Leviticus 24:10-23
10 Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman's son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. 11 And the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the Lord might be shown to them.
13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 14 “Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15 “Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16 And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.
17 “Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. 18 Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, animal for animal. 19 ‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him— 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. 21 And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. 22 You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the Lord your God.’ ”
23 Then Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. So the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.
10 Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman's son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. 11 And the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the Lord might be shown to them.
13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 14 “Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15 “Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16 And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.
17 “Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. 18 Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, animal for animal. 19 ‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him— 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. 21 And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. 22 You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the Lord your God.’ ”
23 Then Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. So the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.
Cursing God by maligning His name and character shows we think little of Him but hate, which is the opposite of glorifying His name and person. Here we see that God sought to teach this reverent awe by immediate punishment, while often now He waits for the final judgement (Romans 1:28-32) if they do not repent. This boy blasphemed the Lord and was taken outside the camp (away from the holy place of worship) and stoned to death, with the warning to those not of His people that they are also held accountable. Then death is pronounced as a penalty for murder, and restitution for other crimes spelled out as a way to compensate the loss of another by sinful actions. This is the basis of our laws in the past few centuries in the western world as well, with the laws applying equally to all perpetrators. The Israelites carried out the punishment which God passed, but in the end it will be no government which upholds God’s laws in the end, but has committed all judgement to the Son (John 5:22, Jude 1:15). Today’s governments and rulers are not theocratic as Israel was, and only imperfectly enforce justice, but God’s will be both severe and merciful (Romans 11:22). We therefore had best be reconciled to the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ to endure true justice for eternity by His justifying righteousness, or face the full requirements of the Law apart from His grace. Otherwise we refuse to give Him glory as we curse Him and are cursed in our disobedience of unbelief (John 6:29).
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