Leviticus 24 Blasphemy – What Did Ellen White say About It?

“On one occasion the son of an Israelitish woman and of an Egyptian, one of the mixed multitude that had come up with Israel from Egypt, left his own part of the camp, and entering that of the Israelites, claimed the right to pitch his tent there. This the divine law forbade him to do, the descendants of an Egyptian being excluded from the congregation until the third generation. A dispute arose between him and an Israelite, and the matter being referred to the judges was decided against the offender.

Enraged at this decision, he cursed the judge, and in the heat of passion blasphemed the name of God. He was immediately brought before Moses. The command had been given, “He that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death” (Exodus 21:17); but no provision had been made to meet this case. So terrible was the crime that there was felt to be a necessity for special direction from God. The man was placed in ward until the will of the Lord could be ascertained. God Himself pronounced the sentence; by the divine direction the blasphemer was conducted outside the camp and stoned to death. Those who had been witness to the sin placed their hands upon his head, thus solemnly testifying to the truth of the charge against him. Then they threw the first stones, and the people who stood by afterward joined in executing the sentence.” (Patriarchs and Prophets 407-408)

To understand this passage let’s first, consider this from William Miller’s rules:

Rule number 4. To understand doctrine, bring all the Scriptures together on the subject you wish to know; then let every word have its proper influence; and if you can form your theory without a contradiction, you cannot be in error. Proof; Isa. 28:7-29; 35:8. Prov. 19:27. Luke 24:27, 44, 45. Rom. 16:26. Jms. 5:19. 2 Pet. 1:19, 20. [see also John 7:16, 17].
https://characterofgod.org/william-millers-rules/

We should at least attempt to do the same for Ellen White’s writings. Since the question is over an EGW quote, let’s consider the big picture from the perspective of her writings. Does anything in her writings call into question what God is said to have done or told others to have done in the Bible passage she is referring to?

Ellen White on God’s Use of Force or Compulsion

“It is Satan, and men actuated by his spirit, who seek to compel the conscience. Under a pretense of zeal for righteousness, men who are confederated with evil angels sometimes bring suffering upon their fellow men in order to convert them to their ideas of religion; but Christ is ever showing mercy, ever seeking to win by the revealing of His love. He can admit no rival in the soul, nor accept of partial service; but He desires only voluntary service, the willing surrender of the heart under the constraint of love.” (The Acts of the Apostles, p541)

I believe that and the next quote (which even contains the word “principle”) could be called “big-principle statements.” They describe how God consistently operates and therefore can conflict with descriptions of a particular incident. We must attempt to resolve the apparent contradiction and – I would say – the big principle takes precedence over the more-minor, single incident.

“The earth was dark through the misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan’s deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s govern­ment; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority.”(The Desire of Ages, p22)

“It is true that all suffering results from the transgression of God’s law, but this truth had become perverted. Satan, the author of sin and all its results, had led men to look upon disease and death as proceeding from God,-as punishment arbitrarily inflicted on account of sin.” (The Desire of Ages, p471)

“God does not stand toward the sinner as an executioner of the sentence against transgression; but He leaves the rejecters of His mercy to themselves, to reap that which they have sown. Every ray of light rejected, every warning despised or unheeded, every passion indulged, every trans­gression of the law of God, is a seed sown, which yields its unfailing harvest. The Spirit of God, persistently resisted, is at last withdrawn from the sinner, and then there is left no power to control the evil passions of the soul, and no protection from the malice and enmity of Satan. The destruction of Jerusalem is a fearful and solemn warning to all who are trifling with the offers of divine grace and resisting the pleadings of divine mercy. Never was there a more decisive testimony to God’s hatred of sin and to the certain punishment that will fall upon the guilty.” (The Great Controversy, p36)

The spirit of God will only be finally withdrawn when persistently resisted. A few paragraphs earlier she wrote:

“By stubborn rejection of divine love and mercy, the Jews had caused the protection of God to be withdrawn from them, and Satan was permitted to rule them according to his will. The horrible cruelties enacted in the destruction of Jerusalem are a demonstration of Satan’s vindictive power over those who yield to his control.” (The Great Controversy, p35)

God, since He does not force the will, always honors our free-will choices. It was Satan’s will that resulted in the deaths of so many in Jerusalem.

There are more quotes about God and force at: https://characterofgod.org/egw-god-and-force/

Leviticus 24 Blasphemy – The Verses Involved

“And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.” (Exodus 21:17)

“And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; And the Israelitish woman’s son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:) And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death. … And Moses spake to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses.” (Leviticus 24:10-16, 23)

What do the Verses Mean?

Let’s carefully check the meaning of some of the key phrases in those verses.

