LEVITICUS 48


     We will begin this lesson in Leviticus 20:1 "And the LORD spake
unto Moses, saying," Leviticus 20:2 "Again, 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 [any] of his seed
unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land
shall stone him with stones."

     Molech had been mentioned in a previous lesson. Molech is a false
god. To worship Molech, or allow your children to worship this false
god, is committing spiritual adultery. This crime is punishable by
death. This should be a public killing, and the method would be
stoning. All the people were to stone him, to show that all the
congregation disapproves of this crime against God.

     Leviticus 20:3 "And I 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."

     To worship false gods, was a very grievous sin before God. The
very first of the 10 commandments says, Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have
no other gods before me." Jesus said the most important commandment
was to love God. Mark 12:30 "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with
all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment."  To worship a
false god, is to commit spiritual adultery. In the next Scripture, you
will see that all believers in Christ must be chaste virgins in the
spirit. II Corinthians 11:2 "For I am jealous over you with godly
jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present
[you as] a chaste virgin to Christ."  Those who follow other gods are
not chaste virgins in God's sight. In the following Scripture, we will
see what God requires of the church {all who believe in Christ}.
Ephesians 5:27 "That he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be
holy and without blemish."  The only way we can do this is to stay
faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.

     Leviticus 20:4 "And if the people of the land do any ways hide
their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and
kill him not:"  Leviticus 20:5 "Then I will set my face against that
man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a
whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their
people."

     Notice the word whoredom in the verse above. You can easily see,
as we said in the verse above, that to worship a false god, whether
Molech or any other, is to commit spiritual adultery. We are the bride
of Christ, to follow after any other would be spiritual adultery. This
is so serious, that to know of someone committing spiritual adultery
and not reporting it is a serious crime, as well. Perhaps, one reason
this is so is because, if you do not report it, you would be saying it
is alright. In the Old Testament, the father was the agent for the
whole family. We can see that to neglect reporting this, would be as
if he were telling his family and the world, that it was ok to commit
this sin. This would make him an accessory to the sin.

     Leviticus 20:6  "And the soul that turneth after such as have
familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I
will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from
among his people."

     We will find that the first king of the Israelites {Saul} had
this very thing happen to him when he disobeyed God and sought help
from those with evil spirits. We have gone into this in a previous
lesson. I will touch, one more time, on who these are. Palm readers,
witches and warlocks, hypnotists, and those who tell fortunes. This,
also, includes all sorts of mind control believers. All of these
things are very dangerous to get involved in. So many people today
innocently get involved with some of the above and with horoscopes, as
well. We should not seek answers to life's problems from anyone but
God.

     Leviticus 20:7  "Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy:
for I [am] the LORD your God."

     Sanctify means to cleanse. We are to cleanse ourselves of worldly
things and follow the living God. God is the answer to all of life's
problems. Be ye holy, means that we must walk in our salvation after
we receive it. Notice {I Am}, LORD, and God in the verse above. We are
to be holy, because He is holy. This does not mean that we might
unknowingly sin sometime, it does mean that the desire of our heart is
to live perfectly before God.

     Leviticus 20:8 "And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I
[am] the LORD which sanctify you."

     This, at first glance, looks like it is the same as the one
above.  Notice, here, who makes us in right standing with God. God
Himself sets us aside to follow him {sanctify}.

     Leviticus 20:9  "For every one that curseth his father or his
mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his
mother; his blood [shall be] upon him."

     The only thing that I can see in this is that a child's very
existence is because of their father and mother. We are, also, taught
to show great respect for our parents. They are in authority over us
until we are grown. We must honor them all our lives. They two are
what we are. Many of our traits come from our parents. Next to God,
our parents love us more than anyone. They want to see us do well.

     Leviticus 20:10  "And the man that committeth adultery with
[another] man's wife, [even he] that committeth adultery with his
neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put
to death."

     Adultery involves the flesh. It is a very bad sin, especially for
a believer in Christ, because the Spirit of God dwells within us. Then
a Christian who committed adultery would include the Holy Spirit in
their sin. You can easily see how bad this sin is. Spiritual and
physical adultery were both punishable by death. If the woman was not
a willing participant, then she was not killed. This death was by
stoning, showing the utter contempt of those who commit such sin.

     Leviticus 20:11 "And the man that lieth with his father's wife
hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be
put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them."

     Genesis 35:22 "And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that
land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and
Israel heard [it]. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:"  I Chronicles
5:1 "Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he [was] the
firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his
birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and
the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright."  We find in
these two Scriptures the horrible consequences of sleeping with your
fathers wife. This with Reuben happened before the law was given, or
they would have been stoned to death. Even though there was no law,
conscience should have told them that this was wrong. The father's
wife belongs to him alone. The son that would do such a thing would be
sinning against himself, against God, against the wife, and against
his father.

     Leviticus 20:12 "And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both
of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion;
their blood [shall be] upon them."

     In a previous lesson, we got into the moral wrong in this. Now,
we see that this is so bad that it is punishable by death. In chapter
38 of Genesis, we see this terrible act in Judah and Tamar. Read and
see the outcome. This would be a sin against God and your son.

     Leviticus 20:13 "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with
a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely
be put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them."

     Abomination, in the verse above, means disgusting. This is more
than just a sin. Homosexual activity is so disgusting to God, that it
is the one sin where God turns them over to a reprobate mind. Romans
1:27 "And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman,
burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that
which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of
their error which was meet." Romans 1:28 "And even as they did not
like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a
reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;"
Homosexuality is not an alternate life style, it is a disgusting sin
unto God. They were not just put to death, but their blood was upon
themselves for such a disgusting sin.

     HOW CAN WE VIEW THIS SO LIGHTLY TODAY?    GOD NEVER CHANGES.
                             Questions 48

1.  What awful false god is mentioned in verse 2?
2.  What was the punishment for giving your children to this false
    god?
3.  Was this punishment just for Israelites who committed this sin?
4.  What is worshipping a false god really?
5.  Why was everyone to stone them?
6.  Which of the ten commandments covers false gods?
7.  What did Jesus say was the first commandment?
8.  What must all believers in Christ be?
9.  What is meant by this statement?
10. Whose bride are the Christians?
11. Quote Ephesians chapter 5 verse 27.
12. What happens to those who refuse to kill someone who has been
    worshipping Molech?
13. What one word, in verse 5, tells us this is spiritual adultery?
14. In verse 6, who does God set His face against?
15. Who was the first king of Israel?
16. What terrible sin did he commit?
17. What are some modern practices that are covered in familiar
    spirits?
18. Why did God say {sanctify yourselves}?
19. Who sanctifies us?
20. What shall surely happen to anyone who curses mother or father?
21. What is the punishment for those who commit adultery with another
    man's wife?
22. Why is it worse for a Christian to commit adultery?
23. What did the stoning death show the world?
24. What happened to Reuben, when he slept with his father's
    concubine?
25. Why was Reuben not killed for this sin?
26. Someone who slept with his father's wife would be sinning against
    whom?
27. Who were the two in chapter 38 of Genesis, where the father slept
    with his daughter-in-law?
28. What was the usual punishment for this sin?
29. What one word does God call the sin of homosexuality?
30. In this particular verse, what does abomination mean?
31. God turns those who commit this sin over to a _______ _____.
32. Is homosexuality, an alternate life style?
33. How can we view this so lightly today?