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Leviticus 20

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Molech Worship and Spiritism

1 The Lord spoke to Moses:
2 "Say to the Israelites: Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech[a] must be put to death; the people of the country are to stone him.
3 I will turn[b] against that man and cut him off from his people, because he gave his offspring to Molech, defiling My sanctuary and profaning My holy name.
4 But if the people of the country look the other way when that man[c] gives any of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death,
5 then I will turn[d] against that man and his family, and cut off from their people both him and all who follow[e] him, prostituting themselves with Molech.
6 "Whoever turns to mediums[f] or spiritists[g] and prostitutes himself with them,[h] I will turn[i] against that person and cut him off from his people.
7 Consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.[j]
8 Keep My statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sets you apart.

Family and Sexual Offenses

9 "If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood is on his own hands.[k] [l]
10 If a man commits adultery with a married woman-if he commits adultery with his neighbor's wife-both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.[m]
11 If a man sleeps with his father's wife, he has shamed his father.[n] Both of them must be put to death; their blood is on their own hands.[o]
12 If a man sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death.[p] They have acted perversely; their blood is on their own hands.[q]
13 If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman,[r] they have both committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood is on their own hands.[s]
14 If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned with fire,[t] so that there will be no depravity among you.
15 If a man has sexual intercourse with[u] an animal,[v] he must be put to death; you are also to kill the animal.
16 If a woman comes near any animal and mates with it, you are to kill the woman and the animal.[w] They must be put to death; their [own] blood is on them.
17 If a man marries his sister, whether his father's daughter or his mother's daughter,[x] and they have sexual relations,[y] it is a disgrace. They must be cut off publicly from their people. He has had sexual intercourse with his sister; he will bear his punishment.
18 If a man sleeps with a menstruating woman and has sexual intercourse with her, he has exposed the source of her [flow], and she has uncovered the source of her blood.[z] Both of them must be cut off from their people.
19 You must not have sexual intercourse with your mother's sister or your father's sister,[aa] for it is exposing one's own blood relative; both people will bear their punishment.
20 If a man sleeps with his aunt, he has shamed his uncle;[ab] they will bear their guilt and die childless.
21 If a man marries his brother's wife, it is impurity. He has shamed his brother;[ac] they will be childless.

Holiness in the Land

22 "You are to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances, and do them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out.[ad]
23 You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and I abhorred them.[ae]
24 And I promised you: You will inherit their land, since I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.[af] I am the Lord your God who set you apart from the peoples.
25 Therefore you must distinguish the clean animal from the unclean one, and the unclean bird from the clean one. You are not to make yourselves detestable by any land animal, bird, or whatever crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you.[ag]
26 You are to be holy to Me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be Mine.[ah]
27 A man or a woman who is[ai] a medium or a spiritist[aj] must be put to death. They are to be stoned; their blood is on their own hands."[ak]
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Leviticus 20:8

Leviticus 20 Commentary

Chapter 20

Law against sacrificing children to Moloch, Of children that curse their parents. (1-9) Laws repeated, Holiness enjoined. (10-27)

Verses 1-9 Are we shocked at the unnatural cruelty of the ancient idolaters in sacrificing their children? We may justly be so. But are there not very many parents, who, by bad teaching and wicked examples, and by the mysteries of iniquity which they show their children, devote them to the service of Satan, and forward their everlasting ruin, in a manner even more to be lamented? What an account must such parents render to God, and what a meeting will they have with their children at the day of judgment! On the other hand, let children remember that he who cursed father or mother was surely put to death. This law Christ confirmed. Laws which were made before are repeated, and penalties annexed to them. If men will not avoid evil practices, because the law has made these practices sin, and it is right that we go on that principle, surely they should avoid them when the law has made them death, from a principle of self-preservation. In the midst of these laws comes in a general charge, Sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy. It is the Lord that sanctifies, and his work will be done, though it be difficult. Yet his grace is so far from doing away our endeavours, that it strongly encourages them. Work out your salvation, for it is God that worketh in you.

Verses 10-27 These verses repeat what had been said before, but it was needful there should be line upon line. What praises we owe to God that he has taught the evil of sin, and the sure way of deliverance from it! May we have grace to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things; may we have no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness, but reprove them.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Footnotes 37

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 20

In this chapter several laws are, repeated, enforced with a penalty annexed to them, and the breach them made capital, to deter from it, as giving seed to Molech, Le 20:1-5; going after such that have familiar spirits, or are wizards, Le 20:6; by shunning which, and other sins, a regard would be shown to holiness, Le 20:7,8; such as cursing parents, Le 20:9; committing adultery, Le 20:10; incestuous copulations, and marriages, and beastly actions, Le 20:11-21; all which it became the Israelites to avoid, lest, when come into the land of Canaan, they should be cast out of it, as the old inhabitants were for the same things, Le 20:22-24; and therefore, that they might appear to be a distinct people from others, they were to put a difference between clean and unclean creatures, Le 20:25,26; and the chapter is closed with a law, making it death for any person to have a familiar spirit, or to be a wizard, Le 19:27.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Leviticus 20 Commentaries

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