 27.4 ESV) (In other words, it’s your problem, not ours).

Second, suicide is used each time as a way to escape pending undesirable circumstances:

• Samson’s present distress and future outlook comprised of cruel slavery and crueler mockery at the hands of those whom he had destroyed for decades.
• Fearing mistreatment by the enemy, Saul instructs his armor-bearer to kill him with his sword “lest these uncircumcised men…mistreat me” (1 Sam. 31.4). When he refused, Saul fell on his own sword, followed shortly by the armor-bearer, and for likely the same reason.
• Ahithophel is known for being the one to whom people listened. Now his counsel is seen as inferior to the likes of Hushai and others. This was brought on by the LORD (2 Sam. 17.14), but he could not endure his not being “the guy” anymore.
• Zimri’s danger is easy to spot: he’s a mass murderer, and the city is surrounded by his accusers. Rather than come out and “face the music”, Zimri’s swan song was written in preemptive immolation, in the same spirit as Thelma and Louise’s famous final plunge to escape law enforcement.
• Judas Iscariot has betrayed the Son of God. How could he show his face among the disciples? Who would accept a traitor in their midst? He would forever be known as the Betrayer. Hanging himself seemed to Judas the only way to escape what was no doubt crushing guilt, sorrow, and despair.

Third, the spiritual degeneracy of these individuals should play into our judgment of their final act:

• Samson’s life was defined by lust and revenge, never once bringing up his mission from the Lord. That God accomplished great deeds through Samson is a testament to Himself, not to Samson’s life.
• The kingdom had been wrest from Saul for his wickedness, and Saul (and his army) was being destroyed by the Philistines as a judgment for Saul’s disobedience (1 Sam. 28.17-19).
• Of the five, only the armor-bearer isn’t explicitly described as wicked (although we may come to that conclusion based on his final act or from the fact that he imitated Saul).
• Ahithophel had betrayed David & joined with the conspiracy of Absalom, and God took away the favor he had gained by way of his famous wisdom so that He “might bring harm upon Absalom”. (2 Sam. 17.14)
• Zimri’s evil is also easy to spot: he conspires against & murders Asa and his friends/family. Zimri’s evil becomes widely known, even to the point of proverb as evidenced by Jezebel’s statement to Jehu: “Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?” (2 Ki. 9.31).
• Judas Iscariot was already known as a thief prior to his betrayal of Christ (John 12.6).

So, from these Scriptural instances three clear characteristics of self-murder are prominent:

• Distress creates the environment to make the decision to self-murder.
• Escape is the intended goal of self-murder: “It would be better if I were dead than __________”.
• Wicked is the common spiritual description of those who chose to self-murder.

Thou Shalt Not (Self) Murder

Finally, let’s address these three characteristics with the mind of thinking more about how to discuss this sin and avoid it altogether. After all, the unique danger of self-murder is evident in the Christian’s required response to sin: repentance and asking God’s forgiveness. Pirates coined the phrase “Dead Men Tell No Tales” because they recognized that the dead are excellent at keeping secrets. For the same reason, those who self-murder have no further opportunity to turn from their sin.

First, any solution to a situation that seems to be advocated in Scripture by ONLY wicked people must give us pause to consider whether the solution is indeed valid. Godly people recognize that we are created in the image of God. The purpose of our creation at the most basic level is the same as that of every other created image: to glorify either what we were created to portray or our creator. In the case of human beings, BOTH are true. We were created to glorify God. Willfully destroying that which is intended to glorify God negates our ability to carry out our purpose. In the case of Christians, we have been transformed into living temples of God, our bodies designated as temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6.19), bought with a price and as such required to glorify God with our bodies (v.20). If a person’s sexual immorality is described as a sin “against his own body” (v.18), how much more so is taking one’s own life?

Second, think more about why we consider self-murder as a solution. The problem that self-murder claims to solve is a difficult or doomed future, often one involving great personal shame. The Japanese concept of seppuku or “Hara-Kiri” (both mean basically “belly cutting”) exemplifies this idea. Samurai who were about to be captured in battle (i.e. suffer the shame of defeat) or who have dishonored themselves (or their masters) would perform seppuku rather than continue to live without honor. The potential difficulties of the future are leveraged by Satan as strong temptations to consider self-murder:

• Living on after the death of a loved one (parent, spouse, or child)
• Suffering financial ruin after losing one’s job or being fired
• Dealing with the consequences of an embarrassing public sin
• Having a role in an accident or mishap where someone loses their life
• Surviving a battle or major conflict while fellow servicemen/servicewomen lost their lives

It is important that the people of the Scripture had to endure these same sorts of temptations, and in so doing had the same inclinations to “just end it all”. Moses (Num. 11.15); Job and Jeremiah both expressed they wished they had never been born (Job 3.3; Jer. 20.14). Job goes so far as to ask why he was not as a stillborn child, “as infants who never see the light” (3.16), and bemoaned that life was extended for the “bitter in soul” who “long for death” (Job. 3.20-21), and yet neither he nor his friends suggest self-murder as an option. Solomon got to the point in his life where he realized that there was nothing more to be gained, nothing more to be learned, and no possibility of being remembered after we’re gone that he “hated life”. (Eccl. 2.17). Elijah became so despondent, so hopeless at his situation with Ahab and Jezebel that he “sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying ‘It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.’” (1 Ki. 19.4). Jonah not once, but TWICE asked God to take his life (which in the context says more about Jonah’s problematic spiritual health than about his faith) (Jonah 4.3, 8). Paul and company encountered such tremendous difficulties because of afflictions suffered in Asia that they were “utterly burdened beyond (their) strength that (they) despaired of life itself.” (2 Cor. 1.8).

If the goal is escaping a difficult situation by way of death, aren’t we forgetting something? Isn’t that the embodiment of the idea: “Out of the frying pan, and into the fire”???

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matt. 10.28 ESV)

What shall I say to my heavenly Father when I meet Him after ending my life? That I didn’t believe He could support me, strengthen me, help me, comfort me in my situation and death was my only means of escape? Shall I tell Him that I was unwilling to suffer? Shall I tell Him that even though He was not done using my life to accomplish His purposes, I WAS???

This gets us to the third part: Distress. The environment of distress can cause us to make rash decisions, the rashest of which is self-murder. Distress can cause us to abandon our faith in God’s promises to take care of us, to provide for us, to support, comfort and keep us. We must recognize its danger and be willing to share our situation with brethren who can help. Distress can convince us that we are alone, that there is no one to help (or no one that would). Remember the example of Jesus, who under the deepest distress than any human could experience, prayed not for death, but that the will of God would be accomplished, even if it meant He would be mercilessly tortured and killed in the process. (Lk. 22.39-46). Remember: Jesus knew full well how difficult it would be to follow God’s plan: “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!” (Luke 12.50). We can take comfort in the fact that God hears us in our distresses and answers in accordance with His infinite wisdom, love, and compassion (Psalm 18.6; 59.16; 118.5, etc.).

When we are tempted to take our own life, consider that God has decided it would be better for us to live than to die. After all, we do not live by bread alone, “but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4.4 ESV). Will I trust His judgment over my own? Or do I doubt the power of Christ’s love for us?

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” (Rom. 8.35 ESV)

No matter what you are going through, self-murder isn’t the solution.
Christ is the Solution. Turn to Him. Trust Him.