Leviticus 20: 1 – 27
Crime and punishment
20 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name. 4 And if the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him, 5 then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech. 6 ‘And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8 And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the LORD who sanctifies you. 9 ‘For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him. 10 ‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. 11 The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be 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 shall be upon them. 13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. 14 If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you. 15 If a man mates with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them. 17 ‘If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. And they shall be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his guilt. 18 If a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from their people. 19 ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister nor of your father’s sister, for that would uncover his near of kin. They shall bear their guilt. 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 an unclean thing. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless. 22 ‘You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. 23 And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor 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 distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. 26 And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine. 27 ‘A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.’”
Why do people commit crimes? From misdemeanors to violent felonies, some individuals step in to the criminal justice system and learn their lesson to never commit a crime again. Others unfortunately become repeat offenders with a never ending rap sheet. Environment obviously plays a huge role but it is only one of many factors. The study of crime and why some people can’t get away from it while others never have even a speeding ticket has been dissected for decades.
Particularly, the study of criminology targets why individuals commit crimes and why they behave in certain situations. By understanding why a person commits a crime, one can develop ways to control crime or rehabilitate the criminal. There are many theories in criminology. Some attribute crime to the individual; they believe that an individual weighs the pros and cons and makes a conscious choice whether or not to commit a crime. Others believe it is the community’s responsibility to ensure that their citizens do not commit crime by offering them a safe and secure place in which to live. Some argue that some individuals have specific traits that will determine how they will react when put in certain negative conditions. Although varied in thought, everyone can agree that justice needs to be secured in a civilized society.
Choice Theory – Choice theory is the belief that individuals choose to commit a crime, looking at the opportunities before them, weighing the benefit versus the punishment, and deciding whether to proceed or not. This cost-benefit analysis primarily focuses on the idea that we all have the choice to proceed with our actions. Because of the punishment involved, we are deterred from committing the crime.
Classical Theory – Similar to the choice theory, this theory suggests that people think before they proceed with criminal actions; that when one commits a crime, it is because the individual decided that it was advantageous to commit the crime. The individual commits the crime from his own free will being well aware of the punishment.
Conflict Theory – On a different spin, conflict theory holds that crime results from the conflicts in society among the different social classes, and that law actually arise from necessity as a result of conflict, rather than a general consensus. The fundamental causes of crime are the social and economic forces operating within society. The criminal justice system and criminal law are thought to be operating on behalf of rich and powerful social elites, with resulting policies aimed at controlling the poor. The criminal justice establishment aims at imposing standards of morality and good behavior created by the powerful on the whole of society. Focus is on separating the powerful from the have-nots who would steal from others and protecting themselves from physical attacks. In the process the legal rights of poor folks might be ignored. The middle class are also co-opted; they side with the elites rather the poor, thinking they might themselves rise to the top by supporting the status quo.
Thus, street crimes, even minor monetary ones are routinely punished quite severely, while large scale financial and business crimes are treated much more leniently. Theft of a television might receive a longer sentence than stealing millions through illegal business practices.
Critical Theory: Critical theory upholds the belief that a small few, the elite of the society, decide laws and the definition of crime; those who commit crimes disagree with the laws that were created to keep control of them.
Critical criminology sees crime as a product of oppression of workers, (particularly, the poorer sections) and less advantaged groups within society, such as women and ethnic minorities, are seen to be the most likely to suffer oppressive social relations based upon class division, sexism and racism. More simply, critical criminology may be defined as any criminological topic area that takes into account the contextual factors of crime or critiques topics covered in mainstream criminology.
Labeling Theory: Those who follow the labeling theory of criminology ascribe to the fact that an individual will become what he is labeled or what others expect him to become; the danger comes from calling a crime a crime and a criminal a criminal.
Labeling theory holds that deviance is not inherent to an act, but instead focuses on the tendency of majorities to negatively label minorities or those seen as deviant from standard cultural norms. The theory was prominent during the 1960s and 1970s, and some modified versions of the theory have developed and are still currently popular. Unwanted descriptors or categorizations – including terms related to deviance, disability or diagnosis of a mental disorder – may be rejected on the basis that they are merely “labels”, often with attempts to adopt a more constructive language in its place. A stigma is defined as a powerfully negative label that changes a person’s self-concept and social identity.
Life Course Theory – Life course theory was developed as a way to assess and analyze people’s lives within structural, social, and cultural contexts. The life course approach examines an individual’s life history and examines, for example, how early events influence future decisions and events such as marriage, divorce, engagement in crime, or disease incidence.
Positivist Theory – On the other side of the spectrum, the positivist rejects the idea that each individual makes a conscious, rational choice to commit a crime but rather, some individuals are low in intelligence, social acceptance, or some other way, and that causes them to commit crime. This theory acts on the proposition that one who commits a crime cannot morally comprehend the wrongfulness of his actions in the same way individuals of average intelligence or who are socially accepted, etc are able to do so. The mind of these individuals has been affected in a particular way and therefore does not have the capability to make a conscious, rational choice to obey the law. Unfortunately a case can be made based on this theory regarding shootings on school campuses where students have murdered fellow students usually because of some type of bullying involved.
