Laws About Sex, Bride Price, Social and Religious Requirements (Exodus 22:16-20)

16 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins. [The bride-price was an unwavering financial responsibility in ancient Israel. Biblical marriage is a formal covenant with sexual intercourse as its sign. Sexual intercourse makes a couple one flesh or virtually married even if not legally and properly. Therefore, the bride-price is due. This price does not degrade a woman as if she were property, but is part of the formal, social fabric of society that reflected the seriousness of marriage and the vital interactions of two families in negotiating the price. Instead, simply having sexual relations devalued her and showed blatant disregard for her worth and for God’s intentions for sexual relations exclusive to marriage.]

18 “You shall not permit a sorceress [who practices occult magical arts] to live.

19 “Whoever lies with an animal [who practices bestiality] shall be put to death.

20 “Whoever sacrifices to any god [who practices polytheism], other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction.

[These three examples illustrate the substitute of something in the place of the saving practices of God’s covenant—worship of God is substituted for speaking to dead people; sexual relations within a marriage are substituted for sex with a nonhuman animal; sacrifices to God are substituted for sacrifices to many different kinds of gods. These types of sin seriously deter people from accepting salvation in an exclusive relationship with God as his chosen people and must be eradicated. The Old Covenant has been replaced by the New Covenant with its emphasis on letting society determine punishment and not the church, therefore, we in the church no longer put people to death for these offenses.]