The Ten Commandments: A Deeper Dive Commandment 6 Part 2
Before I begin, we need a bit of humor from https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-life/christian-jokes-stories.html
“Honk If You Love Jesus
Text While Driving If You Want to Meet Him” — Stonebridge Baptist Church“When down in the mouth, remember Jonah. He came out all right.” — Rock Island Employees Magazine,
“God Recycles
He Made You From Dust” — Trinity Baptist Church“Sin Burn Is Prevented
By Son Screen” — Westview Baptist Church“Forgive Your Enemies—It Messes With Their Heads”—Central Baptist Church
I do hope you enjoyed the following and will carry them along this week in your travels.
Life is so precious to Jesus for he made hatred of a brother without cause the equivalent to murder. Capital punishment was first introduced in Genesis 4 where Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Cain’s response to God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord responded, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.
I want you to remember that this was before the Israelite nation made their exodus from Egypt and the Ten Commandments were introduced.
This is the perfect timing of God for God had made the Israelite nation his favored nation as long as they abided by the commandments, statutes, laws and judgments.
Here is the establishment of the covenant between the Israelites and the Lord thru Moses… Look at Leviticus 20:1-16 (NIV)
The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death. The members of the community are to stone him. 3 I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people; for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. 4 If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molek and if they fail to put him to death, 5 I myself will set my face against him and his family and will cut them off from their people together with all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molek.
6 “‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.
7 “‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.
9 “‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head.
10 “‘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.
11 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his father’s wife, he has dishonored his father. Both the man and the woman are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
12 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law, both of them are to be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.
13 “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
14 “‘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.
15 “‘If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he is to be put to death, and you must kill the animal.
16 “‘If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
I have done numerous columns on abortion, so tell me the difference where we have pagan nations such as the Ammonites make child sacrifices to Molech (a false god). Here you have a godless nation who has turned to child sacrificing and corrupted their people to thinking they are gifting children to ward off evil and appease angry gods.
Mediums and spiritualists should be put to death—why? Why put your future in the hands of man? Again, we take our eyes off our creator and put them on a human who is fallible and are fakes whose predictions cannot be trusted. Fellow Christian, do you put your future in a person who contacts evil spirits and are you willing to place your faith in another human?
Verses 10-21 show us the detestable practices of a pagan nation—God has given us the Bible to steer away from the paths of unrighteousness as people and as a nation. How can God bless a nation when they run rampant with sex goddesses, temple prostitution, and the other gross sins mentioned in verses 7-16.
God was showing the Israelites on what would destroy a nation which included the abominable sins of Canaan, thus preparing the nation of Israel on what they would face and to steer clear of those sexual sins.
Fellow American, is this not a road map for our country? Are we any different than Israel in this day and age?
Now turn to Leviticus 24:10-17 (NIV) Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse; so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.) 12 They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them.
13 Then the Lord said to Moses: 14 “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. 15 Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who curses their God will be held responsible; 16 anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.
17 “‘Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death.
As you read the above verses, God made it very clear that blasphemy or cursing God would not be tolerated. God hates sin in any form and this includes cursing God whether it be using his name in vain or acting as though he doesn’t exist.
Please take in account all that you say and do for the tongue is a weapon and can spew many truths from the heart which should include reverence to God.
As you read verses 17-22, be reminded that God is not endorsing personal vengeance, but that the punishment fit the crime.
Let’s go to Numbers 15:32-36 The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death
32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Severe, yes this was the punishment for defying God’s law against working on the Sabbath. Again, God made the rule to the Israelites not to work and this man, took advantage by breaking God’s law and testing God. He may be trying to get ahead of everyone else, who knows but he broke the law and was stoned to death by the assembly.
God, in his infinite wisdom set up the following for accidental murder:
Cities of Refuge
41 Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan, 42 to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if they had unintentionally killed a neighbor without malice aforethought. They could flee into one of these cities and save their life. 43 The cities were these: Bezer in the wilderness plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites
The explanation of cities of refuge was found in part one for accidental killings and would be instrumental in the use of these killings today. We could eliminate prisons and place people in these cities for the accidental killing as shown in part one such as vehicle homicide.
