Chapter Twenty
Punishment for Pursuing False gods and Child Sacrifice
20:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, 5 then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.
Previously in Leviticus 18:21, God gave the command that no one was to offer their child to Molech,[1] the Ammonite, and later Canaanite god (from the root meaning ‘king’). There are several names are associated with Molech, including Molek, Moloch, and Malkam (some add Milcom to that list, but there does not appear to be any connection, see Jeremiah 49:1). Here the punishment is stated for anyone guilty of offering their child to Molech, they are to be stoned to death (this is the first appearance of the Hebrew word ‘yir·gemǔ’,[2] a verb referring to stoning someone, a form of capital punishment). If the people do not take action or are not aware of the heinous act, God will set His face against the guilty person and their family and will cut them off from among their people. Everyone who participates will be considered as people “whoring after Molech,” or in other words, unfaithful to God. Since the person would have been identified as being a member of God’s people, any act of disobedience, especially something as horrific as this would profane God’s holy name. The motivation of such an act is identified as an attempt to minimize God’s plan for His people and render the Tabernacle useless (unclean). As mentioned before, anyone who dishonors God through disobedience, also dishonors everything God considers holy.
It should be noted that Molech worship was not the only false-deity protocol that required a child to be sacrificed (see Jeremiah chapter 19; 2 Kings 3:26-27). The issue of sacrificing children was two-fold: First, being willing to kill a human being to honor a false god is an indicator that the person doing the sacrifice has completely turned away from God. Secondly, offering a child is equivalent to murder. Both offenses are punishable by death (see Genesis 9:6; Exodus 20:13; 21:12, 14; Leviticus 24:17; Numbers 35:31; Deuteronomy 17:1-7).
Sadly, much of Israel became involved with Molech worship, including King Solomon (see 1 Kings 11:7).
20:6 “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
Continuing the same concept of rejecting God and seeking guidance from false gods and entities against God as mentioned above, God reminds the people of Israel that those turning to mediums and necromancers will be cut off from their community (see Leviticus 19:31). Instead, they are to consecrate themselves and be holy by obeying God’s rules and keep His statutes. The word that is translated here as ‘sanctifies,’ is the same Hebrew root word earlier translated as ‘consecrate’ in verse seven (Hebrew ‘qāḏaš’,[3] meaning to set apart and be holy, to consecrate).
Considerations
Do People Still Worship Molech?
Sadly, yes, there have been reports of activities like those described in the Bible regarding the worship of Molech in recent news. Perhaps not under the name of Molech, but with the same idea of disregarding God and the lack of fundamental respect for human life. While the idea of child sacrifice is a gruesome and completely disgusting thought, today’s culture has been numbed by the “right to choose” mindset that leads to the acceptance of abortion. Some of you may have stopped reading at seeing that word. That single word has polarized many believers and unbelievers alike. We need to remember that regardless of political correctiveness, God’s Word never changes and what constitutes as a sin also never changes. Just because the life was terminated prior to birth does not change the fact that the child was indeed alive. Changing the location of a human being does not change what they are, nor does it change that person’s right to live (a right given by God, not man). Christians need to understand that abortion should only be considered in life-threatening situations.
Punishment for Sexual Immorality
20:9 For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.
This verse essentially repeats Exodus 21:17, “Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death,” which appears out of place in between a statute against consulting a medium or a necromancer (see verses 6-8) and the punishment for adultery (see verse 10). However, when one realizes just how much parents play a major role in shaping the moral and ethical foundation and beliefs of their children, the placement of the verse is not out of place. Since there is no reference to an age for the child, this could also apply later in life. If a person is put to death because they cursed one or more of their parents, their blood is on them, they only have themselves to blame.[4]
The concluding phrase that contains, “blood is upon” will be used several times in this section. It is a reminder that the people who are guilty of these things have only themselves to blame, they alone bear the responsibility and the shame.
20:10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
The regulations regarding sexual relations were stated earlier in chapter 18, and now here, while much of the text is redundant to that chapter, the punishment for these deeds are clearly stated. If a man commits adultery with the wife of a neighbor (see Leviticus 18:20), they are both guilty and are to be put to death (see also Deuteronomy 22:22; John 8:1-11). It is interesting to note that in the Hebrew text the equivalent phrase, “if a man commits adultery with the wife…” is repeated, but rarely translated, as it is most often assumed that it was duplicated in error. However, some believe that the phrase was repeated to emphasize not only the importance of knowing the regulation, but also to see it as a warning, to make sure the severity is fully understood.
20:11 If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them.
