Sexual immorality was punished by death in Leviticus 18–20 because it violated God’s design for holiness, defiled the covenant community, and undermined the moral foundation of the nation. These sins were not private matters but acts that brought corruption and judgment upon all of Israel.
Leviticus 20:10 says:
“The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.”
Sexual sin, especially in the context of adultery, incest, homosexuality, and bestiality (as outlined in Leviticus 18), was considered an abomination that polluted both individuals and the land. God’s judgment upon the canaanites/”>Canaanites was due in part to these very practices, and Israel was warned not to imitate them.
Leviticus 18:24–25 says:
“Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants.”
Capital punishment for these sins emphasized the seriousness of God’s moral law and His requirement that His people be set apart. These commands preserved purity, protected families, and upheld the sanctity of marriage.
While the death penalty for these crimes was specific to the theocratic structure of Israel under the Old Covenant, the New Testament reaffirms that sexual immorality is incompatible with holiness (1 Corinthians 6:9–10). The standard remains, though the penalties differ under grace.
This also gives a picture of the spiritual death people are in if they engage in these acts unrepentant. Just as these outward practices were tied to idolatry and death, so unrepentant participation in them reflects the inward separation from God.