“surely be put to death” is exactly the same in the Hebrew as in its first use:

“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely (H4191) die (H4191).” (Genesis 2:17)

Compare that to the verse in Exodus:

“And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely (H4191) be put to death (H4191).” (Exodus 21:17)

The “surely die” of Genesis was not a threat from God of what He would do to them but a warning of what would happen to them. The same could be true of later uses of the same original Hebrew wording. (Think of the principle of first mention.)

The “surely die” as a result of unrepented sin is a natural consequence of sin:

“For sin pays its wage–death; but God’s free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 Good News Translation)

It is not a result of a punishment actively imposed by God.

Think of the big picture and verses such as these:

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

“Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23)

It makes no sense whatsoever that God would personally end the life or command someone else to end the life of a person and cut off their opportunity for repentance. Such cannot be or we have a very strong contradiction. We have to look for a way to resolve the gap.

“shall bear his sin” does not refer, obviously, to physically carrying a sin – which is an action – it cannot be.

It has to be referring to bearing the guilt and shame of the sin which is never nice. However, some people are too proud to admit they are wrong or can’t believe that God would forgive them as was the case with Cain.

 Or it could refer to bearing sin as in being subjected to the “punishment” for committing that sin. However, the Bible teaches that God does not actively punish sins. Rather, he allows us to experience the natural consequences of all of our actions – that great principle of you reap what you sow.

“Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:7)

“The guilty” is supplied. He does not clear or cancel the natural consequences of the actions of anyone.

https://characterofgod.org/punishment-in-the-bible/

So, he that cursed God is going to bear the consequence of his words not an imposed punishment.

But What About Those Stones?

It certainly reads in English like the offender is to be stoned. At the YouTube channel https://characterofgod.org/character-of-god-resources/#videos there is a series of short videos about stoning in the Bible

The Stoning series:

Stoning in the Bible: Was It Divine Command or Ancient Practice Adopted from Egypt? https://youtu.be/dbJWPKCu5IM (3:35)

The Truth about Stoning in the Bible https://youtu.be/P9Y-IOVxcms (5:27)

What Christians don’t tell you about stoning affects understanding of Old Testament stoning accounts https://youtu.be/I0P-ztlGK8Y (7:08)

Stoning a Rebellious Son? https://youtu.be/zh0n8Vja2Pw (12:37)

Note that more videos are to be added in that series.

Those videos give the understanding that, in this case, the man who cursed God was brought to the edge of the camp (the equivalent of the gates of the city in those days when they were not in walled cities) and there a vote (after some form of investigation into the matter) was taken using the custom of casting stones (“ragam” as opposed to “caqal”) as ballots. The vote would have cut him off from the congregation of Israel and excluded him from the covenant so that he would thereafter be treated as a heathen (Matthew 18:17) in the hopes of bringing him to repentance.

See https://characterofgod.org/meaning-of-exodus-31-14/ for the meaning of “cut off” in connection with “shall surely be put to death.” This is very important to understand.

This story in Leviticus 24 was really about discipline, not punishment.

Here is an interesting support to the above from the New Testament.

“Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck; Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.” (1 Timothy 1:19)

Paul describes the deliverance unto Satan.

“To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Corinthians 5:5)

To deliver a sinner unto Satan does NOT mean to pronounce him lost! He is surely headed that direction, but there is still opportunity for repentance. Paul said that “the spirit may be saved”! So, Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom Paul “delivered unto Satan” still could have repented. In fact, Paul “delivered them unto Satan” that their “spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” And why did Paul do that? So that “they may learn not to blaspheme.” How can you learn anything if you are stoned to death? And how can a sinner be saved if he is stoned without a chance to repent?

The Bible interprets itself, and shows us that “stoning” someone who committed a “sin unto death” is not a license to kill that person! It is voting a person out of the everlasting covenant and telling him that unless he repents, he will die for ever!

So What About Ellen White  and Patriarch and Prophets  p 407?

It could have been worded more in accord with what the scriptures, properly understood, are saying:

“God Himself pronounced the sentence; by the divine direction the blasphemer was conducted outside the camp [to the gates of the city, the place of judgment] and stoned to death [voted out of the fellowship of the congregation and the covenant which would result in eternal loss if not repented of which is the same situation for any sinner]. Those who witnessed the sin placed their hands upon his head, thus solemnly testifying to the truth of the charge against him. They threw the first stones [voted first], and then the people who stood by joined [by casting their ballots] in executing the sentence [voting the exclusion of the offender].”

We could also mention that Ellen White perhaps did not, early on, understand all the truth of the character of God. We are still learning today.

It is clearly a sin to kill another person – “Thou shalt not kill.” God does not tell people to break His commandments.

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