If a man were to lie with his father’s wife (does not necessarily refer to his mother), he has violated his father’s nakedness (see Leviticus 18:8). By becoming intimate with the same woman that had sexual relations with his father, he disgraced his father (see Deuteronomy 22:30; 27:20; 2 Samuel 16:22). If a man had sexual intercourse with his daughter-in-law (see Leviticus 18:15), both are to be put to death as their act is considered a perversion (Hebrew ‘tě’·ḇěl’).[5]
20:13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
If a man lies with another man, both have committed an abomination,[6] they both are to be put to death.[7]
20:14 If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you.
If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman and her mother, it is depravity (see Leviticus 18:17),[8] they shall both be put to death by fire. A particularly brutal form of execution only referenced two other times in Scripture (see Genesis 38:24; Leviticus 21:9), each involving incest.
20:15 If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
If a man or a woman has sexual intercourse with any animal, both the guilty person and the animal are to be put to death (see Leviticus 18:23, see also Exodus 22:19)
20:17 “If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity.
If a man has sexual intercourse with his sister (either a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother), it is a disgrace (see Leviticus 18:9). The word that is translated as ‘disgrace’, is the Hebrew word ‘ḥě’·sěḍ’,[9] is usually translated as love or some form of kindness. However, two times out of 247 times this word appears in Scripture (here and in Proverbs 14:34), in situations where zeal is applied against someone else, the word in context implies shame. As a result of the disgrace, they “must be publicly cut off from the community. Since the man has violated his sister, he will be punished for his sin.” (NLT)
20:18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
If a man lies with a woman and has sexual intercourse with her while she is in her menstrual period, he has exposed her fountain (Hebrew word ‘meqôr’,[10] refers to a fountain, a spring, or a flow), the source of the flow of her blood. She is also responsible for uncovering her ‘fountain’, and shares in the guilt. They are both to be cut off from their community (see Leviticus 15:24; 18:19).
20:19 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for that is to make naked one’s relative; they shall bear their iniquity.
A man was not allowed to have sexual intercourse with any of their aunts, as it is considered dishonoring a close relative (see Leviticus 18:12-13). Both will be held responsible and bear the guilt.
20:20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is impurity. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.
If a man has sexual relationship with his uncle’s wife, he is guilty of uncovering his uncle’s nakedness (see Leviticus 18:14), however both will bear their sin, and both will die without children. There is some debate as to what the end of verse 20 means. Some believe that it is a death sentence, others believe it refers to their offspring if they have children from that relationship (neither one can claim to be the child’s parent), while others believe that God will prevent them from having any children (a serious fate in those days).
If a man marries his brother’s wife (other than under the rules for levirate marriage, see Deuteronomy 25:5-10[11]) it is to be considered impurity (Hebrew ‘nid·dā(h)’,[12] referring to menstrual impurity), as he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness, dishonoring a close relative (see Leviticus 18:16). They are both to be childless (same discussion as verse 20).
Be and Remain Holy
20:22 “You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them. 24 But I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25 You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. 26 You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.
Using similar wording found in chapter 18, God reminds the people of Israel to obey all of His statutes and rules so that when they are living in the Promised Land, they won’t be vomited out like those that are currently occupying the land. In addition to keeping His regulations, God also warns them not to embrace the customs of those people that will be driven out of the land, as their practices are incompatible with His and therefore are considered detestable to Him.
He also reminds them of His promise He gave to them, regarding the land. He will give them a land to possess that is flowing with milk and honey (see Exodus 3:17; 6:8). God then tells them that He was the one that separated them from the other people groups. And since they are separated, they are to separate the clean animals from any unclean animal. They are not to make themselves detestable by eating any unclean animal, bird, or any creature that moves along the ground (see Leviticus 11:2-47). They are to be holy to YHWH, who separated them from all other people. He separated them so that they could be known as His people, that they should be His people.
20:27 “A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.”
Earlier in verse six, God prohibited anyone from seeing a medium or necromancer (see also Leviticus 19:31). Here God is forbidding anyone from offering those services. Regardless of being a man or a woman, anyone who is a medium or a necromancer is to be put to death.[13] They are to be stoned, and since they would understand the penalty, they have only themselves to blame, therefore their blood (their loss of life) is on them.
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 4432.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 7275.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 6942.
[4] See commentary under Exodus 21:17 regarding this subject.
[5] See commentary under Leviticus 18:23.
[6] See commentary under Leviticus 18:22.
[7] See Considerations under Leviticus 18:29-30.
[8] See commentary under Leviticus 19:29-30 regarding the word depravity.
[9] Strong’s Hebrew 2617.
[10] Strong’s Hebrew 4726.
[11] See also commentary under Genesis 38:6-10.
[12] Strong’s Hebrew 5079. See commentary under Leviticus 15:19-24
[13] See commentary under Leviticus 19:31.