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“They found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day…and the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall surely be put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp” (Numbers 15:32,35).
This might seem to have been a rather severe punishment for a man who was caught gathering sticks on the sabbath day. We might think that the Lord could have given him another chance, or at least a lesser punishment. However, the Lord had clearly said that it was a serious thing for someone to sin presumptuously; read Numbers 15:30-31. To sin presumptuously means deliberately to do something wrong, when you know that it is wrong. If a man did something ignorantly, he could offer a sacrifice, but there was no sacrifice for a deliberate sin.
God does not demand that we be stoned to death, if we sin deliberately, for we are not living under the law of Moses anymore. However, God may discipline us in some other way, for it is a serious thing to disobey the Lord. It is really rebellion in our hearts, and God looks upon rebellion as being most serious. Let us all remember this.
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