Vaccine Mandates and the Mosaic Code

By Mark Shipowick

Part I, Freedom of Conscience in Ancient Israel

With vaccine mandates being imposed across the board in the public and private sectors in America, the stigmatizing of the unvaccinated has reached a new level.  Freedom of choice on one hand and the common good on the other have been falsely pitted against each other but unfortunately, a sizable majority, including most of our own religious liberty leaders, don’t see it.

And so today, America is well down the path of repudiating its Constitution and Bill of Rights. How did we get here as a nation? A major factor in America’s moral decline is that for many years a majority of America’s religious leaders have more or less rejected the Ten Commandments and the God of the Old Testament. As a result, the American mind has no barrier to adopting a false moral standard. But the New Testament writers and Christ Himself are equally clear that the God of the New Testament is also the God of the Old.  He does not change. All scripture is equally inspired, including the laws and statutes of Moses, of which Christ said, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Luke 16:21.

That saying of Christ was proved true just days after He made it. As Christ was about to enter Jerusalem seated on a donkey led by Lazarus who He had just recently raised from the dead, the Jewish leaders denied the testimony of Lazarus and of the crowd who acknowledged Christ as Israel’s king. A few days later Christ was crucified, according to the high priest, Caiaphas, for the common good of the people.

Caiaphas was right on that point; Christ did die for the common good, but to Caiaphas it was not that Christ’s life had redeeming value but that the national interest trumped the life of one humble Galilean. The same human wisdom and argument for the common good is being used now in both the secular and religious sectors of America.

In scripture, this question is asked: “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3. The underpinning of society is a sensitive national conscience that understands the issues of justice and equity. But what is justice? Justice and mercy, according to scripture, is doing right by all, including and especially those who are weakest and those who are powerless to defend themselves. This standard of right doing is defined by the law of God (Isaiah 58:6-12, Micah 6:8, Exodus 23:1-9).

It is no coincidence that at the same time America is marginalizing the best elements of its society it is also at the height of its war on the unborn. Both are at the mercy of an increasingly callous element that mistakes the bondage of lust and license for liberty and freedom.

In scripture, freedom of conscience and religion does indeed look different from the current conceptions of it.  For example, open idolatry was not allowed under Mosaic Law:

• “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder.” Deuteronomy 13:1.
• “And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them.” Deuteronomy 13:2.
• “Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 13:3.
• “And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God.” Deuteronomy 13:5.

The death penalty for propagating error and falsehood may seem extreme today but this provision is the polar opposite of the current tyranny of our thought police culture. When one segment of society attempts to force all segments to call a biological male a “her” we know we’re in new territory, and that our social moral compass isn’t working.

Contrast our current gender confusion with Deuteronomy 13 which has its counterpart in the gospel commission of Christ.  Our commission is to proclaim truth, not lies and error. While Deuteronomy 13 prohibits propagating falsehood, the individual conscience is still free to choose. There is no provision in Deuteronomy 13 or anywhere else in scripture for thought policing and mandates forcing the conscience. Throughout scripture the only acceptable service to God is voluntary, springing from a willing heart.

We can see the principles of freedom and justice not only in the Mosaic Law and in the gospel, but it is also illustrated throughout Old Testament history. Under the rule of Israel’s godly kings, the most enlightened concepts of freedom and justice prevailed. At the start of Solomon’s reign, for example, two young harlots (young enough to bear children) came to him with two babies, one dead and the other living, disputing who gave birth to the living child.

Harlotry was and is illegal under both the Mosaic Law and by the seventh commandment. As these two women petitioned Solomon, neither with legal standing, Solomon could have taken the living child, placed it in “protective custody” and banished the women from the Holy City. Instead, he judged this case, restored the living child to the distraught mother and imposed no penalty on the guilty harlot.  He judged righteously between two harlots with no legal standing.

