Sexual Sins and False Worship

Moving on in our study of the Book of the Covenant (Ex. 21–23), today’s passage deals with laws related to sex and false worship. Exodus 22:16–17 addresses sex between a man and woman who have not yet been betrothed. In ancient Israel, betrothal was similar to our modern notions of getting engaged to be married, though betrothal was a more formal and legally binding process. A woman betrothed to a man was legally his wife even though the marriage was not consummated until the wedding night. In betrothal, the man would pay a “bride-price” to the woman’s father, but this was not the man’s buying the woman as if she were a piece of property. The bride-price compensated the bride’s family for the loss of her contribution to her home of origin, and it signified the suitor’s firm commitment to marriage. It is also likely that the bride-price was often a piece of property that the bride’s family of origin enjoyed until the death of the bride’s parents, at which point it reverted to her.

If a man engaged in sexual intercourse with an unbetrothed woman, he had to pay the bride-price. The sexual relationship is a privilege reserved for those who are lawfully married, and it is a physical sign of the one-flesh union of husband and wife (see Gen. 2:23–25; 1 Cor. 7:36). Moreover, 1 Corinthians 6:16 indicates that sex unites a man and a woman. Sex, in other words, is profoundly significant, and it is a sin for a couple to act as if they are married by having sex when they are in fact not married. Thus, Exodus 22:16 says that a man who seduces a woman must own up to the responsibilities of a husband. Actual marriage, however, was not required in every case. The bride’s father could refuse, and a good father would in cases where the suitor would clearly not be a good provider and protector, but the suitor still had to take responsibility for his act by paying the bride-price (v. 17).

Exodus 22:19 outlaws bestiality, a practice that was common in ancient Canaanite religion. Yet illicit sex acts between people and animals are, like homosexual acts, outlawed not only because of their connections with idolatry but because they are against nature itself (see Rom. 1:26–27). John Calvin comments, “The people were not only prohibited from adultery, but also from all sins which are repugnant to the modesty of nature itself.”

In Exodus 22:18, 20, the Lord applies the first commandment by prescribing the death penalty for those who engage in false religion. True worship brings life, but false worship leads to the grave.