Tell me if this is not insane to you. King Solomon had For sure, Genesis Through judges. And then we read in 1 Kings. Then Solomon built a high place. Four.
Camosh The abomination of Moab on the hill that is east of Jerusalem. And for Molek, the abomination of the people of Ammon. What? This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville.
Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Leviticus. Please. Stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio. specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick.
In the book of Leviticus, chapter 20, with today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. Leviticus chapter 20, capital punishment. is the dominant thought in this twentieth chapter. Our English word capital comes from The Latin for head. Yeah.
the idea of chopping off the head as a punishment And that's what capital punishment is. About ending the life of the individual. That is been found guilty of a capital crime.
Now, God gave these laws. to restrain sin, not to reform sinners.
Well, they wouldn't be around to be reformed. But it certainly would Well, I don't know about certainly, but you would hope That others would see this and it would be a deterrent. Against these crimes, these sins, In this section, We find the death sentence associated with Certain forms of sin, certainly not all sins, were capital, merited capital punishment. Human sacrifice, that's the first one we'll get to. After that.
Cursing of parents Adultery? consulting witches or any of the demonic Shaman that Goeth that and that group incest? Perverted lust a few different types there and that those merited the capital punishment. And that's what Moses is going to hand to the people. It will be law.
In Israel Because of Disobedience. They eventually did not uphold these laws. and everything began to fall apart. A law without penalty is just an idea. It's not law.
And the same Lord who declared the precepts also declared the penalties. And that's what we've been going through as we've been traveling. Through these last few chapters, especially chapter Covers most of these. But Not all the Penalties are stated in chapter eighteen. They are here.
So Moses circles back around.
Now there are those that are impenitent and sexually Perverse. They're practicing these things. Publicly. And they advocate these sins that The Lord has pronounced such judgments on and as a result They are You could say they hate the Judeo-Christian values. Because Their cherished sins.
Are pronounced by God in Scripture as Abominable? and merit death. And so in retaliation, They take whatever opportunity they can. Two Blaspheme and to insult God. Just Satan is.
keep strutting his stuff more and more. As we get closer to his seven-year-old Time limit, the great tribulation. In the book of Judges, there It was so bad. It gotten so bad. Those last chapters of Judges talks about this Levite.
Who himself was just an evil person. And he went to retrieve his runaway concubine and And eventually he ends up in a t a town in Gibeea of the tribe of Benjamin, And they are the perverse men of that town encircled the house. trying to get to him. And of course, as you know the story, most of you, if not all of you, know the story. Instead of the homeowner Letting his guest go out to these perverse men, They sent the concubine.
Well, she died. And he sent notice in a very grotesque way. to the rest of the tribes of Israel. And picking it up in Judges 20, verses 12 through 14. Then the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What is this wickedness that has occurred among you?
Now, therefore, deliver up the men, the perverted men, sons of Belial in the Hebrew, actually, but the context is perversion. The perverted men. who are in Gibeah. That we may put them to death. and remove the evil from Israel.
But the children of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel. Instead the children of Benjamin gathered together from their cities to Gibeah, to go to battle Against the children of Israel.
So they double down. Here they were trying to uphold this law. That was to help stabilize society and keep them righteous before God. And they met with resistance from an entire tribe.
Well, it got so ugly that that entire tribe was almost wiped out. They survived, enough of them survived to continue. the Benjamite line. But there's an example of the hostilities that go with certain brands of sexual perversity These men advocated if they themselves. We're not interested in the perversion.
They were supporting those. Who were? To the death they were willing to fight to the death, So that their fellow tribesmen could be as perverted as they wanted to be. And w we reading this twenty years ago, you'd say Boys some messed up people back then Reading it today, you see this worse today. They are worse.
And they are. They just haven't had Enough of a Enough time to grow larger, and this is what we're up against. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. And we know that very well. I bring up all of this to point out: God had outlawed these sins because He knew where this would go.
If society in Israel was not restrained. By the commandments of God. And again, ultimately, they tossed it, and we'll get to that before we're finished.
So, looking at verse 1. Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, Again, you shall say to the children of Israel. Whoever of the children of Israel or of the strangers who dwell in Israel. who gives any of his descendants to Molach, He shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.
Very clear. Child sacrifice well it was human sacrifice, but the children were a prize. The more innocent the sacrifice, the more pleased the demonic spirits, spirits would be. According to those involved, plus they were defenceless.
Well Just imagine. All human sacrifice, particularly child sacrifice, means.
Someone else wants a better life. at the cost of an innocent life. I'm going to sacrifice you. to my gods so my gods can give me goodies.
So I can get things from my God. Poor you, tough luck. Again, Jesus made it clear. Man, said Can hold more demons than two thousand pigs. And we can see this happening.
This demonic warfare that we are engaged in is real stuff.
So again, the more innocent, the more desirable to the demons, the sacrifice. Molech. An Ammonite. God Craved human sacrifice, Moses. Mentions Molech by name more than anyone else in the scripture, specifically concerning this monstrous act.