This was the Spirit of God in Solomon shining out of the law, showing the divine balance of mercy and justice. It was and is the glory of God to cover the sin of these unfortunate women, to give them standing, to hear their cause and by this, give them another opportunity to repent and become loyal subjects of His kingdom. In heaven we’ll learn if either of them responded to the divine grace ministered through the Spirit of wisdom in Solomon.

David, the man after God’s own heart, tells us what the source of his own wisdom was and the origin of his tender bond to God:  He loved His laws, statutes and judgments; he meditated on them day and night and they were more precious to him than his daily bread. He exclaimed:

“O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!  Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.” Psalms 119:97-104.

How many of us share David’s sentiments? Or are we inclined to repeat the anathemas that the world heaps on these laws. If more of us loved them as David did, more of us would be men and women after the heart of God. I want to be like that, don’t you? We can be by following the same course of careful and reverent study and practical application of these provisions. The same course will bring the same results.

The principles of the Mosaic Law are timeless and hold their value to eternity but we should have no illusion that they will ever be implemented in a fallen world in the end-times when the global rule of sin reaches its climax. It is the rejection of these principles by the man of sin that destroys the foundations of society. This is the abomination that makes the earth desolate; it is the slaying of the Two Witnesses, a process that is well underway today in western culture.

On the borders of the Promised Land, Moses, in his last address, admonished Israel to correctly value these provisions:

• “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.” Deuteronomy 4:5.
• “Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” Deuteronomy 4:6.
• “For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? Deuteronomy 4:7.
• “And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?” Deuteronomy 4:8.

Let’s take some time to meditate on that divine statement and let it sink deep into our souls. These provisions are part of that living bread and hidden manna that God wants to nourish us by.

Part II, Overview of the Mosaic Code

 In the following summary of the Mosaic code, after a short bit of commentary, I’ve listed all of the major punishable acts in the Law of Moses. I might have made this pill easier to swallow by first reviewing the many merciful provisions, for example, those protecting widows and orphans, strangers and slaves. But those don’t lend themselves as readily to neat categories. So I’ll leave them for a later time maybe.

The purpose of this list is to show the relative seriousness of all the major crimes according to inspiration, the connection between the act and the corresponding punishment that helps to give us a balanced, true understanding of sin and righteousness, mercy and judgment. These precepts form an important part of the divine antidote to modern humanity’s confused values.

To the modern mind stoning, hanging and burning are barbaric. While there’s no doubt that these are gruesome punishments, an unbiased mind will see in these a divine warning of what the transgressor will ultimately face – the undiluted wrath of God. Scripture is very consistent on this point: Those who sow to the wind will reap the whirlwind.

Under modern notions of “cruel and unusual punishment”, any punishment that inflicts significant physical pain falls into the category of barbaric. This is conventional wisdom yet, as we’ve seen in recent years, it is no barrier to modern forms of cruelty. Consider, for example, how things have unfolded since 9/11 in America with its use of torture to gather intelligence and gain confessions. For a time, our abhorrence of torture was pushed aside in the interest of the common good and national security.  Fortunately we have officially backed away from that after finding that it is not effective. As we would expect, information gleaned from torture is unreliable and often worse than useless.

While physical pain is considered cruel and unusual today emotional pain is not. Prisoners who misbehave and who are often emotionally unstable are routinely isolated in solitary confinement for long periods. There is no precedent or sanctioning of this in the Mosaic code. In contrast, the divine statutes provide that a brief dose of intense physical suffering for wrong conduct can be as effective in adults as it is in children so long as it is administered equitably, like with children, in love and as a last resort. See Deuteronomy 25:1-3.

For the sake of easy comparison, the statutes listed below are arranged in four categories from least serious to most. Although this list progresses from the lesser to the greater offenses, we should bear in mind that no sin in scripture is minor or inconsequential. Paradise was lost through a supposedly minor transgression – yielding to inordinate appetite through unbelief.

The first category includes culpable acts that merit monetary penalties or corporal stripes. It includes both lesser crimes and negligent acts. Notice that unlike the common law of Britain and America the Mosaic code doesn’t make a distinction between civil negligence and criminal negligence but presents a balanced unity of both.

