Killing to Get Gain Part 2

Before we continue, we need to revisit this vital point which is illustrated in the scriptures again and again. This point is paramount to understanding the atonement as taught by Christ.

As we pointed out previously, Cain learned that he could murder and get gain.

“And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.” – Moses 5:31

Cain showed us the ultimate example of wicked selfishness by committing murder to get gain. 

There are times however in which we must kill or in which killing is the moral thing to do. For example in self defense or in the defense of the weak. But, when we are required to kill, we should not take advantage of the situation for our own gain. 

If you killed someone in self defense, you would not search their body for valuables, (rings, cash, etc.). It would be immoral to gain financially by killing, even if you killed someone in self defence.   

The Example of Abraham

When we are required to kill, it is important that we do so without personal gain. Abraham is an excellent example of this. 

Chedorlaomer, king of Elamite and the armies that united with him attacked several cities capturing people and taking the goods of the cities. Lot was living in Sodom when it was captured by Chedorlaomer. 

When Abraham found out that Lot was captured, he armed his servants and led them to rescue Lot and the others who were captured. Abraham overcame his enemy and rescued Lot, the Kings and others. The Kings offered all of the captured wealth to Abraham saying that it was his as the spoils of war.

Abraham paid tithing with it, fed the army and then gave all the rest back not taking even so much as a shoelace for himself. If he were to take the spoils of war, then he would have personally gained by the shedding of blood.

“And they, (the armies under King Chedorlaomer), took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

13 ¶ And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.

14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

17 ¶ And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.” – Gen. 14:11-24

The Counterexample of Saul

Saul was made king of Israel. The Lord commanded him through the prophet Samuel to destroy the Amalekites and all they possessed including their sheep, ox, camels and donkeys. 

Saul killed everyone except the King and allowed the people to convince him to keep the very best animals as spoils of war with the excuse that they would offer them as sacrifices to God.

Because Saul didn’t obey God and took the spoils of war, he was rejected by God as king of Israel.

“Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

…

9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

10 ¶ Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying,

11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night.

…

19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?

20-21 And Saul said unto Samuel…the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.

22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” – 1 Samuel 15:3-23

The Example of King David

David was favored of the Lord and had gained many blessings. As king, he had all his heart’s desires until he saw her…

Bath-sheba was married to Uriah who served in the army of King David. While Uriah was away at war, David saw Bath-sheba bathing and lusted after her. He had her brought to him and slept with her. She became pregnant and David didn’t face his mistake, rather he attempted to hide his shame and guilt. 

He sent for Uriah and tried to subtly get him to sleep with Bath-sheba so that he and everyone would think the child was his own. Uriah was honorable and refused to sleep in his house with his wife while the rest of the army was sleeping in fields and tents.

David then sent Uriah back to the war with a letter to his commander to send Uriah to the hottest battlefield and ensure he got killed in the war. 

Covering the shame and guilt of Adam and Eve caused the death of animals. In the same way, David’s effort to cover his shame and guilt caused the death of Uriah and also other men with him. Once Uriah was killed, David took Bath-sheba to wife. In this way, he murdered to both cover his sin and to get gain. The Lord spoke to David through the prophet Nathan who pronounced a curse on David. Nathan specifically calls out that David murdered Uriah using the sword of his enemies and that David took Bath-sheba to wife signifying that he murdered to get gain.

While David caused death by his sin, we find in this story yet another instance in which the sinner was not put to death for his sins.

“And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

3 And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.

5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

…

9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.

…

14 ¶ And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.

16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.

17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

…

27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.” – 2 Samuel 11:2-27

Then Nathan the prophet told David…

“Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

11 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.” – 2 Samuel 11:2-12:13

The thing we would like to point out in this story is that David didn’t kill Uriah with his own hand, he didn’t hire someone to kill Uriah and Uriah went to battle knowing that he might die. Joab was the one that placed Uriah in a position to be killed in battle and carried out the orders of King David, yet, with all these reasons that one might excuse David, David was still responsible for the death of Uriah. David’s sin caused Uriah’s death in much the same way our sins cause harm and possibly even death to others. Jesus Christ pointed out, “Whatsoever ye do to the least of these, ye have done to me.”

When we agree with, support and condone killing, we become partially responsible for it even if we didn’t do it ourselves, especially if we intend to get gain as a result of the killing.

It is immoral to kill or support killing for the purpose of getting gain. It is also immoral to kill for a righteous purpose and then to get gain by taking the spoils of war.  If you are required to kill, it is better to destroy the spoils of war than to take them. To take any of the spoils of war is to kill to get gain and makes us murderers, like unto Cain.