And the son of an Israelitish woman -- but withal the son of an Egyptian, -- went out among the children of Israel; and this son of the Israelitess and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;
The chapter has just described the lamps burning before the Lord and the twelve loaves set out in the sanctuary. Now the scene moves outside, to a fight in the camp. Why is such an ugly story placed here, and what does one man's outburst have to do with the whole nation?
Commentators read verse 10 first as a deliberate contrast with the verses before it. Inside the sanctuary all is calm. Outside, among the people, a fight breaks out — and one writer sees in it a warning for the future.
How different the scene inside the sanctuary was from what went on in the camp. Inside, all was calm and quiet... God's purpose was seen to be unchanged and unbreakable. In the camp it was the opposite. There was a fight, and one man was found — only one then, though later it will be the many, the mass — who was an Israelite on his mother's side, and who dared to blaspheme the name of the Lord... His name is unknown to us, but his crime has never been forgotten. It is a warning, and a foreshadowing of what will mark most of the Jewish people when antichrist is their king and turning away from God is their crowning sin.
Another writer sets the blasphemy against the light that was to shine in the sanctuary all night long.
God provided for the full light of Christ to shine without a break in the sanctuary through the night, until the morning without clouds, and He tied it to the pledge of blessing for all Israel. Against that stands the public insult to the Lord, told here along with His judgment on it.
The verse takes care to name the man's parentage twice. Commentators treat that detail as the root of what follows. His mother belonged to the people God had rescued. His father belonged to the nation God rescued them from.
Here, sadly, is the sample: this one man of Israel by natural descent, the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father. It was an unholy union, and its fruit insults the holy Name. True, all flesh is like grass; but Israel was to be holy to the Lord. And marriage is surely the most serious step a woman (a picture of a nation) takes in ordinary life. But Shelomith married an Egyptian, a man of that oppressing world out of which the Lord brought Israel with a strong hand.
Writers see the single blasphemer as a picture of the whole nation's later history. What one man did in the camp, Israel would do to Christ.
Here is the solemn fact. The people who should have brought blessing to everyone else have themselves come under the curse. They have been guilty, in the most painful form, of blaspheming "the name." We know how they treated Him who is the Word of God and made the Father known — the One who was and is the Lord Himself. We know well how Israel gave way to the thinking of the world. As it says here, this was the son of an Israelite woman whose father was an Egyptian. Israel fell completely into worldly wisdom about the Messiah, and so was guilty of rejecting God in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, and of blaspheming the name.
One writer applies this to the priests. The men with the highest privilege showed the deepest contempt.
The priests in Israel had a favored place in the temple of God, as verses 1-9 have shown. Yet they showed complete contempt for the Lord of that temple when He came among them. (Luke 22:63-65).
Kelly separates this offence from the one that sent Israel into exile. Idolatry and blasphemy are not the same crime.
This is not the sin of idolatry, for which they were to be swept out of the land into Assyria — and the royal tribe in particular, when it turned away from God, into Babylon. Here it is defiance: cursing the true God, blaspheming the Lord. This came true in the fullest sense when, by then weaned from idols, they despised and blasphemed the Name in the Messiah, who was Himself the Lord their God.
The chapter puts the loaves and the stoning side by side, and one writer refuses to let either cancel the other.
Many passages could be given to prove that although Israel is suffering God's judgment because of sin, "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" — that although the blasphemer is being stoned outside the camp, the twelve loaves stay undisturbed inside the sanctuary.
- Mixture — the verse names his Israelite mother and Egyptian father first. Commentators trace his blasphemy back to that tie with the world God brought Israel out of.
- Public — the insult to God was open, and His judgment on it is recorded here just as openly.
- One — only one man curses the Name here; later it will be the many. Writers read him as a sample of the nation that would reject Christ.
- Defiance — the sin here is not idolatry. It is open contempt for the true God, and Israel would repeat it against the Messiah.
- Undisturbed — the blasphemer is stoned outside; the twelve loaves stay in place inside. Judgment falls, yet God's promise of blessing for Israel stands.
and the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the Name, and cursed; and they brought him to Moses. And his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
The chapter has just shown the lamp burning through the night and the twelve loaves set out before the Lord. Then comes a fight in the camp, a man cursing God's name, and the question of why this ugly scene sits right here.
The chapter sets its two halves side by side on purpose.
