Why did God tell Moses to command the Children of levi to kill?

[blubell44]

I am a chiristian and firmly believe in God. I am 21 and a new christian so i am still learning , but today i heard a question from someone who does not believe and i could not answer it. i am slightly ashamed. The question was..
In Exodus 32, After God gave the ten commandments to moses, one being thou shalt not kill, why when moses came down the mountain and saw they were worshiping a graven image, did God command moses to tell the children of levi to slay everyman is brother, companion, and his neighbor, and 3,000 people were slayed? Didn't God just say Thou shalt not kill?
I don't doubt God but i am confused. Can someone explain this to me Please

 

[t1mp01]

I am a chiristian and firmly believe in God. I am 21 and a new christian so i am still learning , but today i heard a question from someone who does not believe and i could not answer it. i am slightly ashamed. The question was..
In Exodus 32, After God gave the ten commandments to moses, one being thou shalt not kill, why when moses came down the mountain and saw they were worshiping a graven image, did God command moses to tell the children of levi to slay everyman is brother, companion, and his neighbor, and 3,000 people were slayed? Didn't God just say Thou shalt not kill?
I don't doubt God but i am confused. Can someone explain this to me Please

First off, what is the very first commandment?

Second, Have you read THE WHOLE chapter? God made it very clear this was a grave sin to worship Idols. It is the first commandment! In fact, Moses gave everyone a chance to repent by standing in the camp entrance and said ..."who is on the Lords side come to me.." the Levites did, and only them. The Lord God said he was going to consume ALL of these people earlier in the chapter because of the idol worship. But, Moses reasoned with the Lord and God relented from His wrath. God also knew these were 'stiff necked people' who would never turn to Him. So it was either the whole camp, or part of the camp that were going to die that day. As usual, not because God is a hateful God, but because his chosen people continued to spit in the Lords face with idol worship and rejection. By God relenting and giving a chance to the people to repent and side with the Lord, I think it is a masterful show of the true Love that is God!

 

[TimRout]

While some translations render the sixth commandment "Thou shalt not kill", the Hebrew actually reads "You shall not murder". Not all killings are murder. God's execution of disobedient persons is perfectly legitimate. Also, as the Scriptures previously established, "Whoever sheds the blood of man (murder), by man shall his blood be shed (capitol punishment)." [Genesis 9:6a]

Hope this helps.