Holly Bible - KJV with Concise Commentaries by Z Selam - HTML preview
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2. He cursed either God himself (and then his cursing was the same with blaspheming) or the person with whom he strove. Imprecations of mischief are the hellish language of hasty passion, as well as of rooted malice. Or perhaps he cursed the judges that gave sentence against him; he flew in the face of the court, and ridiculed the processes of it; thus he added sin to sin.
12 and they put him in ward, that the mind of the Lord might
be showed them.
The caution with which he was proceeded against for this sin. The witnesses or inferior judges brought him and his case (which was somewhat extraordinary) unto Moses (Le 24:11), according to the order settled (Ex 18:22), and Moses himself would not give judgment hastily, but committed the offender into custody, till he had consulted the oracle in this case. Note, Judges must deliberate; both those that give the verdict and those that give the sentence must consider diligently what they do, and do nothing rashly, for the judgment is God's (De 1:17), and before him there will be a rehearing of the cause. They waited to know what was the mind of the Lord, whether he was to be put to death by the hand of the magistrate or to be left to the judgment of God: or, rather, they wanted to know whether he should be stoned, as those were to be that only cursed their parents (Le 20:9), or whether, the crime being so much greater, some sorer punishment should be inflicted on him. Note, Those that sit in judgment should sincerely desire, and by prayer and the use of all good means should endeavour to know the mind of the Lord, because they judge for him (2Ch 19:6) and to him they are accountable.
13 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that
heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
Sentence passed upon this offender by the righteous Judge of heaven and earth himself: Let all the congregation stone him, Le 24:14. God could have cut him off by an immediate