Leviticus 20:1

This chapter covers much of the same ground covered in Leviticus 18, with this difference, that the things understood as "sins" there are here regarded as "crimes" to be punished by the severest penalties. Full comment upon all of these sins was made in Leviticus 18, with the exception of "cursing" father or mother (Leviticus 20:9), and will not need to be repeated here. The sin/crime of passing infants through the fire to Molech is elaborated here.

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Moreover, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. I also will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do at all hide their eyes from that man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and put him not to death; then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that play the harlot after him, to play the harlot with Molech, from among their people."

Efforts of some critics to make something less reprehensible out of sacrifices to Molech than the wanton infanticide which it surely was have been completely frustrated by recent confirmations that the destruction of infants was widely practiced in the borders of Canaan during the times of Moses and Joshua. The true believer hardly needs any confirmation of this, because the O.T. makes it absolutely clear what was involved in giving "one's seed to Molech."

"They have caused their sons whom they bare unto me, to pass through the fire unto them to be devoured. Moreover, this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of my house" (Ezekiel 23:37-39).

Thus, Ezekiel makes it clear what is meant above in Leviticus 20:3. Yes, it is true that Ezekiel was written long after the books of Moses, but there is no reason to believe that Ezekiel's description is any different from the practice as it had been known for many centuries all over the Mediterranean world, especially in Carthage and in Canaan. Recent descriptions of the wholesale infanticide in Carthage have been highlighted by articles in Biblical Archaeology Review.

Leviticus 20:2 ... The requirement of death by stoning, "Emphasized the whole community's repudiation of the sin committed and involved the people themselves in the execution of it."[1]

"Moreover ..." (Leviticus 20:2). "This word means simply and in Hebrew and shows the close connection with previous chapters."[2] It is the same word that begins each of the three books of Moses following Genesis.

Leviticus 20:4 ... The imputation of guilt to those who concealed crime is taught here, a principle which has found its way into the laws of all nations. Furthermore, God promised here that if the people did not slay the perpetrator of such crimes, God would take care of the punishment Himself.

McGee is not fully correct in his view that all of the Ten Commandments carried the death penalty for their violation. He pointed out that, "Only a few are given here as examples,"[3] citing murder, one of the Ten Commandments not listed here, as also requiring the death penalty. However, the tenth Commandment which dealt with a subjective desire was incapable of being so enforced. Nevertheless, it must be allowed as certain that the death penalty was freely assigned to many violations of sacred law during the Mosaic period.