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3. Penal Laws in Scripture
What, then, are the Almighty's directions for dealing with crime? After all it's one thing to lay down rules as to how we humans are to behave: it's quite another dealing with those who blatantly break those rules. Believe it or not Yahweh the Almighty God of Israel has given the human race detailed instructions as to how to deal with criminals.His penal laws are recorded in the Scriptures for all to see. But, strangely enough, they have seldom been applied by any nation - even ancient Israel. The reason was because the authorities (kings, priests and judges) were often as guilty as the law-breakers. Nevertheless, Yahweh's laws are still on the statute books of heaven and every one of them will find fulfilment during the coming millennium.
Indeed heaven and earth will pass away before Yahweh's laws are cancelled. In short the laws of the Most High still exist and He is soon to demonstrate to the universe that they work when applied as directed. Listed below are a few examples of those laws.
(3.1) False Worship
The first of the ten commandments is: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20: 3)The scriptural punishment for worshipping false (pagan) gods and for teaching others to do so is death!
| Deuteronomy 13: | 1: “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2: 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; 3: 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. 4: Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. 5: 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, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.” |
(3.2) Blasphemy
Blasphemy is contemptuous or irreverent talk about God, His Name and His sacred things. The scriptural punishment for blasphemy is death!| Leviticus 24: | 16: “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.” |
(3.4) Sabbath Breaking
The fourth commandment reminds us to keep the seventh day Sabbath. The seventh day Sabbath, incidentally, is Saturday not Sunday. For proof of this astonishing fact also see Jesus Is the Answer/Sisu 'a e Tali article Sunday: Is it the Christian Sabbath? The scriptural punishment for breaking the seventh day Sabbath is death!| Exodus 31: | 14: “Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is
holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death:
for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from
among his people. 15: 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.” |
(3.4) Respect for Parents
Juvenile delinquency is a major problem these days. Many parents find it quite impossible to control their disobedient offspring. The command: ‘Honour thy father and thy mother’ is treated by youngsters with bemused contempt. Nevertheless here is Yahweh's law concerning the punishment of unruly children. Prepare yourself for a surprise; because the scriptural punishment for abolute disobedience is death!| Proverbs 23: | 13: “Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14: Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.” |
| Deuteronomy 21: | 18: “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: 19: 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; 20: 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. 21: 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.” |
| Exodus 21: | 15: “And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.” |
| 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...” |
(3.5) Murder
Yahweh's punishments always fit the crime. The scriptural punishment for murder, even that of an unborn child, is death!| Exodus 21: | 12: “He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death”. |
| Exodus 21: | 22: “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. 23: And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, 24: Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25: Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” |
(3.6) Adultery
The sixth commandment says: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Millions of adults throughout the world treat this law with utter contempt. Adultery is extremely popular these days and is even advocated on the Internet. But did you know that the scriptural punishment for committing adultery is death?| 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.” |
| Deuteronomy 22: | 22: “If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.” |
(3.7) Rape
The scriptural punishment for rape is death!| Deuteronomy 22: | 25: “But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the
field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that
lay with her shall die: 26: But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter:” |
(3.8) Homosexuality
The scriptural punishment for homosexual acts is death!| 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.” |
(3.9) Bestiality
Bestiality is sexual intercourse between a human being and an animal. The scriptural punishment for bestiality is death!| Exodus 22: | 19: “Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.” |
(3.10) Theft
Few people have not had something stolen. Theft, burglary and housebreaking are common these days. The scriptural punishment for theft requires the thief to pay the victim at least double the value of the goods stolen.| Exodus 22: | 7: “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. 8: 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. 9: 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: | 1: “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.” |
(3.11) Kidnap
The scriptural punishment for kidnap is death!| Exodus 21: | 16: “And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.” |
(3.12) False Witness
| Deuteronomy 19: | 16: “If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; 17: Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; 18: And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; 19: Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.” |
4. Forgiveness
I must commend the reader for having read thus far. Most people will have switched off by now, muttering words like barbaric, ridiculous, farcical or obsolete. Others who respect Scripture will now know why the Apostle Paul wrote:| Romans 6: | 23: “For the wages of sin is death...” |
Yes, violation of virtually every major commandment in Scripture attracts the death sentence! The Apostle was absolutely right when he wrote: the wages of sin is death! False worship, blasphemy, Sabbath-breaking, adultery, fornication, rape, murder and kidnap: they all attract the death sentence! Moreover, every soul on earth is guilty of breaking one or more of these sacred commandments.
No one is free of guilt. In other words we are all under sentence of death, because we have all sinned! I repeat: We are all sinners under divine sentence of death! Many may delude themselves into thinking that Yahweh's laws are all obsolete: that they were done away on the cross by His Son. These folk delude themselves. On the Day of Judgement they, along with billions of others, will realize that Yahweh the Almighty God of Israel means what He says and says what He means: and that they are to be judged by these very laws.
Now to an important question: Is the Almighty going to wipe out the whole human race because all of us have sinned and deserve the death sentence? The answer is: No, He isn’t! The Most High is a Being of infinite love and mercy. He doesn't want any soul to perish: so he has made a way of escape. Christians through the ages call it the Way of Salvation: and it has been preached in virtually every Gospel sermon since the Saviour ascended to heaven.
The Way of Salvation, also called the Gospel of Salvation, is the good news of how - by faith in Yahweh’s Son you and we can escape the death sentence and live for all time. Details of the Gospel of Salvation and how you can escape the death sentence through faith in Jesus are given in our Everlasting Gospel Library.
Continued On to Penal Laws Part III
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