Chapter Text
Punishments for Sin
Summary
God commands that all Israelite sacrifices must be brought to the Tabernacle, not slaughtered in the open field, to prevent sacrificing to devils (goat demons). Any who sacrifice elsewhere are cut off. God solemnly and repeatedly prohibits eating blood — for all people, Israelite and stranger alike. The life of the flesh is in the blood, and God has given it upon the altar to make atonement for souls. Blood makes atonement by reason of the life it carries. Hunters must pour out blood and cover it with dust. Anyone who eats an animal found dead or torn must wash and be unclean until evening.
Meaning
The centralization of sacrifice at the Tabernacle prevented syncretism and idolatry. One altar, one priesthood, one place of meeting — God's worship requires unity and order.
Verse 11 is among Scripture's most important statements: 'the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls.' This explains why blood sacrifice is not primitive barbarism but the divinely appointed means of redemption, fulfilled perfectly in Christ's shed blood.
Background
The 'goat demons' (se'irim) suggest Israel had absorbed Egyptian animal worship during captivity. Centralized worship was designed to break this habit.
The blood prohibition is one of few Mosaic laws reaffirmed for Gentile believers in Acts 15, suggesting its significance transcends the ceremonial system and touches permanent moral truth about life's sanctity.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-5Penalties for Molech worship
- vv. 6Prohibition against occult practices
- vv. 7-8The call to holiness and obedience
- vv. 9-21Penalties for sexual and familial sins
- vv. 22-26Holiness and separation from the nations
- vv. 27Final penalty for mediums and wizards
Key Verses
“Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.”— 20:7
This verse stands as the theological heart of the chapter, grounding all the surrounding laws in God's character. It echoes the great holiness mandate of Leviticus 19:2 and reminds Israel that moral purity flows from relationship with a holy God.
“And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.”— 20:26
The chapter's closing theological declaration ties holiness to Israel's election and separation. The phrase 'that ye should be mine' reveals the covenantal purpose behind every statute — God's people are set apart as His own possession.
“And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.”— 20:8
A critical verse for understanding sanctification in the Old Testament — obedience is the human side, but it is ultimately the LORD who sanctifies. This tension between human responsibility and divine agency runs throughout Scripture.
“But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.”— 20:24
This promise ties moral obedience to the land inheritance, a central theme of the Pentateuch. The warning is clear: the same sins that caused the Canaanites to lose the land will cause Israel to lose it as well.
People & Places
People
- Moses — Mediator of the covenant to whom the LORD delivers these statutes for Israel.
Places
- Israel (the land) — The promised land flowing with milk and honey, which God will give Israel to possess in place of the dispossessed nations.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
The warning in verses 22–23 that the land will 'spue you not out' foreshadows Israel's eventual exile for covenant unfaithfulness, fulfilled in the Assyrian captivity (722 BC) and the Babylonian exile (586 BC). The prophets — particularly Ezekiel 22 and Jeremiah 7 — later cite many of these same offenses as grounds for God's judgment upon the nation, demonstrating that Leviticus 20 was not merely legislative but prophetically anticipatory.
Devotional
Holiness is not a suggestion but a calling. God repeats it twice in this chapter: 'Be ye holy, for I am the LORD your God.' The standard is His own character, not cultural consensus or personal comfort.
What strikes the careful reader is the reason behind the call — 'I have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.' Holiness is not cold restriction; it is the shape of belonging. God sets boundaries because He has set His love upon a people.
In daily life, this means our choices reflect whose we are. Every act of integrity, every refusal to compromise, is an act of worship — a quiet declaration that we belong to the Holy One.
Literary Style
Legal code with hortatory (exhortatory) framing. The chapter alternates between casuistic law ('if a man…') stating offenses and penalties, and direct theological address ('sanctify yourselves,' 'be ye holy'). The repetition of 'their blood shall be upon them' functions as a solemn juridical refrain. The chapter forms a literary inclusio, opening and closing with penalties for Molech worship and occult practices.