Leviticus 20

CHAPTER 20

Punishments for Sin (20:1–27)

1–5 Most of the sins mentioned in this chapter have already been listed in Chapter 18. Here the punishments for the various sins are described.

Anyone living in Israel who sacrificed a child to Molech was to receive the death penalty (Leviticus 18:21). Molech was the god of the Ammonites, a people who lived just east of Canaan. Child sacrifice was common among the pagan nations surrounding Israel and it was surely the most barbaric of their religious rites. It deserved the death penalty on two counts: it involved both the worship of a false god and also the murder of a child. So terrible was this crime that if other Israelites were to close their eyes and not punish such an evildoer, they themselves would be cut off⁶⁹ from their people (verses 4–5). In God’s sight, to stand and watch a crime being committed without trying to prevent it makes a person an accomplice in that crime. An accomplice may get a lesser penalty than the main perpetrator of a crime, but he will be judged guilty nonetheless.

Modern people are no doubt shocked when they learn of this ancient practice of burning infants alive in order to appease a pagan god. Yet in modern times there is a similar practice, abortion, which sacrifices a living fetus to the “god” of convenience and selfishness. The fetus is every bit as alive as an infant child. The fetus is an individual, distinct from its mother; it is false to say it is “part of the mother’s body.” Before we condemn the ancients, we need to condemn our own societies for allowing the indiscriminate practice of abortion to continue.⁷⁰

6 Israelites who turned to mediums and spiritists⁷¹ were to be cut off (Leviticus 19:31). Mediums and spiritists were in league with evil spirits; they drew on the spirits’ power. Those who merely “turned” to them for help were cut off, but the mediums and spiritists themselves were put to death by stoning⁷² (see verse 27).

There is never a valid reason to consult with practitioners of the occult. Those who do so are essentially consulting false gods. Only the true God is to be consulted. In ancient Israel God was consulted through His priests and PROPHETS, who served as

His representatives. For Christians, God is consulted through His word and through His Spirit.

7–8 Once again God commands the Israelites to be holy—because He is their God (see Leviticus 11:45). But in this verse God adds: “I am the LORD, who makes you holy.”

We humans cannot “make ourselves holy” by our own efforts. Only God can make us holy. God redeems us; God fills us with His presence, His Spirit; and then God empowers us to be holy. But we have a part to play: since we have been made holy, we must act like it. Since God has made us holy, He expects us to lead holy lives. Once again we see God’s grace and our obedience working together (Philippians 2:12–13). What was true for the ancient Israelites is equally true for Christians today.

9 All the sins mentioned in verses 9–16 demanded the death penalty. God would not tolerate any behavior that dishonored Him—including the sinful behavior described in this chapter (see Exodus 20:3–6). God wasn’t just “taking revenge” on sinful humans;rather,He was showing His people how seriously they must take their covenant responsibility to obey Him and to remain holy in every part of their lives.

The death penalty was given to anyone who “cursed” his father or mother (see Exodus 21:17). To “curse” in this context didn’t mean simply to get upset, swear, or speak evil of one’s parents in a moment of passion. It meant to deliberately call down divine wrath on one’s parents; it meant, in effect, to wish them dead. This was just as bad as physically attacking one’s parents, for which the death penalty was also given (Exodus 21:15). In Deuteronomy 21:1821, such sons are called stubborn and rebellious and also profligate. In Old Testament usage, these adjectives implied that the son was engaging in idolatry and blasphemy, was willfully breaking the fifth commandment (Exodus 20:12), and was thus opposing God Himself. We can understand, then, that a son who cursed his parents in this way was also, in effect, cursing God. Such a son was hardened and unrepentant, and deserved to die⁷³(see Numbers 15:30–31 and comment).

Apart from the church, the most important unit in a civilized and God fearing society is the family unit. When children rebel against their parents the family structure crumbles, and not long afterward society crumbles with it. This is one reason the punishment of a “stubborn and rebellious” son was so severe.

In ancient Israel, parents had a responsibility to raise children who would abide by God’s covenant. If a child broke the covenant, the covenant standing of the entire community was placed in jeopardy. For the sake of the community, then, the offender had to be punished (see Deuteronomy 13:6–11). Such a severe penalty (death) would deter others from committing similar crimes.⁷⁴

10–16 These verses list additional sins for which the death penalty was to be given; all these sins are mentioned in Leviticus Chapter 18.⁷⁵

17–21 These verses also relate to corresponding verses in Chapter 18.⁷⁶ However, these sins did not require the death penalty; for some, the sinner would be “cut off”; for others, the sinner would be rendered childless (verses 20–21).

22–23 See Leviticus 18:24–30 and comment.

24 In giving all these laws and punishments, God was looking ahead to the time when the Israelites would be settled in their own land, Canaan—the “promised land,” a land flowing with milk and honey (see Exodus 3:7–9 and comment). Once they were in their own land, the Israelites would be even more set . . . apart from the nations. To be “set apart” is the root meaning of holiness; that the Israelites might be holy was God’s objective in establishing the nation of Israel.

25–26 See Leviticus 11:1,44–45 and comment.

27 See verse 6 and comment.