GOD's commands are given to particular people at a particular time. They are given to "responders," who are centers of agency. Being commanded further implies that we can be obedient and bring about change in the world. We must also persist through time, through the hearing of the command to the realization of it. GOD's command of us also suggests that we are sufficiently free to obey or not. And, if GOD commands us, we must be competent users of language to be able to understand the command.
Though there is a universal command to respect life, GOD commands specific persons. This respect begins with respect for one's own life, the substance of this command can be fleshed out through autonomous human reason.