The level of punishment that society imposes for a crime depends on how seriously society views the crime. For example, we might expect a person who is convicted of shoplifting to receive a less serious punishment in law than a person who beats somebody up. In general, our laws usually (although not always) demonstrate that, as a society, we value people more highly than things.

We should have that in mind as we work our way through Leviticus 20. Here we see the same violations of God’s law that have been mentioned before, but now with a description of what the punishment might be.

Perhaps we are shocked at the number of offences that are punishable by death, but if we view the severity of the punishment as an indication of how seriously God takes these behaviours, then we can see that the issue is not how terrible the punishment is, but how terrible these behaviours must be in God’s sight.

Worship of false gods, placing our trust in evil spirits and mediums instead of God, sexual impurity – all symptoms of those who have abandoned the Lord and chosen a king (Molech means ‘king’) who is less holy so that they can avoid the work of pursuing holiness and instead pursue their own desires and passions. These things are terrible in God’s sight and will have terrible consequences for God’s people.

We can rejoice that Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for sin, but God still expects and deserves to be acknowledged as King. Chasing after other ‘kings’ – whether they be idols or our own passions – has terrible consequences for our lives. Our King has high standards, but there is no other king who is worth a second glance. It is God first, and God only.

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NEWBOLD COMMUNITY CHURCH