The sanctuary had provision for the full light of Christ to shine without interruption, through the night, till the morning without clouds. That light was tied to the pledge of blessing for all Israel. In sharp contrast stands the public insult to Jehovah, which this chapter records along with His judgment on it.
Egypt was the land of slavery the Lord had rescued Israel from. Commentators trace what follows back to the marriage itself.
Here is the sample, sadly, in this one man of Israel after the flesh. His mother was an Israelite woman and his father an Egyptian: an unholy union, and its fruit insults the holy Name. It is true that all flesh is as grass; but Israel was to be holy to the Lord... But Shelomith married an Egyptian. He belonged to that oppressing world out of which Jehovah brought Israel with a strong hand.
The verse names his mother, but not the man himself:
An apostate in heart and in act, he turned his back on Jehovah, and blasphemed Him who was Israel's Creator and God. This man was the fruit of an alliance with the world. He has passed away from earth, and his name is unknown to us. But his crime has never been forgotten — a warning, and surely a foreshadowing, of what will mark the mass of the Jews when antichrist is their king and apostasy their crowning sin.
The Hebrew text says simply that he blasphemed "the Name" — that is, God's own name, Jehovah. The word covers more ground in Scripture than modern usage suggests:
In Scripture this does not always refer to speaking evil of God, though the word is now limited to that. The same Greek word appears as 'railing' in 1 Timothy 6:4 and Jude 9, and as 'evil speaking' in Ephesians 4:31, and it could well read that way elsewhere. Under the Jewish system, blaspheming the name of the Lord carried the death penalty.
One writer sets this sin apart from idol worship:
It is not that sin of idolatry for which they were to be swept off the land into Assyria... Here it is defiance, cursing the true God, or blaspheming Jehovah.
The people did not settle the case themselves. They held the man and waited for God to speak.
They charged him with the guilt of cursing the name of Jehovah. They brought him to Moses and put him in custody, until the Lord should make His mind known to them. They did not wait long. Jehovah revealed it to Moses, and they carried it out to the letter.
The single case then brought a new revelation:
This sin required a new revelation. God knew very well that only one man stood convicted of blaspheming that day, but others would be guilty of it later.
One writer sees the whole nation in this one man.
Here is the solemn fact. The people who ought to have been the means of blessing to all others have themselves passed under the curse. They have been guilty, in the most painful form, of blaspheming "the name." We know how this happened. We know how they treated Him who is the Word of God and declared the Father, who was and is Jehovah Himself.
Judgment is real, but it is not the last word. The chapter's own layout shows why.
Many passages prove the same point. Israel is suffering the divine judgment because of sin, yet "the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable." The blasphemer is stoned outside the camp, but the twelve loaves stay undisturbed inside the sanctuary. The prophets declare, and the apostles echo, that all Israel will be saved — not because they have not sinned, but because those gifts and that calling can never be revoked.
The sentence belongs to a system of law that Christians are not under. That does not shrink the offence.
The law was absolute. Being under law, there was no alternative. Though today, under grace, we carry out no such sentences, we must not think the evil is any less serious than it was then. Of course God hates the evil just as He did then, but He now patiently bears with it until the time of judgment comes.
- Root — The blasphemer came out of an alliance with the world: an Israelite mother, an Egyptian father from the land of Israel's slavery.
- Act — His sin was not idol worship but open defiance, cursing the true God by His own name.
- Restraint — The people did not act on impulse. They held him until God spoke, and God's answer covered every offender after him.
- Reach — Writers see the nation's own story here. Those meant to bless all others blasphemed the Name when God came among them.
- Hope — The blasphemer was stoned outside. The loaves stayed untouched inside. Judgment is real, but God's gifts and calling stand, and all Israel will be saved.
And they confined him, that they might decide at the mouth of Jehovah.
A fight in the camp ends with a man cursing the name of the LORD. Israel has no ruling that covers the case, so they hold him and wait. This verse is about that pause — and about how closely God guards His own Name.
The chapter opens with lamps kept burning and bread kept fresh before God. Then the scene changes.
Leviticus 24 divides into two parts. In the first we have instructions about keeping the lamps in the holy place and the cakes on the golden table, so that everything was in order before God. In the second part we discover bad disorder in the camp, when it came to the actual state of the people. To view things as God's mind would have them is one thing. To view them as the people really were is quite another. And of course the same is true of us today.
The story names his parents: an Israelite mother, an Egyptian father. One writer reads that detail as part of the explanation.
