Question: Why are Old Testament penalties for disobedience so harsh?

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Question: Why are Old Testament penalties for disobedience so harsh?

The Law of Moses was a very strict law that was designed to teach the Children of Israel obedience

The Law of Moses was a very strict law that was designed to teach the Children of Israel obedience. It was indeed quite harsh when compared to our modern standards, however for its time (in several aspects at least) it was step forward from the even harsher surrounding Near Eastern cultures.

When Jesus Christ came to earth, He fulfilled the Law of Moses. God reminds us that his ways are not our ways in Isaiah 55꞉8-9:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Capital punishment was required generally for five reasons in Israel:

1. Sexual purity. Sexual acts were given perhaps the strictest boundaries. This applies for adultery, bestiality, homosexuality, incest, and rape
2. The worship of other Gods. God's people had to maintain a theological purity. Worshipping other gods in the scriptures is most often compared to adultery and/or whoredoms. Anything that usurped the authority of Jehovah was strictly prohibited. This applies to divination, and sacrificing to false Gods.
3. Common moral injustices - this applies to theft, murder, kidnapping, and human sacrifice.
4. Maintaining sociological order. This applies to cursing and striking parents.
5. Maintaining ritual purity. God wanted Israel to be a people that was set apart from the rest. They had to show it through moral advances, strict obedience, and setting the world aside. This applies to Sabbath breakers and some of the strict legislation set for the Israelite camp.

The following were defined as crimes worthy of capital punishment under the Mosaic Law:

1. Adultery (Leviticus 20:10-21) - Sexual fidelity was paramount for keeping the family unit intact.
2. Bestiality (Exodus 22:19) - Prohibitions against sexual promiscuity and adventurism enforced the familial ideal
3. Blasphemy (Leviticus 24:10-16,23) - God required the fidelity and faithfulness of the Israelites.
4. Cursing your parents (Exodus 21:17) - This also enforced the familial ideals of Israel
5. Divination (Exodus 22:18) - Witchcraft was equivalent to usurping the power of Yahweh since it convinced people into worshipping other Gods. The worship of other Gods is frequently juxtaposed with themes of whoredom and adultery.
6. False prophecy (Deuteronomy 13:1-11) - There had to be a way to know who was a true prophet of Jehovah.
7. Fornication (Leviticus 21:9) - Sexual fidelity was the primordial factor that enforced Israel's familial ideals.
8. Homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22) - The joining of man and woman ensured the continuation of species and the rising up of a righteous generation of followers to Jehovah.
9. Human sacrifice (Leviticus 20:2) - The practice was deplorable as it wasted God's creation and was a frequent practice of neighboring civilizations.
10. Incest (Leviticus 18:6-17) - Another law creating strict boundaries around sex. The bounds that God placed on sexual practice were for the specific purpose of fulfilling the ideals of the Plan of Salavtion--to bring righteous souls to the earth so that the could participate in the gift of mortality and becoming like God.
11. Kidnapping (Exodus 21:16) - Self-evident. This law applied to everyone whether Israelite, non-Israelite, slave, freeman, etc.
12. Murder (Exodus 21:12-14) - Self-evident. The taking of innocent life was a very serious threat to creational ideals.
13. Rape (Deuteronomy 22:25-27) - Self-evident.
14. Rebelliousness (Deuteronomy 17:12) - Another law regarding familial unity and congruency. Rebelliousness upset the family order. Though the laws governing capital punishment here were casuistic.
15. Sacrificing to false gods (Exodus 22:20) - Consecrating oneself to God was of the utmost importance.
16. Striking your parents (Exodus 21:15) - Another law regarding familial ideals.
17. Violating the Sabbath (Exodus 35:2) - Strict laws ensured that Israel learned obedience and consecrated themselves to God.

Notes