Levitico 20:10 Commento

The laws which before were made are in this chapter repeated and penalties annexed to them, that those who would not be deterred from sin by the fear of God might be deterred from it by the fear of punishment. If we will not avoid such and such practices because the law has made them sin (and it is most acceptable when we go on that principle of religion), surely we shall avoid them when the law has made them death, from a principle of self-preservation. In this chapter we have, I. Many particular crimes that are made capital. I. Giving their children to Moloch (Lev 20:1-5). 2. Consulting witches (Lev 20:6, Lev 20:27). 3. Cursing parents (Lev 20:9). 4. Adultery (Lev 20:10). 5. Incest (Lev 20:11, Lev 20:12, Lev 20:14, Lev 20:17, Lev 20:19-21). 6. Unnatural lusts (Lev 20:13, Lev 20:15, Lev 20:16, Lev 20:18). II. General commands given to be holy (Lev 20:7, Lev 20:8, Lev 20:22-26).

Sins against the seventh commandment are here ordered to be severely punished. These are sins which, of all others, fools are most apt to make a mock at; but God would teach those the heinousness of the guilt by the extremity of the punishment that would not otherwise be taught it. I. Lying with another man's wife was made a capital crime. The adulterer and the adulteress that had joined in the sin must fall alike under the sentence: they shall both be put to death, Lev 20:10. Long before this, even in Job's time, this was reputed a heinous crime and an iniquity to be punished by the judges, Job 31:11. It is a presumptuous contempt of an ordinance of God, and a violation of his covenant, Pro 2:17. It is an irreparable wrong to the injured husband, and debauches the mind and conscience of both the offenders as much as any thing. It is a sin which headstrong and unbridled lusts hurry men violently to, and therefore it needs such a powerful restraint as this. It is a sin which defiles a land and brings down God's judgments upon it, which disquiets families, and tends to the ruin of all virtue and religion, and therefore is fit to be animadverted upon by the conservators of the public peace: but see Joh 8:3-11. II. Incestuous connections, whether by marriage or not. 1. Some of them were to be punished with death, as a man's lying with his father's wife, Lev 20:11. Reuben would have been put to death for his crime (Gen 35:22) if this law had been then made. It was the sin of the incestuous Corinthian, for which he was to be delivered unto Satan, Co1 5:1, Co1 5:5. A man's debauching his daughter-in-law, or his mother-in-law, or his sister, was likewise to be punished with death, Lev 20:12, Lev 20:14, Lev 20:17. 2. Others of them God would punish with the curse of barrenness, as a man's defiling his aunt, or his brother's wife (Lev 20:19-21): They shall die childless. Those that keep not within the divine rules of marriage forfeit the blessings of marriage: They shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase, Hos 4:10. Nay it is said, They shall bear their iniquity, that is, though they be not immediately cut off by the hand either of God or man for this sin, yet the guilt of it shall lie upon them, to be reckoned for another day, and not be purged with sacrifice or offering. III. The unnatural lusts of sodomy and bestiality (sins not to be mentioned without horror) were to be punished with death, as they are at this day by our law, Lev 20:13, Lev 20:15, Lev 20:16. Even the beast that was thus abused was to be killed with the sinner, who was thereby openly put to the greater shame: and the villany was thus represented as in the highest degree execrable and abominable, all occasions of the remembrance or mention of it being to be taken away. Even the unseasonable use of the marriage, if presumptuous, and in contempt of the law, would expose the offenders to the just judgment of God: they shall be cut off, Lev 20:18. For this is the will of God, that every man should possess his vessel (and the wife is called the weaker vessel) in sanctification and honour, as becomes saints.

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 20 In this chapter several laws are, repeated, enforced with a penalty annexed to them, and the breach them made capital, to deter from it, as giving seed to Molech, Lev 20:1; going after such that have familiar spirits, or are wizards, Lev 20:6; by shunning which, and other sins, a regard would be shown to holiness, Lev 20:7; such as cursing parents, Lev 20:9; committing adultery, Lev 20:10; incestuous copulations, and marriages, and beastly actions, Lev 20:11; all which it became the Israelites to avoid, lest, when come into the land of Canaan, they should be cast out of it, as the old inhabitants were for the same things, Lev 20:22; and therefore, that they might appear to be a distinct people from others, they were to put a difference between clean and unclean creatures, Lev 20:25; and the chapter is closed with a law, making it death for any person to have a familiar spirit, or to be a wizard, Lev 19:27.

And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife,.... Which is a breach of the seventh command, Exo 20:14, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife: which is only an explanation of the former clause; though the Jewish writers, as Jarchi and Ben Gersom, say this is so expressed to except the wife of a stranger, or a Gentile; but it means whether a Gentile or an Israelite; and which may be confirmed by the instance of Phinehas slaying a prince of Israel, that lay with a Midianitish woman, Num 25:6, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death; on account of her that is espoused, by strangling, with a hard napkin within a soft one; and on account of her that is married, by casting stones; even both the adulterer and adulteress, as the Targum: and the Jews say (b), strangling was thus performed; they that were strangled were fixed up to their knees in dung, and then they put a hard napkin within a soft one, and rolled it about his neck, and one drew it to him this way, and another drew it to him that way, until he expired: and there is no unlawful copulation punished with strangling, according to Maimonides (c), but lying with another man's wife; and who observes, that the death which is spoken of in the law absolutely, that is, without specifying any kind of death, is strangling; but stoning seems rather meant, agreeably to Deu 22:24. (b) Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 3. (c) Hilchot lssure Biah, c. 1. sect. 6.

