The Book Of LEVITICUS
Leviticus 27:34 "These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for
the children of Israel in mount Sinai."
Where chapters 18 and 20 deal with holiness in one’s life as it pertains to moral purity, chapter 19 addresses the holiness of God’s people in dealing with one another. The Moody Bible Commentary states it this way: “The people of Israel were to lead righteous lives, not merely observe rituals and sacrifices. One might wrongly assume from the extent of the rituals that sacrifice alone sufficed to relate to a holy God. Leviticus 19 highlights many seemingly isolated laws related to this truth.” All of the ten commandments (Exodus 20) are found in this chapter, albeit restated in a different manner and in a different order, and the whole point of this passage is that Israel as a community and a congregation is to reflect the love, integrity, and holiness of the Lord their God because they are His chosen people.
Verses 1-2: While the holiness of God is the central theme of the Mosaic Law, it is especially emphasized here in the book of Leviticus. The Lord repeats Himself once more in verse 2: “Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.” (Exodus 19:6, Leviticus 11:44, 20:7, 26, Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:15-16) Those whom God has called and redeemed as His chosen people are to strive for holiness in all that they say and do. Every aspect of their daily lives, both the intrapersonal and the interpersonal, are to reflect the character and holiness of the Lord their God. The same holds true for us today. We who are in the body of Christ, who have been saved and redeemed by His shed blood, should also strive for holiness in our walk with God and with our fellow man. Our prayer every morning should be, “Lord, may your light shine through me to everyone that I meet today. When others look at me, they should see only You.” Verse 3: Whereas the Decalogue places the command to honor one’s parents as #5 on the list, it’s put here as #1. (Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16, Matthew 15:4, Ephesians 6:1-2) God designed the family unit (husband, wife and children) to be the bedrock of a healthy, stable society. If God is honored and obeyed within each home, that will naturally affect the larger community of which those families are a part. Children who learn early on the proper fear and respect of their parents will also learn a healthy fear and respect of God. This will also teach them right and proper submission to authority outside the home (i.e. local laws, government, teachers, elders, bosses in the workplace, etc.) The unspoken command in this verse, and which is the logical implication, is that parents are to teach their children how to submit to God first, and then submit to those whom He has placed in authority over them, starting with their parents. If the basic family unit is functioning as designed by God, the rest of the commandments in this chapter will be much easier to follow and obey, hence the reason that God gives this instruction first and foremost. One interesting note about the first half of this verse is that the mother is listed first before the father. In all the other cross references in scripture, including the original commandment in Exodus, the father is mentioned first and then the mother. Solomon, too, in the book of Proverbs, places more emphasis on the virtues of the godly woman and mother than those of the father. This, to me, reflects God’s design that, while the father and husband is the authority of his home, it is the wife and mother who, in a proper partnership with her husband, is the primary teacher and godly nurturer of the children. It is the man’s proper role to go outside the home every day to work in order to provide for his family while his wife remains at home with the children to care for them and teach them. This is the natural, godly order of the home and family. The second part of this verse is a natural extension of the first command. Honoring, respecting and obeying one’s parents flows naturally from first honoring, respecting and obeying God. For the Israelites, strict observance of the sabbath each week is mandatory. (Exodus 16:23, 20:8, 31:13) The reason for these two commandments is restated once more by Yahweh: “I am the Lord your God.” Verse 4: This is a repeat of the first and second commandments. (Exodus 20:3-4, Psalm 96:5, 115:4, 1 Corinthians 10:14, Colossians 3:5-6) God is the only true, living God, and there is none like Him. He is the creator and sustainer of all things, and He alone deserves our worship, praise and obedience. God is a jealous God, and He will not share His glory with another. Verses 5-8: God wants the Israelites to worship Him because they want to, not because of duty or ritual habit. These verses are a reminder of the right and proper heart condition that God seeks in all His children. The peace offering, remember, is so named because of one’s peace and fellowship with