Here, sadly, is the sample in this one man of Israel by natural descent. He was the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father — an unholy union, and its fruit insults the holy Name. No doubt all flesh is like grass; but Israel was to be holy to Jehovah… Shelomith married an Egyptian. He came from that oppressing world, and Jehovah had brought Israel out of it with a high hand.
They neither released him nor killed him. They shut him up and waited.
They put the offending man in custody, so that they could judge the case calmly and with care.
The same thing happened later with a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath. One writer draws a rule from it: what to do when you have no clear word from God on the case in front of you.
Here comes out a very important principle: what to do when we have no clear word from the Lord, so far as we know. There is always one great safeguard — wait. Never be in a hurry to devise a remedy, or to use discipline, without the word of the Lord. What is done cannot be undone. It is better to wait and take the place of not knowing. But let it be a not knowing that is sure the Lord hears us and cares for us. That is exactly what they did, and they were right… Whatever the solemnity of the sentence, the children of Israel had fresh proof that God entered into their difficulties and took the greatest interest in what concerned them. No soul ever waits on the Lord and is disappointed.
The waiting was short, and the verdict left no room to soften it.
They charged him with the guilt of cursing the name of Jehovah. They brought him to Moses and put him in custody until the Lord should make His mind known to them. They did not wait long. Jehovah revealed it to Moses, and Israel carried it out to the letter. For the apostate there was no mercy.
One writer carries the point across to today.
This was solemn, humiliating work, but the law was absolute. Under law there was no alternative. Today, under grace, we do not carry out such sentences. Yet we must not think the evil is any less serious than it was then. God hates it just as He did then, but He now bears with it patiently until the time of judgment comes.
One writer sees the nation's own story in this single man.
This is not the sin of idolatry, the sin for which they were swept out of the land. Here it is defiance — cursing the true God, or blaspheming Jehovah. This became true in the fullest sense later. By then Israel had left idols behind, yet they scorned and blasphemed the Name in the Messiah, who was Himself also Jehovah their God.
Yet judgment on Israel is not the last word.
Israel is suffering God's judgment because of sin. Yet "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." The blasphemer is being stoned outside the camp, but the twelve loaves stay undisturbed inside the sanctuary. The prophets declare and the apostles echo the glorious truth that "all Israel will be saved" — not because they have not sinned, but because God never takes back His gifts and His calling.
- Contrast — Lamps burning and bread in order show God's mind. The fight in the camp shows the people's real state. Scripture puts both on one page.
- Cause — The blasphemer came from a marriage with Egypt, the world Jehovah brought Israel out of "with a high hand."
- Custody — Israel held him instead of judging on the spot, so the case could be weighed calmly.
- Counsel — With no clear word from the Lord, wait. What is done cannot be undone, and no one who waits on the Lord is ever disappointed.
- Constancy — The word came, and for the apostate there was no mercy. Yet the loaves stayed undisturbed inside while the blasphemer was stoned outside. God's promises outlast the nation's guilt.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
A man had cursed the name of the LORD, and Israel held him in custody with no verdict. Verse 13 is where the silence breaks: God Himself gives the answer no one else could give.
Israel's leaders held the offender instead of deciding the case themselves. One writer meets the same pattern in a parallel case, where Israel again held a man until the Lord gave the sentence. He draws out the principle behind the pause:
Here comes out a very important principle — what is to be done where we have not a clear word from the Lord, so far as we know. There is always one great safeguard: wait. Never be in a hurry to devise a remedy, or to exercise discipline, without the word of the Lord. What is done cannot be undone. It is better to wait and take the place of ignorance. But let it be an ignorance that is confident the Lord hears and cares for us... Whatever the solemnity of the sentence, the children of Israel had fresh proof that God entered into their difficulties and took the greatest interest in what concerned them. Never can souls wait upon the Lord and be confounded.
The delay was not indecision but deliberation:
The offending man was put in custody, for there was to be calm deliberation as regards judgment of the case.
Moses had no verdict of his own to give. The Lord supplied one:
He was charged with the guilt of cursing the name of Jehovah. They brought him to Moses and put him in custody, until the Lord should show them His mind. For that they did not wait long. Jehovah revealed it to Moses, and it was accurately carried out. For the apostate there was no mercy.
What God said to Moses here did not stop with one man. The words that begin here run on into a standing law:
But this sin required a new revelation. God knew full well that only one man was convicted of blaspheming that day, but others would later be guilty of it. So the law given here, in verses 15-22, set the punishment for that sin for anyone who offended in the same way.