A woman accused of adultery was brought by the Scribes and Pharisees to the Lord Jesus with the malicious intent, that, if He was to acquit her, He might seem to annul the Law, if He condemned her, that He might seem to have changed the purpose of His coming, since He came to remit the sins of all men. To the same purport He said above, "I judge no man." So when they brought her they said, "This woman was taken in adultery, in the very act; now Moses in the Law commanded us that such should be stoned, but what sayest Thou?" While they were saying this, Jesus stooped down and wrote with His finger on the ground. And as they waited for His answer, He lifted up His head and said, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." What can be more Divine than this sentence, that he should punish sins who is himself free from sin? For how can we endure one who takes vengeance on guilt in another and excuses it in himself? When a man condemns in another what he commits himself, does he not rather pronounce his own condemnation? Thus He spake, and wrote upon the ground. What then did He write? This, "Thou beholdest the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye." For lust is like a mote, it is quickly kindled, quickly consumed; the sacrilegious perfidy which led the Jews to deny the Author of their salvation declared the magnitude of their crime. He wrote upon the ground with the finger with which He had written the Law. Sinners' names are written in the earth, those of the just in heaven, as He said to His disciples, "Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." And He wrote a second time, that you may know that the Jews were condemned by both Testaments. When they heard these words they went out one after another, beginning at the eldest, and sat down thinking upon themselves. "And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst." It is well said that they went out who chose not to be with Christ. Without is the letter, within are the mysteries. For in the Divine lessons they sought, as it were, after the leaves of trees, and not after the fruit; they lived in the shadow of the Law, and could not discern the Sun of Righteousness. Finally, when they departed Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. Jesus about to remit sin remains alone, as He says Himself, "Behold the hour cometh, yea is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone;" for it was no messenger, no herald, but the Lord Himself Who saved His people. He remains alone, because in the remission of sins no man can participate with Christ. This is the gift of Christ alone, Who "took away the sins of the world." The woman too was counted worthy to be absolved, seeing that, on the departure of the Jews, she remained alone with Jesus. Then Jesus lifted up His head, and said to the woman, "Where are those thine accusers, hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee, go, and sin no more." See, O reader, these Divine mysteries, and the mercy of Christ. When the woman is accused, Christ stoops His head, but when the accusers retire He lifts it up again; thus we see that He would have no man condemned, but all absolved. By the words, "Hath no man condemned thee?" He briefly overthrows all the quibbles of heretics, who say that Christ knows not the day of judgment. He Who says, "But to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give," says also in this place, "Hath no man condemned thee?" How is it that He asks concerning that which He saw? It is for our sakes that He asks, that we might know the woman was not condemned. And such is the wont of the human mind, often to enquire concerning that which we know. The woman too answered, "No man, Lord," that is to say, Who can condemn when Thou dost not condemn? Who can punish another under such a condition as Thou hast attached to his sentence? The Lord answered her, "Neither do I condemn thee." Observe how He has modified His own sentence; that the Jews might have no ground of allegation against Him for the absolution of the woman, but by complaining only draw down a charge upon themselves; for the woman is dismissed not absolved; and this because there was no accuser, not because her innocence was established. How then could they complain, who were the first to abandon the prosecution of the crime, and the execution of the punishment? Then He said to her who had gone astray, "Go, and sin no more." He reformed the criminal, He did not absolve the sin. Faults are condemned by a severer sentence, whenever a man hates his own sin, and begins the condemnation of it in himself. When the criminal is put to death, it is the person rather than the transgression which is punished, but when the transgression is forsaken, the absolution of the person becomes the punishment of the sin. What is the meaning then of, "Go, and sin no more?" It is this; Since Christ hath redeemed thee, suffer thyself to be corrected by Grace; punishment would not reform but only afflict thee.

Of giving seed to Molech, and the punishment of this crime, Lev 20:1-5. Of consulting wizards, etc., Lev 20:6-8. Of disrespect to parents, Lev 20:9. Of adultery, Lev 20:10. Of incestuous mixtures, Lev 20:11, Lev 20:12. Bestiality, Lev 20:13-16. Different cases of incest and uncleanness, Lev 20:17-21. Exhortations and promises, Lev 20:22-24. The difference between clean and unclean animals to be carefully observed, Lev 20:25. The Israelites are separated from other nations, that they may be holy, Lev 20:26. A repetition of the law against wizards and them that have familiar spirits, Lev 20:27.

Committeth adultery - To what has been said in the note on See Exo 20:14 (note), we may add, that the word adultery comes from the Latin adulterium, which is compounded of ad, to or with, and alter, another, or, according to Minshieu, of ad alterius forum, he that approaches to another man's bed.

GIVING ONE'S SEED TO MOLECH. (Lev. 20:1-27) Whosoever . . . giveth any of his seed unto Molech--(See on Lev 18:21). the people of the land shall stone him with stones, &c.--Criminals who were condemned to be stoned were led, with their hands bound, without the gates to a small eminence, where was a large stone placed at the bottom. When they had approached within ten cubits of the spot, they were exhorted to confess, that, by faith and repentance, their souls might be saved. When led forward to within four cubits, they were stripped almost naked, and received some stupefying draught, during which the witnesses prepared, by laying aside their outer garments, to carry into execution the capital sentence which the law bound them to do. The criminal, being placed on the edge of the precipice, was then pushed backwards, so that he fell down the perpendicular height on the stone lying below: if not killed by the fall, the second witness dashed a large stone down upon his breast, and then the "people of the land," who were by-standers, rushed forward, and with stones completed the work of death (Mat 21:44; Act 7:58).

Punishments for the Vices and crimes Prohibited in Ch. 18 and 19. - The list commences with idolatry and soothsaying, which were to be followed by extermination, as a practical apostasy from Jehovah, and a manifest breach of the covenant.