One punishment that is conspicuous by its absence from all the lesser crimes (and the greater) is incarceration. This is one of the greatest differences between the Mosaic code and modern law.

Another notable difference is that whereas modern law removes the personal element of the crime against another person and substitutes a “debt to society” that is paid by the duration of the incarceration, the Mosaic code preserves the original connection between the parties as an important element of justice.

The Mosaic Law provides a seamless unity of both civil and criminal liability and does it without creating a vast penal system of incarceration: The person who causes disfigurement is punished in kind or pays damages. The person who breaches a trust or breaks something borrowed is required to make it good.  The thief is required to make direct restitution – in some cases adding a fifth, in some cases two fold, in some cases five fold depending on whether the thief confesses voluntarily, on property type and whether the original asset is returned. If the guilty party cannot make it good he is to be sold as a bond servant for a maximum of seven years and the money used to satisfy the obligation.

But notice: the offender is still required to be a useful member of society. In no case is a person kept in idle confinement for years on end in the company of other idle inmates by whom the younger and weaker ones are often demoralized and victimized.

The second category is offenses that merit death by hanging. There are three of these but they include the most common serious offenses – murder, negligence causing death and kidnapping. This is one of the most instructive portions of the Mosaic Law. In His wisdom, Israel’s Lawgiver makes a clear distinction between neglect and evil intent. In the case of murder which, like in the common law, must include evil intent, monetary compensation is not to be allowed or considered.  The only permissible penalty for murder is death.

But where evil intent is not present but negligence is a factor, monetary compensation is permissible.  The divine distinction between negligence causing death and murder in itself should be of interest to anyone who is familiar with the common law legacy of Britain, which mirrors scripture on this point quite well, the main difference being that the Mosaic Law always preserves the direct connection between the perpetrator and the victim.

The third category covers offenses that merit death by stoning. There are seven of these.

And the fourth category covers the most serious offenses that merit death by fire.  There are only two, both of them sexual but these are aggravated beyond other sexual sins (see the third category) in that they are gross perversions that strike at the core pillars of society – the family and the priesthood.

Notice that this list doesn’t include offenses and neglected duties that God says He will directly hold Israel and us accountable for. But the list below is a good starting point to help us arrive at a better conception of the divine character.

Once this list is studied, in order to get a still better understanding of the justice and mercy of God, I recommend carefully reviewing these in the context of the other statutes and judgments of scripture.

Also, the provisions for cities of refuge in cases of accidental death are instructive. Note how these provisions mesh seamlessly with the overall provisions for murder and preserve the direct connection between the criminal and his victim (Numbers 35:6-32).

Also noteworthy are the merciful provisions regarding the treatment of bond servants (Exodus 21:2-6).  All of these integrate seamlessly with the rest of the code and the divine plan for Israel as an agrarian nation of 12 distinct tribes and states with inalienable land rights that were preserved for all posterity by the Sabbaticals and Jubilees (Leviticus 25).

Then to round out your study of these review the crimes or sins of neglect and failure to perform a positive duty that have no listed punishment and were matters of conscience: The sin of neglecting to restrain our children and teach them self control, Exodus 21:15-21, Proverbs 22:6; the crime or sin of neglecting to diligently educate our children to love God and His law, Deuteronomy 4:9, 6:7; the sin of oppressing the poor and charging the poor interest, Leviticus 25:36, 37, Deuteronomy 23:19, 20; the sin of failing to help our enemies when they are in need, Exodus 23:4; the crime of not defending the fatherless and widow etc., Exodus 22:22-24, Deuteronomy 24:17-21.

Truly this was an unparalleled source of wisdom and it continues to be that today. In the New Testament, the greatest discourse of Christ that expounds the spiritual nature of the law is the Sermon on the Mount. In studying the Mosaic code we would also do well to bring to bear at the same time the applications of the law made by Christ in Matthew 5 to 7.

