Leviticus 18:19

"And thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness. And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor's wife, to defile thyself with her. And thou shalt not give any of thy seed to make them pass through the fire to Molech; neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. And thou shalt not lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith; neither shall any woman stand before a beast, to lie down thereto: it is confusion."

These verses form the conclusion of the stipulations that God required of Israel in the treaty-covenant enacted here.

"Uncover her nakedness ..." Since the persons in view here were already married, this expression in context means simply "to have sexual intercourse." During the bloodiness of the woman's menstrual period, all such relationships were forbidden. The prohibition also applied for a period of time following childbirth.

"To defile thyself ..." (Leviticus 18:20,23). This refers to the moral guilt incurred by violators of these restrictions.

"Thou shalt not give any of thy seed ..." (Leviticus 18:21). This refers to children.

"To make them pass through the fire to Molech ..." It is somewhat distressing to read commentaries that would soften the nature of such a crime as this, making this refer to some kind of ceremony in which the children were not actually burned in the bronze, furnace-heated arms of the pagan god, Molech. "It is now fairly certain that it involved child sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12:31; 18:10)."[10] As a matter of fact, the charred bones of children have been found in a temple of Amman, in the country of the Ammonites, whose God was Molech (1 Kings 11:7). These are dated at the time of the Conquest, very near the times of Moses, thus affording "evidence of child sacrifice."[11] This is most significant because it nullifies the biased, critical argument that child sacrifices were unknown until the seventh century B.C., a false argument designed to "prove" that Leviticus was written in the seventh century instead of in the fifteenth century B.C.

Something else: The actual sacrifice of children was the principal feature of the worship of Molech, and there can be little doubt that the children thus offered were cast alive into the burning idol's arms, their pitiful cries being drowned out by the loud blasts of mechanical music and the incessant beating of drums. In fact, one of the ancient Carthaginian documents mentioned by DeVaux seems to imply this, despite the affirmations also uncovered that suggest the children were first killed and then sacrificed.[12]

It seems nearly incredible that Israel actually fell into repeated and arrogant violations of this ordinance of God.

Solomon, under the influence of idolatrous wives built a high place for Molech in Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:31-33). Both Ahaz and Manasseh, kings of Israel, made their sons "pass through the fire to Molech" (2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 21:6). And with the head of state openly worshipping such a pagan deity, the extent of popular acceptance of it must have been widespread. "Ezekiel speaking to the exiles in Babylon, refers to the practice of causing children to pass through the fire to heathen divinities as long established, and proclaims the wrath of God against it (Ezekiel 16:20f; 20:26,31 and Ezekiel 23:37)."[13]

The deduction from the placement of this prohibition of worship of Molech (in a list of sexual deviations) links it with gross and repulsive sexual orgies, and, to us, this appears reasonable enough. In fact, the mention of "profaning" the name of God in the same breath seems consistent with this.

"Shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind ..." (Leviticus 18:22) is a reference to the shameful vice today called homosexuality. It was an "abomination" in the eyes of God when Leviticus was written, and so it still remains today. Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown for this evil, and it may be received as certain that the judgment of God will surely fall upon those who practice it, and eventually upon any society that apologizes for it, allows it, and consents to it. Indeed, in the sudden appearance of a brand new disease, called AIDS, (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) which arose out of the homosexual community and most frequently occurs among practicing homosexuals, and for which no cure is known, leading almost inevitably to death, there may be the cutting edge of just such a heavenly judgment as that which moved Sodom and Gomorrah into oblivion. Very learned physicians have repeatedly warned the whole nation of the potential threat of this home-born killer. Churches which accept the conduct mentioned here as an "acceptable life-style" have absolutely forsaken their trust as custodians of the Gospel of Christ! God condemned this departure into wickedness, and He still condemns it, no matter what churchmen or churches pretending to be "Christian" may say to the contrary.

"Thou shalt not lie with any beast ..." This commandment is somewhat different from the rest of the chapter in that it is specifically applied to women also. To those who are naive enough to think that such a vice as this was known solely in ancient times, may we suggest that they confer with the police of any great city in America today. Although the word "abomination" was used of homosexuality and the word "confusion" was applied to this vice, both words apply to both deviations. This is as shameful and disgusting as any sin that men commit. That cohabitation with beasts was a widespread disorder in the ancient pagan world is evidenced even by their mythology which represented various deities as the hybrid offspring from the union of gods with animals, Pan being an example of this.