Leviticus 20 - Punishments for Various Sins | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Leviticus 20 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.In Leviticus 20 we read many similar things as in chapter 18 but now in more detail, especially with punishment. The death penalty is ascribed for so many of these things. For some of these, such as sacrificing one’s children to the demon Molech, it makes more sense, but for others, our modern minds have washed away the seriousness of the sin.Why are the punishments so severe?One key reason is that God wanted to reinforce to the Israelites in advance, how bad these things were before they were confronted by them in Canaan. Parents do this with their own children today on occasion when they are going into a situation unfamiliar.For example child sacrifice was not really an Etyptian thing, but a Canaanite thing. The Israelites were going to see evil practices they had only heard about before, and were not at all to be tempted to participate in them. So the stakes were set high by the Lord. Those who didn’t obey, would be punished by God and be cut off, even if they were not punished by the nation. Most likely being cut off was a reference to the eternal consequences of their sins.Even though we don’t live in ancient Israel, and are not under the civil laws of the nation at that time, we still need to walk before God and carry His priorities.