For the diligent student and doer of the law, God says He will show us wonderful things out of it. His testimonies and statutes, like the beatitudes and sayings from His mountain discourse, are a window that expands on the principles of the Great Ten. When these lesser statutes are prized above gold they will be found to be sweeter than honey. These have power to convert the soul, pointing out our transgression, steering us to righteousness, goodness and love and in the process making a person wiser than his peers and the aged sage. The word of God, Old Testament and New, is life for us. In giving due reverence to His commandments, judgments, testimonies and statutes, in loving them, in feeding on them, we will be nourished by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Here’s the list:

1) Crimes and offenses meriting monetary compensation and/or stripes:

Injuring a Neighbor in a Fight

• “And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:” Exodus 21:18.
• “If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.” Exodus 21:19.
• “And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.” Exodus 21:20.
• “Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.” Exodus 21:21.

Negligence Causing Property Damage or Loss

• “And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein.” Exodus 21:33.
• “The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.” Exodus 21:34.
• “And if one man’s ox hurt another’s, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide.” Exodus 21:35.
• “Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.” Exodus 21:36

Injuring or Causing the Miscarriage of Another Man’s Wife Because of a Fight between the Men

• “If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.” Exodus 21:22.
• “And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life.” Exodus 21:23.
• “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” Exodus 21:24.
• “Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” Exodus 21:25.

Injuring a Bond Servant

• “And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.” Exodus 21:26.
• “And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.” Exodus 21:27.

Injustice between Neighbors in Disputes other than a Physical Fight

• “If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.” Deuteronomy 25:1.
• “And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number.” Deuteronomy 25:2
• “Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.” Deuteronomy 25:3

Theft of Assets of Production

• “If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.” Exodus 22:1.
• “If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.” Exodus 22:2.
• “If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.” Exodus 22:3.
• “If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.” Exodus 22:4.

Theft of Assets before being Prosecuted and before a Sin Offering can be Accepted

• “Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty.” Numbers 5:6.
• “Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.” Numbers 5:7.

Negligent property damage

• “If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.” Exodus 22:5.
• “If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.” Exodus 22:6,

Breach of Trust or Negligence in Stewardship

• “If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.” Exodus 22:7.
• “If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods.” Exodus 22:8.
• “For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.” Exodus 22:9.
• “If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it.” Exodus 22:10.
• “Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.” Exodus 22:11.
• “And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.” Exodus 22:12.
• “If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.” Exodus 22:13.

Damage of Something Borrowed

• “And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good.” Exo 22:14
• “But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.” Exodus 22:15.

Seduction of a Maid

• “And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.” Exodus 22:16.
• “If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.” Exodus 22:17.

2) Crimes meriting the death penalty – by hanging:

Most crimes in the Mosaic Law that require the death penalty specify how the person is to be put to death, but some do not specify. Where the death penalty is required but the manner of execution is not given, hanging is the prescribed manner according the rule in Deuteronomy 21:

• “And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.” Deuteronomy 21:22, 23.

Negligence Resulting in Death

• “If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.” Exodus 21:28.
• “But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.” Exodus 21:29.
• “If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.” Exodus 21:30.
• “Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.” Exodus 21:31.

First and Second Degree Murder

• “He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.” Exodus 21:12.
• “Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.” Numbers 35:30.
• “Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.” Numbers 35:31.

Kidnapping

• “And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.” Exodus 21:16.

3) Crimes Meriting the Death Penalty – by Stoning:

One key difference between hanging and stoning is that in the latter case the people are required to participate in administering justice. The crimes that merit stoning go beyond the interaction of two individuals as in the case of crimes that merit hanging; these third category offenses, ones that merit stoning, are also offenses against the community and therefore the community is required to participate in the eradication of the evil.

Working on the Sabbath

• Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Exo_31:15
• Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. Exo_35:2
• “And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.” Numbers 15:33.
• “And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.” Numbers 15:34.
• “And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.” Numbers 15:35.
• “And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones.” Numbers 15:36.

