The Daily Nosh – Deuteronomy 13:10-12
You are to stone him with stones to death because he tried to entice you away from Adonai your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and never again will they do such an evil thing as this in your midst. (TLV) Deuteronomy 13:10-12
Nosh: The context for these verses is the handling of those among the Israelites who try to turn other Israelites away from the God of Israel to follow other and false gods. What I take from this passage that I can apply to my life is that the rapid enforcement of penalties for wrongful conduct will deter others from following the same path. When onlookers see the tragic consequences (in this case stoning to death), they will associate it with the sin or wrongdoing and be deterred from doing it themselves. Conversely, delayed discipline actually promotes the spread of bad conduct and encourages rebellion.