Leviticus 20: Molech and Marriage

Molech is one of the most hated forms of Idol Worship and gets top billing in this chapter. After a detailed description of the type of Molech worship that God despises, the Torah gives a general prohibition against going to soothsayers and necromancers. After this anti idol worship section is over, the chapter continues with a repeat of the forbidden relationships. What is the connection between these two ideas that God repeats something just discussed a few chapters ago? Perhaps God is making a point in comparing idol worship to the forbidden relationships. God sees his connection to Israel as a relationship. The relationship between the people and God is often described in marriage terms throughout Tanach. For example Hosea 2:18–22 : וְאֵרַשְׂתִּיךְ לִי לְעוֹלָם; וְאֵרַשְׂתִּיךְ לִי בְּצֶדֶק וּבְמִשְׁפָּט וּבְחֶסֶד וּבְרַחֲמִים.וְאֵרַשְׂתִּיךְ לִי בֶּאֱמוּנָה; וְיָדַעַתְּ אֶת־יְהוָה. וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא… תִּקְרְאִי אִישִׁי, וְלֹא־תִקְרְאִי לִי עוֹד בַּעְלִי. “I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you to Me in righteousness, justice, kindness, and compassion. I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD. On that day… you will call Me ‘my husband,’ and no longer ‘my master.’” When the people worship idols, it is the same thing as when a marriage is thrown into chaos by a forbidden relationship. This is also why after the list of forbidden relationships God warns: “you shall faithfully observe all My laws and all My regulations, lest the land to which I bring you to settle in spew you out / You shall not follow the practices of the nation that I am driving out before you. For it is because they did all these things that I abhorred them” (verses 22–23).וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת־כָּל־חֻקֹּתַי וְאֶת־כָּל־מִשְׁפָּטַי וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם וְלֹא־תָקִיא הָאָרֶץ אֶתְכֶם בְּטַמַּאֲכֶם אֹתָהּ כַּאֲשֶׁר קָאָה אֶת־הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר לִפְנֵיכֶם׃ וּבְחֻקֹּת הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִי מְשַׁלֵּחַ מִפְּנֵיכֶם לֹא תֵלֵכוּ כִּי אֶת־כָּל־אֵלֶּה עָשׂוּ וָאָקֻץ בָּם׃ Notice the language of being kicked out mimics a broken relationship. The nations of the land have no respect for their personal relationships and for their relationships with any deity. They simply marry whomever they want, and they worship many gods. God wants the Israelites to be different. God wants them to create faithful and loving interpersonal relationships amongst themselves as well as a faithful and loving relationship with God.