Scripture takes trouble to tell us the man's parentage — an Israelite mother, an Egyptian father. One writer traces the blasphemy back to that marriage:
Here, sadly, is the sample in this one man of Israel after the flesh. He was the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father — an unholy union, whose fruit insults the holy Name. No doubt all flesh is as grass; but Israel was to be holy to Jehovah... But Shelomith married an Egyptian — one of that oppressing world out of which Jehovah brought Israel with a high hand.
This chapter opened with the lamp and the twelve loaves in the sanctuary. Only then did it turn to the scene in the camp. Both are true at the same moment:
Many more passages could be added to prove the point. Israel is suffering God's judgment because of sin, yet "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (older translations read "without repentance"). Though the blasphemer is being stoned outside the camp, the twelve loaves stay undisturbed within the sanctuary.
The sentence God gave Moses was absolute, and Israel carried it out. God deals with such sin differently today, but He has not changed His view of the evil:
This was solemn, humiliating work, but the law was absolute. Being under law, there was no alternative. Today, under grace, no such sentences are to be carried out. Yet we must not think the evil is any less serious than it was then. Of course, God hates the evil just as He did then, but He now patiently bears with it until the time of judgment will come.
- Wait. Where there is no clear word from God, the safeguard is to wait. Do not invent a remedy — what is done cannot be undone.
- Speak. God answered fast. Those who wait on Him are never left without an answer — they find He enters into their difficulties.
- Root. The man who cursed the Name was the fruit of a union with Egypt — the world Israel had been brought out of.
- Reach. The word given for one man became a standing law, because God knew others would sin in the same way.
- Result. Judgment fell outside the camp. Inside, the twelve loaves stayed untouched. God's sentence on sin never cancels His purpose for His people.
Lead the reviler outside the camp; and all that heard [him] shall lay their hands upon his head, and the whole assembly shall stone him.
A quarrel breaks out in the camp. One man, born to an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father, curses the Name. Israel has no rule to cover it, so they hold him until God speaks. God's answer names three things: where he goes, who touches him, and who throws the stones.
The record names his mother and his father before it says what he did.
Here is the sample, sadly, in this one man of natural Israel. He was the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father — an unholy marriage whose child insults the holy Name. No doubt all flesh is as grass; but Israel was to be holy to the Lord. And surely this is the most weighty step a woman takes in this life. But Shelomith married an Egyptian — one of that oppressing world out of which the Lord had brought Israel by His mighty power.
Israel does nothing in the heat of the moment. The delay, the witnesses, and the whole assembly each have a part — and the case still speaks to readers today.
They put the offending man in custody, for the case had to be judged with calm deliberation. Then the Lord told Moses to take him outside the camp. There the witnesses were to lay their hands on his head, as witnesses to what had been done. Then all the congregation had to stone him to death (v. 14)... Today, under grace, we do not carry out such sentences. But we must not think the evil is any less serious than it was then. Of course, God hates the evil just as He did then, but He now patiently bears with it until the time of judgment will come.
Laying hands on a head appears elsewhere in Israel's worship, and it does not always mean the same thing. Set beside the other cases, the gesture here carries its own force.
When someone brought an animal to the altar, he laid his hand on it. With the burnt offering or peace offering, this was a sign that he was identified with the value of the sacrifice. With the sin offering, it was an acknowledgment that the animal stood in his place, and his guilt passed to it. Then hands were laid on people in recognition of the part or lot appointed to them... Again, when the blasphemer (Lev. 24:14) had to die, the witnesses laid their hands on his head. They had fellowship in the execution of the sentence.
The command sends him beyond the camp. Scripture keeps coming back to that ground, and where it leads settles where Christ's people belong.
Once the blood of the sin offering had been taken into the sanctuary, the rest of it was burned outside the camp. So, to feed on Him whose blood has been sprinkled on the mercy seat, we must go outside the camp, for He suffered outside the gate... Outside the camp the blasphemer was to be stoned. Beyond the walls of Jezreel Naboth was murdered. Outside Jerusalem Stephen was killed. Outside the gate the Lord Jesus suffered. So those who confess Him were urged to go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
Commentators do not stop with the one man. They see the whole nation in what he did.