Idolatry

• “He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.” Exodus 22:20.
• “But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.” Deuteronomy 13:9
• “And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” Deuteronomy 13:10.

Child Sacrifice

• “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.” Leviticus 20:2.

Necromancy, Witchcraft and Wizardry

• “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.” Leviticus 20:27.
• “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” Exodus 22:18.

Blasphemy

• “And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.” Leviticus 24:16.

Disrespecting a Parent

• “And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.” Exodus 21:15.
• “And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.” Exodus 21:17.
• “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.” Leviticus 20:9.
• “If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them.” Deuteronomy 21:18.
• “Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place.” Deuteronomy 21:19.
• “And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.” Deuteronomy 21:20.
• “And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.” Deuteronomy 21:21.

Sexual Sins

1) Adultery:

• “Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.” Deuteronomy 22:24.

2) Incest:

• “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.” Leviticus 20:11.
• “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.” Leviticus 20:12.

3) Bestiality:

• “And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.” Leviticus 20:15.
• “And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” Leviticus 20:16.
• “Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.” Exodus 22:19.

4) Sodomy:

• “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.” Leviticus 20:13.

5) Prostitution:

• “Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.” Deuteronomy 22:21

4) Crimes meriting the death penalty – by fire:

Polygamy with both the Wife and Her Mother

• “And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.” Leviticus 20:14.

Prostitution of the Priest’s Daughter

• “And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.” Leviticus 21:9.

The Most Serious Crime Merits the Most Severe Punishment

The severest punishment in scripture is described in the third angel’s message where God graciously warns humanity that whoever worships the beast and his image or receives his mark will suffer His wrath unmixed with mercy.  Rev 14:9-12. Why such severity? Because of the severity of the offense – blasphemy coupled with idolatry in willful submission and worship of the most evil tyranny that ever existed. Babylon and the beast she rides will be a despotic and demonic power controlled by avarice, pride and the basest lusts, and if allowed by God, this duo would readily commit the worst genocide of the righteous in human history. Astride the beast, Babylon is depicted in Revelation 18:2 as “the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird”.

Someone might be asking, what does this most severe punishment look like? God is explicit. All offenders “shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb” (Revelation 14:10, 11). It is no coincidence that this severest of punishments combines 1) brimstone and 2) fire and does this 3) in the presence of heaven, not unlike the most serious offenses in Israel that required 1) stoning and 2) fire that were inflicted 3) in the presence of and by the congregation. But notice the divine severity: this is not just a pelting of stones, but a horrific hail of burning, sulfuric boulders combined with unquenchable, devouring fire, not just in the presence of mortals, but in the presence of holy angels who excel in strength and in the devouring presence of the Lamb.

The Lion and the Lamb are combined in One in the Revelation, but, significantly, in meeting out the punishment of Babylon and the beast, the merciful Lamb is the One who sees to it that justice is fully served. This is the same Lamb that was in the cloud when the sea closed over the armies of Egypt. This event was a foreshadow of the final and more glorious deliverance of God’s people at the end. And as the oppression of the remnant by Babylon and the beast will be more severe than the oppression of the Hebrews, (like Israel, the pure woman will flee into the wilderness and, for a time, be pursued and hunted there by the harlot) the deliverance will be the more remarkable and joyful:

• “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God.” Revelation 19:1.
• “For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.” Revelation 19:2.
• “And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.” Revelation 19:3.
• “And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.” Revelation 19:4.
• “And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.” Revelation 19:5.
• “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Revelation 19:6.
• “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7.
• “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” Revelation 19:8.
• “And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” Revelation 19:9.
• “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” Revelation 22:16.
• “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17.
• “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20.
• “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Revelation 22:21.

Part III, the Character – Law Connection

A sound moral character is rooted in an individual’s personal sense of justice and mercy. If we are mature Christians we should be able to say, like Christ, that we delight to do the will of God and that His law is written within our hearts. If the divine law is internalized in us we will be just and merciful as God is just and merciful and as His law is just and merciful.