Now tell me if this is not insane to you. King Solomon had For sure, Genesis Through judges. And then we read in First Kings. Then Solomon built a high place where For Camosh. The abomination of Moab on the hill that is east of Jerusalem.
And for Molek the abomination of the people of Ammon. What? the very king of Israel who's supposed to uphold their laws Is building a shrine to this monster. Right outside Jerusalem, there in the Hinoim Valley, right at the At the foot of the the hill of Zion. Then some Four hundred.
Years later, King Josiah comes along with Jeremiah the prophet. We read in Jeremiah 32 God speaking through the prophet. And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinoam, to cause the sons of their daughters, the sons and their daughters, to pass through the fire to Molach. which I did not command them. nor did it come to my mind.
That they should do this abomination to cause Judah to sin.
So hopefully the Christian is saying, man, this is real stuff. Demonic influence is very serious, very real, and it doesn't go out of style. If they had to deal with demons, then we have to deal with them now. 2 Kings gives another part of the story. Remember, Jeremiah and King Josiah lived at the same time, though King Josiah died early.
one of the great kings of Israel, You can understand why a lot of Christians name their sons Josiah because he's such a great king. And we read this about King Josiah: he defiled Tophet. which is in the valley of the Son of Hinoam, That no man might make his son or daughter pass through the fire to Molat.
So Josiah said, I'm king now. I'm putting an end to this. And he went to their shrines and he defiled them from the evil, from evil's perspective, from righteousness' perspective, he purified. is purifying that patch of ground.
So again, the person that sacrifices another person.
So that they can gain things in life. I will sacrifice your life so that I can bring. into my life. Better things at the cost of your blood. Are there any such places like this today?
Planned Parenthood. The modern day Valley of Hinoam. practices Practicing these things. And so it says here in verse 1: The people of the land shall stone him with stones.
So, God's intolerance of man's gods. is voiced in this. And if Israel had uphold these things, she would not have been vomited out of her land. That's the language God uses. Very graphic.
Very accurate. Stoning was also a punishment for blasphemy, which this was both. This was Human sacrifice, but it was also idolatry, and both of them are blasphemous. There was nothing. about this meant to be pleasant, this judgment.
It was to be carried out By the people of God Against those who blasphemed and committed this crime. And again, this is not the only one. And nothing about this was cruel either. offering the victims To gain something in life, that's where the cruelty was. We have these Groups.
That claim to be humanistic and they know better than God. They're always wrong every single time. Humanistic man does not mind Thoughts about God They just don't want God's thoughts about God. They'd rather make them up. retain some control.
Have a say-so. God is not asking man their opinion about these things. He is revealing these laws. In verse 3, I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molach. to defile my sanctuary and profane my holy name.
Well, let's take God's claim on this. My faith, the person of God. My sanctuary, the presence of God, that's what he meant with his people. My holy name, the purity of God.
Well, they were He would set his face against those who practice this. And it says that they are defiled his sanctuary where his presence was And then, of course, they profaned his holy name. Disrespect. They desecrated sacred things. And God says, you're doing these things.
And you are defiling. Yourselves in my presence, and my wrath is going to be against you. anybody who sides with you or Knows you're doing this and doesn't blow the whistle. Verse 4: And if the people of the land should in any way, hide their eyes from the man. when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, And they do not kill him, then I will set, verse 5, my face against that man and against his family.
And I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech.
So Moses is hitting this one pretty hard. There's no middle ground when it comes to siding against wickedness. No neutral zone. You're either against it. Or you're in with those who advocate it or look the other way.
No compromise of justice in any of this.
So If they knew the sin, and remained silent They forfeited their lives. A death sentence for that. Akin's family went through this very thing. They knew that he had stolen the materials that God forbid him to steal: the gold and the clothing. And they remained silent.
But not innocent. They were Accessory after the fact. They were guilty of that. Accessories after the fact. cover the crime up through silence.
Romans 1, Paul says this still goes on, and it's still a sin, who knowing Romans 1:32, the righteous judgment of God. If those who practise such things are deserving of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them Yeah, because you empower them. Maybe you're not engaged in the actual sin, but you're voting into place people who will write laws in their favor. And What do we say to them?
Well, we don't execute. We're Christians. We're not the government. We do not Carry out. Capital punishment.
But we can warn Of eternal punishment, which is worse. The wrath of God is upon them.
So not only Is this an act of the flesh when someone sides with evil and remains silent in its presence, It is an act of the soul. And so, when Paul writes to the Ephesians, remember, Ephesus had a giant temple of demons there, the temple to Diana, and they had other temples there too. She wasn't the only one they were worshiping. And he writes to that church: Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 1 Corinthians 13, 6.
Speaking of agape love, it does not rejoice in iniquity. You know, I've watched People applaud people who drove home drunk. Oh, I'm so glad you made it, huh? That's so funny. We don't rejoice in iniquity, but we rejoice in truth.