A fight takes place between two men. One of them — whose mother was an Israelite, but his father Egyptian — blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed (vv. 10-11). Though Israel has not even realized it, this is just what the nation has done when they rejected the Lord Jesus. They blasphemed and insulted the Son of God. The priests in Israel had a favored place in the temple of God, as verses 1-9 have shown. Yet they showed utter contempt for the Lord of that temple when He came among them.
Judgment falls, and God's promise still holds. What happens outside the camp does not touch the loaves inside the sanctuary.
More passages could be added to prove the same thing. Israel is suffering God's judgment because of sin, yet "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." The blasphemer is being stoned outside the camp, but the twelve loaves stay undisturbed within the sanctuary... Let Christians beware how they tamper with "the promises made to the fathers."
- Cause. The blasphemer came from an unholy marriage with Egypt, the world Israel had left. That mixture bore fruit against the Name.
- Care. They held him in custody until God spoke, so the case would be judged calmly.
- Consent. The witnesses laid hands on his head. That was not guilt passing to a substitute, but their share in the sentence they had testified to.
- Camp. He died outside the camp. That is the ground where the sin offering was burned, where Naboth and Stephen died, and where the Lord Jesus suffered. His people are called out to Him there.
- Continuity. One man cursed the Name then; the nation did it in rejecting Christ. Yet the loaves stay undisturbed inside the sanctuary while he is stoned outside. God's gifts and calling are irrevocable.
And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Every one when he revileth his God shall bear his sin.
Israel had just stoned a blasphemer outside the camp. God now turns that one case into a standing law for the whole nation, and the wording raises a question: what does it mean for a person to carry his own guilt?
The chapter opens with the lamp burning in the sanctuary and the twelve loaves set out before God. What comes next stands against that scene.
There is the provision for the full light of Christ to shine without interruption in the sanctuary — until the morning without clouds, during the night, and linked to the pledge of blessing for all Israel. In sharp contrast with that stands the public insult to Jehovah, recounted here along with His judgment on it.
One man had cursed. God did not stop at punishing him. He made a law for the offence itself.
But this sin made a new revelation necessary. God knew perfectly well that only one man was convicted of blaspheming that day, yet others would be guilty of it later. So the law given here, in verses 15-22, set the punishment for that sin for anyone who offended in the same way.
The phrase runs right through the law, and it is not vague. One writer gathers the places where it occurs — this verse among them — to settle its force.
Do you want to see the connection between bearing sin in Isaiah 53:12 and the punishment due to it? Then compare Leviticus 5:1, 17; 17:16; 20:19; 24:15; Numbers 5:31 … In all of them you will see it means coming under all the consequences of the sin committed, and being answerable for it before God.
So the man who curses God holds the full account himself.
The verses after this one move from cursing God to killing a man, and on to lesser injuries.
Verse 17 mentions killing a man, and cursing the Lord is as serious a sin as that, for death was the penalty for both. The chapter mentions lesser evils too, and we get the law, "eye for eye, tooth for tooth," which appears in Exodus and Deuteronomy as well. The Lord referred to it in Matthew 5:38, to set off the grace He was beginning to reveal, which would mean His disciples showing grace to others.
Rules about a neighbour's life and rights appear elsewhere in the law. One writer explains why they come in right here.
Elsewhere these commands stand as the witness of the perfectly righteous rule the law set up among them (Exodus 21). But here they come in connection with turning away from God. If a man would deny God His place, or try to rob Him of His rights that way, he might not be careful of his neighbour's life or his neighbour's rights unless he was commanded to be. That neighbour, like himself, was made in the image of God.
The offender was the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father. One writer traces the blasphemy back to that marriage.
Sadly, here is the sample in this one man of Israel after the flesh. He was the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father — an unholy union, whose offspring insults the holy Name. No doubt all flesh is like grass; but Israel was to be holy to Jehovah. Shelomith married an Egyptian, one of that oppressing world out of which Jehovah brought Israel with a high hand.
Commentators read the incident forward. What one man did in the camp, the nation did later on a larger scale.
Here it is defiance, cursing the true God, or blaspheming Jehovah. This became emphatically true later. By then Israel had been weaned from idols, yet they despised and blasphemed the Name in the Messiah, who was Himself also Jehovah their God. So, as a nation, they are given up to something worse than the Babylonian captivity.
Yet the chapter holds both scenes at once, and that is where hope sits.
Many passages prove the same thing. Israel is suffering divine judgment because of sin, yet still "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." The blasphemer is being stoned outside the camp, but the twelve loaves lie undisturbed inside the sanctuary.
