Deuteronomy 17:5
Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.
The verse commands that a man or woman who breaks God's covenant by worshiping other gods, including the sun, moon, and stars, must after diligent investigation establishing the charge as true on the testimony of two or three witnesses be brought to the city gates and stoned to death, with the priests acting as judges and the witnesses beginning the execution followed by the people to remove evil from Israel. Stoning was not for every wrong but was reserved as a governmental judgment for crimes especially demoralizing in effect, such as idolatry, blasphemy, defiance of God, and Sabbath-breaking, because allowing those who would subvert the nation to live would destroy the whole people. Its inclusion of death by stoning shows the moral law embracing the Sabbath formed part of the civil code of the Hebrew nation, shadowing forth the final retribution of the ungodly, so sameness of penalty proves nothing about the Sabbath being merely ceremonial. Its execution under the old covenant's ministration of condemnation is no longer entrusted to human judges but is held until God's judgment, having been suspended by Christ's decision that only those without sin should cast the first stone, to be resumed when a sinless Being punishes with hailstones of wrath, without setting aside the real penalty of the law. Worship God has not commanded is a wicked thing and an abomination made worse when contrary to an explicit command, which condemns Sunday observance against God's command for the seventh-day Sabbath and calls for executions as examples to turn the young from Sabbath-breaking that leads into idolatry and every iniquity.
Context and Procedure
Deuteronomy 17:5 belongs to Moses' repetition of the law spoken before Israel crossed the Jordan into the promised land. That repetition rehearsed what God had done for His people, the chief laws, Israel's experiences and God's guidance. It was given to impress the sacred import of God's holy law and the necessity of keeping it. It appealed to Israel to serve the Lord, to turn from the sins that wrecked other nations, and to exemplify Him as the ground of their greatness and continuance, developing the precepts with gracious promises and showing the superiority of God's laws amid surrounding conditions.
The wicked thing is breaking God's covenant by worshiping other gods. That worship expressly includes the sun, moon, stars and other heavenly bodies, which Jehovah had forbidden. The guilty man or woman who committed that act was to be brought forth to the gates and stoned with stones till death. The charge had to be diligently inquired into and established as true. Death could be imposed only on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Judgment and execution were done at the city gates. The gate was surmounted by an arch or by beams upholding the massive walls above, sheltered from sun and storm, and habitually used for sessions of the judges. Its publicity tended to prevent abuses of authority. The gateway of a city of refuge was attended night and day by men whose duty was to receive and take charge of fugitives, and the elders' decision there admitted him before a later regular trial when witnesses had been summoned and accusers had time to appear.
Under the theocracy the priests served as judges, while witnesses and the people carried out the penalty. The witnesses were to begin the execution by stoning, followed by the people. By this means evil was to be removed from Israel.
Law and Judgment
Stoning to death was not the penalty for every wrong under the theocracy, but was reserved for crimes especially demoralizing in their effect upon the people, such as worshiping false gods, open and notorious blasphemy, defiance of God, the obdurate stubborn son, and certain forms of fornication. The moral law embracing the Sabbath formed part of the civil code of the Hebrew nation, with death by stoning to be inflicted by the civil magistrate shadowing forth the final retribution of the ungodly. The same death by stoning was attached to murder, smiting parents, blasphemy, Sabbath-breaking, tempting to idolatry, idolatry, disobedience to parents, covetousness and theft, and to most of the moral precepts. Sameness of penalty therefore proves nothing about the Sabbath being ceremonial or merely positive, and Sabbath-breaking stands grouped with offenses punishable by death under the Mosaic law.
The use of this penalty is linked to the Decalogue and shows the Ten Commandments are included within the broader Mosaic law. The stoning was a governmental judgment by God as governor of Israel to protect life and restrain evil-doers, as human governments put to death murderers and those whose crime would subvert the government and destroy many. It remains distinct from the individual duty not to kill. God in His wisdom saw that if idolatry leading the people away were allowed to go on the whole nation would be destroyed by the influence of evil-doers and many would suffer eternal destruction, so it is better that the one who subverts the whole nation should perish than that the nation be destroyed. Under Israel's theocracy the priests served as judges, while the witnesses and the people carried out the penalty, and this death sentence illustrates the old covenant's ministration of condemnation. Under the ministration of the Spirit its execution is no longer entrusted to human judges but is held until God's judgment.
Its stoning penalty was suspended by Christ's decision that only those without sin should cast the first stone, to be resumed when a sinless Being arises to punish men with the hailstones of His wrath desolating the earth. Christ did not set aside the real penalty of the law, the wages of sin, nor weaken the precept that was violated. It is one of Moses' laws commanding to stone that the Jews pressed against Jesus to force Him either to incite murder punishable by the Romans or to reject the word of the Lord through Moses.
Worship and Sabbath Application
The bringing of the guilty man or woman to the gates to be stoned to death for breaking the covenant by worshiping other gods, including the sun and moon and stars and the host of heaven, establishes that worship God has not commanded is a wicked thing and an abomination. Worship offered without divine command already stands condemned by that penalty, and worship offered contrary to an explicit command makes the sin still worse.
That same principle condemns the observance of Sunday as worship contrary to God's command concerning the seventh-day Sabbath.
The command to stone the idolater who leads the people away after other gods was a governmental judgment to protect life and restrain evildoers, as human governments put to death murderers and subverters whose crime would destroy many, for God saw that if such idolatry were allowed to continue the whole nation would be destroyed by evil influence and many would suffer eternal loss, so that it was better for the one who subverts the nation to perish than for the nation to be destroyed. Those executions were set forth as examples to the younger generation, that they might turn away from demoralizing practices. Among those practices is Sabbath-breaking, which leads into idolatry and every iniquity, even to sacrifice to the sun-god and to Moloch.