Reflections on Leviticus 20

Leviticus 20 (Contemporary English Version)

1. The LORD told Moses
   
2. to say to the community of Israel: Death by stoning is the penalty for any citizens or foreigners in the country who sacrifice their children to the god Molech.
   
3. They have disgraced both the place where I am worshiped and my holy name, and so I will turn against them and no longer let them belong to my people.
   
4. Some of you may let them get away with human sacrifice,
   
5. but not me. If any of you worship Molech, I will turn against you and your entire family, and I will no longer let you belong to my people.
   
6. I will be your enemy if you go to someone who claims to speak with the dead, and I will destroy you from among my people.
   
7. Dedicate yourselves to me and be holy because I am the LORD your God.
   
8. I have chosen you as my people, and I expect you to obey my laws.
   
9. If you curse your father or mother, you will be put to death, and it will be your own fault.
   
10. If any of you men have sex with another man's wife, both you and the woman will be put to death.
    
11. Having sex with one of your father's wives disgraces him. So both you and the woman will be put to death, just as you deserve.
    
12. It isn't natural to have sex with your daughter-in-law, and both of you will be put to death, just as you deserve.
    
13. It's disgusting for men to have sex with one another, and those who do will be put to death, just as they deserve.
    
14. It isn't natural for a man to marry both a mother and her daughter, and so all three of them will be burned to death.
    
15. If any of you have sex with an animal, both you and the animal will be put to death, just as you deserve.
    
16. (SEE 20:15)
    
17. If you marry one of your sisters, you will be punished, and the two of you will be disgraced by being openly forced out of the community.
    
18. If you have sex with a woman during her monthly period, both you and the woman will be cut off from the people of Israel.
    
19. The sisters of your father and mother are your own relatives, and you will be punished for having sex with any of them.
    
20. If you have sex with your uncle's wife, neither you nor she will ever have any children.
    
21. And if you marry your sister-in-law, neither of you will ever have any children.
    
22. Obey my laws and teachings. Or else the land I am giving you will become sick of you and throw you out.
    
23. The nations I am chasing out did these disgusting things, and I hated them for it, so don't follow their example.
    
24. I am the LORD your God, and I have promised you their land that is rich with milk and honey. I have chosen you to be different from other people.
    
25. That's why you must make a difference between animals and birds that I have said are clean and unclean --this will keep you from becoming disgusting to me.
    
26. I am the LORD, the holy God. You have been chosen to be my people, and so you must be holy too.
    
27. If you claim to receive messages from the dead, you will be put to death by stoning, just as you deserve.
    
    

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    Punishments for offenses previously listed are given in this chapter. Most, though not all, of the punishments given here are for the death penalty. It is prescribed for serious offenses against life, religion, and the family and was considered essential to prevent sin from infecting the whole community. The basis for avoiding these offenses and for such strong punishments was that they were God's people and must be holy as He is holy. If we are to have fellowship with our Creator and enjoy the full benefits of His creation, we must live as He intended for us to live. It is not as many might depict it in which God is a vindictive God who imposes arbitrary rules and punishments on His people. That is, if there is indeed a God, according to their thinking.
    
    There is indeed a God, and He loves the people He has made enough to want them to fully enjoy the life He has given them. Rather than being arbitrary rules, these restrictions are designed to help us avoid those things that will keep us from enjoying the life He has given us. As our Creator He knows what those are. But we tend to be like children who want what we want and question whether the prohibited activity will truly cause harm. So to determine whether or not we might participate in a prohibited activity we ask the question, "what's the harm?" when we should be asking, "what's the benefit?" In making these choices, too many of us are like Esau who traded his birthright for instant and short-term gratification.