Verse 7-8"Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD, Your God. And you shall keep my statutes and perform. I am the LOTD who sanctifies you."
This chapter refers back to the commands of Chapters 18-19, listing all the sins that are deserving of capital punishment (death). At times, God will is the one who executes the penalty by causing the death of the offenders, but in this chapter, God is instructing the Israelites to perform the penalty upon those who commit the sins spoken of in this chapter.
How hard it would be to put your child to death for disobedience to a parent! But God commanded them to do so and to not do it would be a sin as well.
So, it seems that all of the sins spoken of in this Chapter require a penalty of death. These sins would be considered to be capital crimes. Pretty sobering to consider.
I read that Capital crimes reflect a given value system. That is, acts that are called capital crimes are those which are considered most evil, and thus reflect the value system of the one (or ones) making the laws. Since capital punishment is the most serious penalty, then these crimes are viewed as those acts which are the worst evil.
Capital crimes in Leviticus 20 reflect God's value system. If we are troubled by what God has condemned as worthy of death, then we must recognize that our value system must be "out of sync" with God's. What then are God's values which are the basis for His choice of "capital crimes" (sins deserving the death penalty).
Well, actually, God views every sin as capital offense worthy of death. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit does that seem to us to be such a heinous crime that it brought about not just the death of Adam and Eve, but for all of their offspring.
Romans 6:23 "The wages of sin is death." Do we truly believe this? Do we concur with God that each and every sin brings the penalty of death to the sinner?
Verse 7-8"Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD, Your God. And you shall keep my statutes and perform. I am the LOTD who sanctifies you."
This chapter refers back to the commands of Chapters 18-19, listing all the sins that are deserving of capital punishment (death). At times, God will is the one who executes the penalty by causing the death of the offenders, but in this chapter, God is instructing the Israelites to perform the penalty upon those who commit the sins spoken of in this chapter.
How hard it would be to put your child to death for disobedience to a parent! But God commanded them to do so and to not do it would be a sin as well.
So, it seems that all of the sins spoken of in this Chapter require a penalty of death. These sins would be considered to be capital crimes. Pretty sobering to consider.
I read that Capital crimes reflect a given value system. That is, acts that are called capital crimes are those which are considered most evil, and thus reflect the value system of the one (or ones) making the laws. Since capital punishment is the most serious penalty, then these crimes are viewed as those acts which are the worst evil.
Capital crimes in Leviticus 20 reflect God's value system. If we are troubled by what God has condemned as worthy of death, then we must recognize that our value system must be "out of sync" with God's. What then are God's values which are the basis for His choice of "capital crimes" (sins deserving the death penalty).
Well, actually, God views every sin as capital offense worthy of death. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit does that seem to us to be such a heinous crime that it brought about not just the death of Adam and Eve, but for all of their offspring.
Romans 6:23 "The wages of sin is death." Do we truly believe this? Do we concur with God that each and every sin brings the penalty of death to the sinner?
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