Routine Activity theory – Followers of the routine activity theory believe that crime is inevitable, and that if the target is attractive enough, crime will happen; effective measures must be in place to deter crime from happening.
Social Control Theory -Theorists believe it is society’s responsibility to maintain a certain degree of stability and certainly in an individual’s life, to make the rules and responsibilities clear, and to create other activities to thwart criminal activity.
Sin Theory – Right from the beginning of mankind’s existence on the earth we have an inherent desire to do evil. We read in the book of Genesis chapter 3, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Please notice the importance not only of ‘evil’ but of ‘good’. There are two distinct areas now for a person to consider. Do I do the ‘good things’ or do I do the ‘evil’ things.
In a conversation with a religious leader by the name of Nicodemus The Lord Jesus Christ explained this point. He said as the apostle John wrote in his Gospel chapter 3, “18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Due to man’s sin evil is the predominate reaction to issues. We can cry out but how can we become victorious over this tendency to do evil. The Lord then gives us the answer on how we can overcome as it is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 19 “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
So, for those who do not surrender to our Holy Maker then we will learn in this chapter about how our Great Ruler passes down the punishment on those who transgress His law.
Having been faced with the covenant requirements of Yahweh thought is now given to the punishment for disobedience to His demands. In this chapter various regulations from previous chapters are listed and the judgment to come on them is now emphasized. The principle is that in the end all sin will bring us into judgment.
20 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name.
The horror of what the false god Molech was comes out in the constant mention of him. He was the god of Ammon. To worship this phony god the people believed that child sacrifice was involved.
Anyone whether Israelite or a resident alien, who participated in the worship of Molech was to be put to death without question. The ‘people of the land’ were to stone such a person with stones (Deuteronomy 13.10; 21.21). He had defiled ‘the land’. It was to be a people’s execution for the removal of evil from among them. The thought is probably that the execution should be carried out immediately on one who was an isolated case, and discovered in the act. The worship of Molech was to be allowed nowhere in the land by anyone.
4 And if the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him, 5 then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech.
We see another startling sin that people commit including believers. Our Holy Creator God says that if the people of the land deliberately ‘hide their eyes’ and refrain from doing their duty and the worship becomes more prevalent, then this case is so bad that God Himself will step in to intervene. He will set His face against the man, his family, who will undoubtedly be involved with him in it, and with all others involved in the worship. They will all be cut off. This is because they are ‘playing the harlot’. They are looking to Molech which in reality is worship Satan and his fallen angels rather than to their ‘husband’ Yahweh God, the only Real, True, and Living God.
6 ‘And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.
Those who look to familiar spirits or to seekers after the dead, which is again described as ‘playing the harlot’ and being unfaithful to Yahweh, will discover that Yahweh sets His face against them and cuts them off from among the people. They will no longer be His.
7 Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God.
They are rather to set themselves apart totally to the only real and living God Yahweh, and be holy as He Is holy, by walking in His revealed ways. They are to look to none other but Him, and to serve Him only.
8 And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
Out of all the people on the earth our Holy Creator sanctified, that is set them apart as special to Him. And because He Is the One Who Is continually sanctifying them as His people, making them holy, caring for them, watching over them, shepherding them, they are to keep in their hearts, and do, His statutes, all that He has laid down for them to do. We also may treasure His word, but the question is, do we ‘do’ it? To hear is good, but to obey is what is demanded. Some of those statutes are now outlined.
9 ‘For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him.
The first such crime is that of a man cursing his father or mother. This does not mean that he just swears about something they have done, or at them because they have annoyed or frustrated him. It refers rather to a man who seeks to put his father and mother under a specific curse. He calls on Yahweh to do the very opposite of what Yahweh has declared He will do. The man is not only dishonoring them, he is seeking to do them real harm, and dishonoring Yahweh.
The use of curses was widespread. A multitude of examples have been found in Egypt, and many could be bought and sold. The purpose of a curse was to use ‘occult’ means to do someone harm. It would especially appeal to the weak who had no other means of vengeance.
In a patriarchal society where the father figure was the supreme authority this would have been a deliberate attempt to undermine tribal authority, and even to take over power for him. It was a blow at the family structure, and if successful could have undermined the society in which he lived. The one who attempts something like this must be put to death. Such a person with such aims to carry out in such an evil way cannot be allowed to live, because of the harm he will do in destabilizing society. And he has brought his blood on his own head. There will be no guilt on any who put him to death. The guilt will be on him.
10 ‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.
The next crime is adultery, where a man takes his neighbor’s wife. In this case both he and the adulteress were to be put to death. Again it was a blow at the family which was the very basis of society.
