A Different Standard from the Herd

If you dig into the Law of Moses, you’ll find references to stoning as a primary means of execution for capital sins. There are a dozen instances where it is commanded:

1. Touching Mt. Sinai during the meeting with God (Ex 19:12-13; Heb 12:20-21)
2. Breaking the Sabbath (Num 15:32-36)
3. Child sacrifice to idols (Lev 20:2)
4. Being a medium or wizard (Lev 20:27)
5. Cursing God or blaspheming (Lev 24:10-16, 23)
6. Idolatry (Deut 17:2-5)
7. Someone who entices another to commit idolatry (Deut 13:6-11)
8. Rebellion against parents (Deut 21:18-21)
9. A woman who falsely claimed to be a virgin at marriage (Deut 22:13-21)
10. Sex with a virgin betrothed to another man (Deut 22:23-24)
11. Adultery (Lev 20:10; implied by Jn 8:3-5) (both man and woman to be stoned)
12. An ox that gored someone to death was also to be stoned (Ex 21:28,32)

The actual method was not so much throwing the rocks as dropping them on someone who was in a low place. It could be a natural pit or one dug for the purpose, but the idea was to bury the person under the stones dropped on them. It was presumed each member of the community involved would drop at least one stone, and the size of the resulting heap indicated something of the seriousness of their crime.

So the emphasis was on the community recognizing how the particular sin threatened their shalom. Typically the person making the accusation — the witness, the person with the evidence — was the first to drop their stone on the perpetrator. This presumes that, if their conscience afflicted them in any way, they couldn’t do it, and no one else would, either. This called for a sense of conviction about holiness and moral threats.

It was always possible to whip up a crowd and end up with a lynching. This is part of why there were rules about evidence. It’s not so much that two people must directly witness the crime, but that there had to be pretty strong evidence. For all its flaws, this was a pretty good system in the context of the people, culture and historical setting. Refusing to act would allow moral rot to take hold, but overly hasty actions would do the same.

At the same time, it rested on a presumption of heart-led living. Without that, any system breaks down quickly.

Given that our Western world militates against the heart-led way, we should hardly be surprised at the strong showing of rule by hysteria. This is how SJWs get their way. This is how a nation is herded into supporting blatant evil. All of the focus goes to imaginary threats, while the most egregious depravity is covered up.

I don’t promote the stringency of Mosaic Law in our social context. In Christ we learn that much of it was more important for its symbolism. At the same time, our Western heritage makes this life way too precious, putting things way out of balance. The balancing act takes place in your heart, not in your head. God doesn’t speak to fallen human intelligence, but to human commitment and faith.

Don’t believe the lynching mobs trying to silence people unfairly. Cling to a different standard, the Word of God.