Leviticus 20 Commentary
The death penalty is defined for nearly all the perversions in this chapter. Hasn’t it distorted the picture of God as the loving Father?
No. To the contrary, we have a better picture of the Creator God; He is holy. To accept these practices would be unthinkable for a holy God!
We can see God’s justice at work. Israel has a death penalty or banishment for divine crimes; Canaan will suffer the same punishment for the same offenses.
But which law has Canaan broken to receive this kind of punishment? The same law that made Adam guilty – the knowledge of good and evil. The same law that made Cain guilty.
Romans 2 verses 14 and 15 put it this way: “Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.”
Israel shall not sacrifice her children to Molek. The LORD God underlined this command when he saved Isaac from Abraham’s knife. The God of Abraham shall not be worshipped this way.
Thoughtless and heartless abortions could be considered sacrifices to Molek. Molek hasn’t changed; altars and technology have changed. The crime remains the same.
Idolatry included consulting spiritists and mediums. These practices have continued under different names: star reading, palmistry, astrology, witchcraft, and zodiac signs. Demons provide patronage for just about any vanity possible.
“If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.” Verse 10. We have an anomaly in the Gospel of John Chapter 8. The Pharisees exonerated the man from the same crime where they condemned the woman.
Today’s society condemns the man and exonerates the woman. The man suffers shame and loss while the woman remains free and “innocent”.
Both positions are not scriptural. All participants in this kind of crime are punished equally.
Verse 26 underlines holiness for Israel. This means that Israel is different from other nations. The saint cannot be the same as his unbelieving neighbor. You cannot go to the same clubs. You cannot do the same things. You cannot like the same things. You are separate!
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