The Sabbath-Breaker in the Wilderness

While the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. The passage does not tell us why he was doing this. It simply tells what the people found him doing.

Those who found him brought him to Moses, Aaron, and all the congregation. They kept him in custody, because it had not yet been declared what should be done to him.

Then the LORD spoke to Moses and gave the decision. The man was to be put to death, and all the congregation was to stone him outside the camp.

So all the congregation brought the man outside the camp and stoned him to death, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. The story is very brief, but it shows a serious judgement carried out in Israel’s camp.