SCRIPTURE: LEVITICUS 20
IMPORTANT VERSES:
“Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.” (Leviticus 20:7-8)
“You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” (Leviticus 20:26)
PUNISHMENTS FOR SIN (vs. 1-27)
The Lord said to Moses, “‘Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him. I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people’ for by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech and they fail to put him to death, I will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech.
“‘I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.
“Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.
“‘If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head.
“‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife – with the wife of his neighbor – both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.
“‘If a man sleeps with his father’s wife, he has dishonored his father. Bothe the man and the woman must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
“‘If a man sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.
“‘If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
“‘If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that no wickedness will be among you.
“‘If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal.
“‘If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
“‘If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off before the eyes of their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.
“‘If a man lies with a woman during her monthly period and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has also uncovered it. Both of them must be cut off from their people.
“‘Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father, for that would dishonor a close relative; both of you would be held responsible.
“‘If a man sleeps with his aunt, he has dishonored his uncle. They will be held responsible; they will die childless.
“‘If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity’; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.
“‘Keep all my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing tyh8ou to live may not vomit you out. You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.. But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.
“‘You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds. Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground – those which I have set apart as unclean for you. You are to be holy to me because I, th8e Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.
“‘A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.”
THOUGHTS: (From Life Application Study Bible)
Sacrificing children to the gods was a common practice in ancient religions. The Ammonites, Israel'[s neighbors, made child sacrifice to Molech (their national god) a vital part of their religion. They considered this as the greatest gift they could offer to ward off evil or appease angry gods. God made it clear that the practice was detestable and strictly forbidden.
Everyone is interested in what the future holds, and we often look to others for guidance. But God warned about looking to the occult for advice. Mediums and psychics were outlawed because God was not the source of their information. Occult practitioners are fakes whose predictions cannot be trusted. At worst, they are in contract with evil spirits and are thus extremely dangerous. We don’t need to look to the occult for information about the future. Gods has given us the Bible so that we may obtain all the information we need – and the Bible’s teaching is trustworthy.
The lists of commands against sexual sins includes extremely harsh punishments because of the following reasons:
- They shatter the mutual commitment of married partners.
- They destroy the sanctity of the family.
- They twist people’s mental well being.
- They spread disease.
God gave many rules to his people in order to protect them from ruin. God also forbids us to do certain things because he wants to keep us from self-destruction.