Most Christians think of the law as the Ten Commandments. But, in addition to these there are many more statutes and judgments in the books of Moses that most Christians either don’t know exist or dismiss as part of the ceremonial law. They don’t appreciate their value. But many of our brothers and sisters in the Jewish community tend to see things in a clearer light.

The statutes of the Mosaic Law, for example, Exodus 20:18 to 23:33, like the Ten Commandments, were also given by Christ and formed an important part of the covenant between God and Israel. Like the Ten, they are to enlighten us as a lamp to our feet so that we can adjust our thinking and our conduct to the divine standard of righteousness. They are a valuable window into the practical application of the principles of the Ten.

Christians have been too quick to discard these assuming that they are part of the ceremonial law that was removed at the cross. But think about it for a moment. If these laws harmonized with the Ten Commandments when they were given they did not cease to harmonize with it at the cross. The specific components of them that relate to the ceremonial law will, of course, not apply now, but there is little in many of them that are tied to the ceremonial system. To the extent that they are not tied to it, and many are not, their principles are timeless.

When I was a young man attending law school in Canada (Queen’s University, Kingston) and being bombarded daily with human wisdom, I was often refreshed and enlightened by comparing modern notions of law and justice with these divine standards. The Mosaic Law was like an oasis and a lens that allowed me to sort through the clamor of legal jargon and sophistry and enabled me to see the underlying issues more clearly. Forty years later I find them as enlightening today as I did then and more so.

Perhaps the greatest historical proof of the wisdom and soundness of the Mosaic Code is the unprecedented power and prosperity that Israel enjoyed under the reigns of David and Solomon. From the beginning of Israel’s existence as a nation, these statutes and judgments along with the Ten Commandments formed the basis of the covenant agreement between God and Israel. These were the nation’s divine legacy given to them by their King at Mt. Sinai. As a nation, they were never to amend them because they could not be improved.  They were only to implement them.  But for 400 years after the Exodus they repeatedly broke them and followed the laws and customs of their heathen neighbors.

Finally in David, God found a man after His own heart, one who, like Abraham, followed the Lord fully and who would rule righteously like Abraham who had commanded his household after him. David understood that the covenant code of Moses was to be the divine foundation of Israel’s government and its source of greatness. From his youth the Mosaic precepts were David’s study and delight, the source of his wisdom, and when God exalted him to the throne they formed the basis of his rule of equity and justice.

David’s example of fidelity was followed by Solomon during the first part of his reign, and the record states that the glory of his rule overwhelmed the greatest of the earth’s monarchs. The Queen of Sheba was astounded, her spirit fainted in her, she says, when she beheld the glory of Solomon’s reign and she was left almost speechless (I Kings 10:4, 5). Think for a moment of how different the history of the world and of Israel would have been if Solomon and his descendants had remained true to this covenant and to God, the Law Giver.

There is a certain urgency to this. Based on the current political trajectory, our days of freedom of conscience are numbered. Why? Because the world hates righteousness and these provisions condemn the darkness that has overtaken western society and the world. Before long, our world will impose another Hitler-style final solution; it will silence the Two Witnesses, slaying them.

But to the arrogant who are hell-bent on this course, I would remind them that it is this standard of righteousness that is the foundation of society. If you replace these righteous laws by the counterfeit of moral license, perversion, unbridled lust and pit one race against another to avenge the past, you destroy the foundations of society. Once the foundations are destroyed and the testimony of the Word, the Two Witnesses are slain, there will be no remedy.

By bowing in submission to the expressed will of God for individuals and society we will find our highest freedom and greatest joy. But be warned, these statutes and ordinances will not always strike us as totally balanced, just and merciful. If they did, there would be no need to study them. The reason they are written down for us is so that we can adjust our thinking and conduct and bring every high and rebellious thought into captivity to the will and wisdom of God. May God help us.

You can reach Mark Shipowick at: mark.shipowick@gmail.com