11 The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
The third such crime was when a man lay with his father’s wife, that is, had sexual relations with her. Both he and she were to be put to death. For it would be as if he has publicly stripped his father naked. A man’s wife is one flesh with him (Genesis 2.24). To make her naked would be to make her husband naked. They have brought their blood on their own heads. Anyone who executes them is guiltless.
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 shall be upon them.
The same principle applied between a man and his daughter-in-law. If they had sexual relations, both were to be put to death. They would have mixed up the generations, causing ‘confusion’and the man would have exposed his son to shame and ridicule. Again those who put them to death will bear no guilt. The guilt is on their own heads. In all these examples the destruction of family relationships is central.
13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
For a man to have sexual relations with another man is an abomination. No other relationship is always described specifically as an abomination in this way, so it is clearly particularly hateful to God. And being in the midst of a passage dealing with sexual matters this refers to anyone practicing homosexual relationship. It is saying that there is no such thing as a Christian practicing homosexual. This has nothing to do with whether a man has homosexual tendencies; it is speaking of a deliberate giving way to those tendencies. Those who do so shall ‘surely be put to death’. Again they have brought their blood on their own heads. This scripture has not been deleted from God’s written word.
14 If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you.
Equally guilty would be a man who had sexual relations with both his wife and her mother. This would be sexual wickedness. They are all three to be burned with fire. The burning may indicate a death of particular shame as devoted to destruction.
15 If a man mates with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal.
You wouldn’t think our Holy God would have to deal with this issue yet sadly it does occur. The same principle applies to a man who has sexual relations with a dumb animal. Both he and the beast must be put to death.
16 If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them.
A woman is no different. If she allows a beast to have sexual relations with her, both she and the beast must die. They shall surely be put to death. Their actions have brought their blood on themselves. There will be no bloodguilt for those who slay them.
17 ‘If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. And they shall be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his guilt.
No man shall have sexual relations with a sister or half-sister by blood. It is a shameful thing and means that they must be cut off ‘in the sight of the children of Israel’.
18 If a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from their people.
The one who deliberately lies with a woman during menstruation, while the blood is on her, shall be cut off from among the people, as shall also the woman, he because he has exposed her bleeding, she because she has uncovered her bleeding. Her bleeding is uncleanness and related to death. It speaks of sin and death. It should be hidden and not exposed.
19 ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister nor of your father’s sister, for that would uncover his near of kin. They shall bear their guilt.
Men must not have sexual relations with aunts or uncles of the blood whether in marriage or out of marriage. That will be to make naked their near kin, and that is displeasing to God. In that case they must receive whatever punishment the courts or God decide.
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.
For a man to have sexual relations with his uncle’s wife is unseemly, for she is one flesh with his uncle. They are not to marry. This too may be judged by the courts, but they are also warned that they will go childless.
21 If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless.
For a man to take his brother’s wife is impurity. It is unseemly. He will have uncovered his brother’s nakedness and exposed his brother to shame. The punishment will be childlessness. But this was not to stop him from rising up seed to his brother under a levirate marriage. That would be a different matter. The consummation was then probably more discreetly arranged.
22 ‘You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out.
So they must be careful to keep all God’s statutes and all His ordinances, and do them, obeying all regulations and all commands. Then once they have arrived in the land they will not be vomited out, as the nations in the land are about to be vomited out. Rather will they continue to dwell in it and prosper, which is God’s real purpose for them.
23 And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them.
They are to be careful not to behave like the nations who are already there, whom God will drive out before them. They in fact did all these things that he has forbidden to Israel. That is why God hated them, that is, had an aversion towards them because of their sinfulness.
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.
For God’s purpose for His people is that they might inherit the land and receive it as a gift from God, as their own possession. An inheritance is something freely given and undeserved. Thus He is giving it to them freely. It is a land flowing with milk and honey, having plenteous sustenance and sweetness. And He, Yahweh their God, has separated them from the peoples that they might be holy to Him and live in holiness in the land that He has cleansed. They are His and must reveal that they are His separate ones by the way that they live and the way they behave.
25 You shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
And one clear way in which they will do this is by only eating what is clean, as described in chapter 11. They may eat all that is clean and must avoid all that is unclean, especially that which lives in the ground. They must especially avoid all abominable things.
26 And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.
So He re-emphasizes, they must be holy because Yahweh, their God Is holy. He has set them apart from all peoples, in order that they might be His, and live as he has directed both ritually and morally, and that they reveal Him in their lives. Then they will be His own separated off possession.
27 ‘A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them
Especially they must avoid anyone who has anything to do with the occult or with the dead. For if they find among them any indulging in contact with familiar spirits or with the dead they are to stone them with stones. Their blood will be on their own heads. There will be no guilt on Israel. This constant stress on avoiding the occult must be seen as a strong condemnation of such practices as much today as then.
