What are the consequences of violating the command in Leviticus 18:20? The Command Restated “You must not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.” (Leviticus 18:20) Immediate Consequences Named in Leviticus 18 • Defilement of the offender: “and defile yourself with her” (v. 20). • Moral and spiritual pollution of the community: “Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices” (v. 24). • Defilement of the land itself, bringing God’s judgment: “the land will vomit out its inhabitants” (vv. 25, 28). • Removal from the covenant people: “anyone who commits any of these abominations must be cut off from among his people” (v. 29). Legal Penalties Under the Mosaic Law • Capital punishment: “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife… both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.” (Leviticus 20:10; see also Deuteronomy 22:22). Spiritual Consequences • Loss of inheritance in God’s kingdom: “Neither the sexually immoral nor adulterers… will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). • God’s direct judgment: “God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.” (Hebrews 13:4). • Progression toward death: “Sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:15). Relational and Personal Fallout • Self-destruction and lasting disgrace: “He who commits adultery… destroys himself. Wounds and disgrace he will find, and his reproach will not be wiped away.” (Proverbs 6:32-33). • Breach of trust, broken marriages, fractured families, and damaged reputations. • Emotional and psychological guilt that can linger for years. National and Generational Impact • When tolerated, sexual sin weakens societal foundations, invites divine discipline, and can lead to collective calamity (Leviticus 18:24-28). • Children and future generations inherit the relational wreckage and moral confusion produced by unfaithfulness (Exodus 34:7 echoes this principle). Hope and Restoration Through Repentance • Confession brings cleansing: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). • Transformation is possible: “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified…” (1 Corinthians 6:11). • Christ’s mercy empowers a new life free from condemnation (John 8:11). |
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