Matthew Henry Commentary Deuteronomy 21:18-21

"If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, that will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and, though they chasten him, will not hearken unto them; then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; and they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee; and all Israel shall hear, and fear." — Deuteronomy 21:18-21 (ASV)

Observe how the criminal is described here. He is a stubborn and rebellious son. No child was to be punished for lack of ability, slowness, or dullness, but for willfulness and obstinacy. Nothing draws people into all kinds of wickedness, and hardens them in it more certainly and fatally, than drunkenness.

When people start drinking, they forget the law of honoring parents. His own father and mother must complain of him to the elders of the city. Children who forget their duty have only themselves to thank, and should not blame their parents, if they are regarded with less and less affection.

He must be publicly stoned to death by the men of his city. Disobedience to a parent's authority must be very evil, when such a punishment was ordered; and it is no less provoking to God now, even though it escapes punishment in this world. But when young people early become slaves to sensual appetites, the heart soon grows hard and the conscience callous, and we can expect nothing but rebellion and destruction.