What was the penalty for picking up sticks on the Sabbath under the law of Moses?
Under the law of Moses, picking up sticks on the Sabbath carried the death penalty. The law was severe and demanding, with no exceptions or appeals; the offender was executed. This illustrates the strictness of the Mosaic law during Israel’s roughly 1,500 years under it.
Les explains that the law was severe, demanding, and extreme, with no hanky-panky. He uses the example that if someone under the true law of Moses picked up sticks on the Sabbath day, the result was death—no ifs, ands, buts; they were out of there. The same severity applied to other great sins, such as murder; there were no umpteen years of appeals—they were dead and done with. This illustrates why the law demanded strict obedience.