- Contrast — The chapter holds two scenes at once: the light and the loaves inside the sanctuary, and the cursing in the camp.
- Case becomes law — God did not stop with one man. He gave a standing rule, because others would sin the same way.
- Bear — To bear your sin is to come under all its consequences. You answer for it before God. Nobody else carries the account.
- Weight — The chapter sets cursing the Lord beside killing a man. Both carried the death penalty, and the verses after grade lesser wrongs down from there.
- Reach — What one man did in the camp, the nation later did to the Messiah. Yet the loaves lie undisturbed: God's gifts and calling are irrevocable.
And he that blasphemeth the name of Jehovah shall certainly be put to death; all the assembly shall certainly stone him; as well the stranger as he that is home-born, when he blasphemeth the Name, shall be put to death.
The sentence on the blasphemer does not stop with one man; it becomes a standing law that binds foreigner and native alike. Why does God treat contempt for His name as a matter of life and death?
The sin here is not turning to other gods. It is turning on the true God.
It is not that sin of idolatry for which they were to be swept off the land into Assyria... Here it is defiance, cursing the true God, or blaspheming Jehovah. This became especially true later. By that time they had left idols behind, yet they despised and blasphemed the Name in the Messiah, who was Himself Jehovah their God.
Later teachers misused this very verse. They built from it a rule that God's name must never be spoken at all.
"Hallowed be Your name": compare Leviticus 24:16. By misusing that verse, the Jews came to treat Yahweh (Jehovah) as a name no one may speak. They used it in the temple services only, and in the synagogues they used Adonai (Lord) alone... In everyday life they spoke of "the Name."
This began as one man's sin. It did not end there.
But this sin required a new revelation. God knew full well that though only one man was convicted of blasphemy that day, others would be guilty of it later. So God gives the law here, in verses 15-22. It sets out the punishment for anyone who commits the same sin.
This is not mob justice. The man waits in custody. The witnesses who heard him act first. Only then does the nation carry out the sentence.
They put the offending man in custody, for the case had to be judged with calm thought. Then the Lord told Moses to take him outside the camp. There the witnesses were to lay their hands on his head, testifying to what had been done. Then all the congregation had to stone him to death. This was solemn, humbling work, but the law was absolute. Being under law, there was no alternative. Today, under grace, we carry out no such sentences. But we must not think the evil is any less serious than it was then.
The verse names the foreigner alongside the native-born. Privilege and accountability travel together.
Any stranger who lived among the Israelites was subject to the same law as all others (v. 22). This should remind us of something. Any stranger who comes to share the privileges of fellowship in an assembly comes under the same discipline as everyone else.
The curse did not stop with the man who earned it. Writers see the whole nation falling under it.
Israel as a whole have fallen under this dreadful curse... The people who should have brought blessing to everyone else have themselves passed under this curse. They have been guilty, in the most painful form, of "blaspheming the Name." We know how this happened. We know how they treated Him who is the Word of God and made the Father known, who was and is Jehovah Himself. Israel gave way to the thinking of the world — as it says here, the son of an Israelite woman whose father was an Egyptian. They fell completely into merely human wisdom about the Messiah, and so were guilty of rejecting God in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, and of blaspheming the Name.
The charge against Jesus was the very crime this verse punishes. His accusers knew what claim they were answering.
When He said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30), the Jews took up stones to stone Him. Asked why they would stone Him, they answered, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God." They understood very well how high His claims were.
Yet at the trial they hid the law's own penalty from the Roman governor.
The Jews hid from Pilate that the punishment set in Leviticus 24:16 was "stoning." They had already tried it several times.
The chapter places this execution right after the lamp and the twelve loaves in the sanctuary. That order matters.
Many passages prove the same thing. Israel is suffering divine judgment because of sin, and yet "the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable." The blasphemer is stoned outside the camp, but the twelve loaves stay undisturbed inside the sanctuary.
- The Name. The crime is not idolatry but open contempt for the true God — defiance aimed straight at Him.
- The law. One man's sin became a lasting law. God knew others would follow him.
- The reach. Foreigner and native fall under one law. Share the privileges and you share the discipline.
- The irony. The nation trusted with that Name broke it. They used this very penalty against Christ, then hid it from Pilate.
- The promise. Judgment falls outside the camp. Inside the sanctuary the twelve loaves are untouched — God's calling stands.