Dictionary of Bible Themes Dictionary of Bible Themes » 5000 Humanity » 0 » 5067 suicide The deliberate taking of one's own life, a rare occurrence in Scripture. Psychological causes of suicide A sense of guilt leads to suicide Matthew 27:5 See also Acts 1:18-19 Defeat leads to suicide 1 Samuel 31:4 See also 1 Samuel 31:5-6 pp 1 Chronicles 10:4-5; 2 Samuel 1:9; Samuel 17:23; 1 Kings 16:18 Defiance leads to suicide Judges 16:26-30; 2 Samuel 17:23 Failure leads to attempted suicide Desire for death is more frequently expressed in the Bible than actual suicide The desire for death in a prophet's depression 1 Kings 19:3-4 See also Jeremiah 15:10; Jeremiah 20:14-18; Jonah 4:1-3 A desire for death does not lead to taking of one's own life, but to entrusting the place and time of one's death to the Lord. The desire for death arising from grief and pain Job 10:1 See also Job 3:1-4; Job 7:15-16 The desire for death because of judgment Revelation 9:6 See also Hosea 10:8; Revelation 6:16 Life hated because of its apparent futility Ecclesiastes 2:17 See also Psalm 90:8-10; Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 Suicide usurps God's sovereignty over life God is Creator, and thus has authority over his creation Job 10:12 See also Genesis 2:7,17; Psalm 90:1-10; Psalm 139:13-15 God controls life and death Job 1:21 See also Exodus 23:25-26; Deuteronomy 32:39; Job 30:23; Ecclesiastes 8:8; Luke 12:22-25; Hebrews 9:27 Taking life, including one's own, is sin God's command that believers love themselves is violated by suicide See also Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39; Ephesians 5:29 God's command that believers should love others is violated by suicide Matthew 7:12 Relatives and friends are hurt when a loved one commits suicide. See also
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