The fact is you were a A weapon behind the wheel? We may not get to say it that way because we have to be strategic. But we gotta say it. In the previous passage, The perpetrator was addressed. In this Verses four and five.
The silent witnesses are addressed. How many people know this in the Bible? Again. Aiken. and his family.
They were all judged. They were judged for their silence. And he was judged also. They were executed. Not the entire family.
There were some survivors, the younger ones. And I will cut. him off from his people, that is put to death. absolute intolerance of human sacrifice. I'll come back to that meaning of cutoff briefly in a little bit.
and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech.
Well, that prostituting of the self, then the harlotry. Illicit Intimate activity, illicit. Contact. Wilful contact. Hosea the prophet wrote about The practices of the people in the north.
He says, My people ask counsel from their wooden idols. And there's sticks informed them. Staff is how it's translated, but it's just a stick that somebody's polished. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray. And they have played the harlot against their God, Well God is the same yesterday, to day, and forever.
He hasn't backed away from any of this. They crash through the guardrails, the guilty ones, the ones that would practice these things. They crashed through the guardrails of the first commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. And look what they did.
Look at the crimes they committed They would rather live without the child than obey God. Because maybe this Ammonite God would give them what they wanted. They believed this horrific act of murder. Would Be a benefit to them and somehow their society.
Well, the flesh is always short sighted. It only looks as far as it what it can get. Doesn't factor or calculate the consequence, Maybe if Judas Iscariot had looked beyond The betrayal and say, wait a minute, if I do this, where am I going to go when I die? He did not believe he was filled with Satan. Why he did not believe, period.
He was filled with Satan, period. One has to have no conscience to commit such selfish and heinous acts as we read about here in these first five chapters of Leviticus twenty. As the Bible teaches, the wicked have no shame. Their conscience has been seared with a hot iron. To commit, to advocate, or to hide human sacrifice was to become a target of God, of Yahweh.
Verse 6, and I'd say this: if you got away with it, if you get away with it in your life, you won't get away with it after your life. The punishments after life always Exceed the punishments in this life. Verse six And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits to prostitute himself with them, I will set my face against that person, and cut him off from his people. King Saul He agreed with this verse. Until he saw that a witch could be useful to him.
When the pressure was on, Then he abandoned, His convictions, well it's really weren't a convictions at all. They were opinions. That's it. Exodus 22, 18, you shall not permit a sorceress to live.
Well, verse 27 of this chapter will also ring in on that.
So when it came time. For Saul to face the Philistines. He had a bad feeling about the whole thing, And in his desperation he sought The Underworld. Through a witch. 1 Samuel 28.
Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented for him. and buried him in Ramah in his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the spiritus out of the land.
Now this is important to help us get to that meaning of cut off. Cut off usually does mean killed, but not always, and this is one of the examples. Yeah. Hebrew word. Verse 9 of Hebrews of 1 Samuel 28.
Then the woman said to him, This is after he goes, first of all, People in his entourage knew there was a witch in the land. And they knew where she was. and they knew that Saul had put them all out of the land. But they didn't say anything. See, they didn't blow the whistle, they were enablers.
And then, when the pressure was on, and Saul said, Where can I find a witch? Oh, I know where one is. Then the woman said to him, This is when Saul is now there. He's going to be dead in less than 24 hours.
Now he's in the witch's house. And she says, Look, you know that Saul, what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land.
Well, back to verse 3, Saul had put the mediums and the spirits out.
So sometimes cutoff means to banish. And most of the time, though, it means to kill. But here's an example of. being put out of the land on fear of being killed. And she continues That, why then do you lay a snare for my life to cause me to die?
Saul made this law. And if he finds out I'm here acting as a witch, he's going to kill me because I was supposed to be out of the land. But Saul said, Don't worry about it. I got bigger fish to fry. And, of course, he wanted to speak to Samuel, and uh Samuel is permitted to speak to him.
and rebukes him. And by letting Samuel come forward, God is saying, I reign the underworld too. I reign it all, I'm over all of it. Samuel was not in hell, he was in righteous Sheol as opposed to unrighteous Sheol. And when Christ was crucified for us.
Set the prisoners free from righteous shiol. But those in unrighteous, the unrighteous Underworld, spiritual realm. They are still there. Verse 7 now of Leviticus 20, verse 7. Moses tells the people, Consecrate yourselves, therefore, be holy.
For I am Yahweh your God, verse 8, and you shall keep my statutes and perform them. I am Yahweh who sanctifies you. Thanks for tuning in to today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. Pastor Rick Gaston is currently going through the book of Leviticus. We're glad you joined us.
We trust that you're gaining some valuable insights into God's Word as we go through this Old Testament book. Cross-reference radio comes to you from Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Virginia. If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast, you can do so by going to your favorite app store and downloading from there. For any additional information about this ministry, we invite you to visit our website, Crossreference Radio.com. Make sure to come back again for the upcoming edition in the book of Leviticus, as Pastor Rick has much more to share.
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