When turning to Deuteronomy 13:1-9, the subject is worshipping other gods which includes the very first commandment not to be broken and the penalty:
Worshiping Other Gods
13 [a]If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.
6 If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, 7 gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 8 do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. 9 You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people
False prophets were running rampant within the Israel people and like today these false prophets were trying to lead the rest of the nation astray. Friends, relatives and associates who are enticing you to follow false gods were to be put to death. Today, we are told to put the armor of God on and not follow the ways of the world. If relatives or loved one’s whisper in your ear, remember your devotion to God and pray not to fall into the snare of evil for you and I will be accountable for all our actions.
In Deuteronomy 19:1-13, God again brings up the cities of refuge, for he gave us the solution for murder and when those who have innocently or accidentally killed someone. Revenge was all so common in the Israelite nation, as it is today, so cities of refuge were set up to house the innocent and accidental deaths. The NIV notes says that anyone who claimed to have accidentally killed someone could flee to one of these cities until he could have a fair trial. If he was found innocent of intentional murder, he could remain in that city and be safe from those seeking revenge. Out with the hitmen and those placing contracts for revenge!
Look at verse 12 below for you have read about the ‘avenger of blood?” Who was this person” The nearest male relative to the person killed for he acted as the family protector (Numbers 35:19)
Cities of Refuge
19 When the Lord your God has destroyed the nations whose land he is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses, 2 then set aside for yourselves three cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess. 3 Determine the distances involved and divide into three parts the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that a person who kills someone may flee for refuge to one of these cities.
4 This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety—anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought. 5 For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life. 6 Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. 7 This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.
8 If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he promised on oath to your ancestors, and gives you the whole land he promised them, 9 because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk always in obedience to him—then you are to set aside three more cities. 10 Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.
11 But if out of hate someone lies in wait, assaults and kills a neighbor, and then flees to one of these cities, 12 the killer shall be sent for by the town elders, be brought back from the city, and be handed over to the avenger of blood to die. 13 Show no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you.
The next passage has to do with a rebellious son for God said to Honor your mother and your Father in the Commandments. Upon reading this passage, I find nowhere, biblically, where the act of death was carried out. God put this forth to instill obedience to Him first from the beginning of birth and then carried forward to the earthly parents.
The conclusion that disobedience and rebellion by the child was not to be tolerated in the home or in the public.
A Rebellious Son
18 If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, 19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20 They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” 21 Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
And last, the violations of marriage as found in Deuteronomy 22:13-25 (NIV)
13 If a man takes a wife and, after sleeping with her, dislikes her 14 and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,” 15 then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring to the town elders at the gate proof that she was a virgin. 16 Her father will say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. 17 Now he has slandered her and said, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.’ But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.” Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, 18 and the elders shall take the man and punish him. 19 They shall fine him a hundred shekels[a] of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
20 If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found, 21 she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you.
22 If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
23 If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, 24 you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.
25 But if out in the country a man happens to meet a young woman pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die.
Laws, statutes and judgments were given to the Israelite people, a population of three million people on a forty-year journey.
Think about this, for the subject of sexual sins has been around since Adam and Eve. The Israelites would enter into the promised land and without these laws, they would be like other pagan countries full of lawlessness and anything goes.
The New Testament addressed these sexual sins in Colossians 3:5-8 for these sexual sins had crept in the church and had the power to disrupt and destroy the church. Does this sound familiar today?
Forbidden pleasures have consequences and very well turn into destruction of a relationship between both or either partner. These pleasures, only momentarily, erode respect, trust and credibility for a solid foundation in marriage.
Are you still with me? Part 3 will be devoted to the swiftness of justice, specific judgments, and what would fit in today’s society versus the evolution of the Israelite people as they entered into the promised land.
