Law of Blasphemy

    What is blasphemy?  I was raised thinking it was anything you said that contradicted God's existence.   Blasphemy comes from the Greek word that means "to speak harm".  It has more to do with a person's attitude than what actually comes out of their mouths, but words usually reflect the attitude.  It is the ultimate disrespect against God's character.

    For the priesthood, it went beyond the attitude to how they treated God's house.  They were never to allow the lamps to go out.  God wanted His home to be the light for everyone at all times.  They also made sacred bread and laid it out for God on the Sabbath.  It would have pure frankincense near.  

    The punishment for blasphemy was to be stoned.  It was not just a death sentence.  It was a brutally painful and slow death where every person in the community contributed at least one stone.  If people acknowledged the law of blasphemy today, then I wonder what the consequences would be.  Would we all partake in the punishment or would we be happy to throw that burden upon bureaucrats and the judicial system.  

    Murder is an example of a blasphemous act.  The consequences of murdering a person is death for the murderer.  It was swift and not lingering for years at a time.  God was trying to teach that whatever you do to harm other people, would be done to you, no more and no less.  This is where you find the true definition for an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth.  

    But it goes deeper.  God created us.  To take a person's life is to spit in God's face.  You are destroying His creation.  We have to honor each other to be able to honor God.  If we break that, then there needs to be real consequences.

Leviticus 24