God. True, genuine fellowship springs from a heart that desperately, longingly seeks God’s presence. This offering should always be brought to the tabernacle voluntarily (v.5), and it must be consumed on the same day it is offered or the next day (v.6). Anything remaining after that is to be burnt in the fire. If not, whatever is eaten on the third day will be an abomination to God (v.7), and the one that does so will bear his guilt accordingly. (v.8) Such an act will be a profanity of the holy things of the Lord, and that man will be cut off from his people. Verses 9-10: The Lord’s provision for the poor and destitute is displayed in these commands. Those who are harvesting the fields, the orchards, and the vineyards are never to be so thorough that every single stalk, fruit and grape is collected. Some is to be deliberately left for those in poverty and/or an outsider. (Leviticus 23:22, Deuteronomy 24:19, Ruth 2:2-3) Obedience to this law demonstrates kindness, generosity and mercy to those in need which, in turn, reflects the lovingkindness and mercy of God. Verses 11-13: Lying, cheating and stealing are forbidden by God. (Exodus 20:15-16, Jeremiah 9:3, Ephesians 4:25) The Israelites are to deal fairly, justly and honestly with one another. God is a God of truth. He abhors deceit and falsehood. Nor does He look favorably on those who profane His name. (Exodus 20:7, Deuteronomy 5:11, Matthew 5:33, James 5:12) Employers are to pay their workers their just wages at the end of each day, not waiting until the next morning. (v.13) (Deuteronomy 24:15, Malachi 3:5, James 5:4) The word used in this verse is “defraud”, meaning “to press upon, oppress, violate, do violence, or obtain deceitfully”, according to the Brown Driver Briggs Bible dictionary. Bearing false witness against a neighbor or cheating an employee out of his/her rightful wages are no different in the eyes of God than a physical assault. Each Israelite is to love his neighbor as himself. (Matthew 22:39-40) Verse 14: Those with physical handicaps or deformities are to be cared for and aided when necessary, not taken advantage of or abused in any way. (Deuteronomy 27:18) This relates back to the same principle behind the law in verses 9-10. Assisting and providing for those less fortunate reflects God’s lovingkindness and mercy toward us. To do otherwise, especially to someone who is even more disadvantaged because of blindness or hearing loss, is to sin against God Himself. Verses 15-18: Everyone is to be treated equally, regardless of rich or poor. (v.15) (Deuteronomy 16:19) God is no respecter of persons, so neither should we treat someone more or less favorably just because of their social status or what they can do for us in return. That also extends to how we speak about someone when they’re not present, i.e. gossip or slander. (v.16) (Proverbs 11:13, 18:8, 20:19) The phrase “….stand against the blood of thy neighbor…” means to unjustly bring about judgment upon an innocent man or woman for one’s own selfish gain, i.e. falsely accusing someone of a crime they didn’t commit. (Exodus 23:7, Deuteronomy 27:25, 1 Kings 21:7) Even just hating one’s neighbor is against God’s law. (v.17) (1 John 2:9, 11, 3:15) If someone is wronged by an action of his/her neighbor, that person is to address the matter immediately with the one that committed the offense. (Matthew 18:15, Luke 17:3, Ephesians 5:11) We shouldn’t let bad feelings fester or hold grudges with one another. (v.18) Nor are we allowed to seek vengeance. God reserves that right for Himself only. (Deuteronomy 32:35, 1 Samuel 24:12, Romans 12:19, Hebrews 10:30) We are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, meaning that we should treat others with the same respect, courtesy and forbearance with which we would like others to behave towards us. (Matthew 5:43, 19:19, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27, Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8) Verse 19: The precise meaning behind this verse is not clear. God is commanding the Israelites not to interbreed livestock, or sow different crops in the same field, or weave together two different types of cloth such as wool or linen. All my Bible commentaries agree that the most probable reason for these commands is to ensure that the children of Israel understand their status as God’s chosen people. They are called by Him to live separately from all the pagan cultures and peoples of the land around them. God is illustrating this principle using examples from their daily lives that they can relate to. This is the same concept addressed by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:14-17. Verses 20-22: This law addresses the situation where a man and woman have consensual sex, but the woman is a slave and betrothed to someone else. (Exodus 21:7-8)Because she has not been released from her bondage by her master, the death penalty is waived for both of them. She is punished by her master, and the man is to bring a trespass offering of a ram to the priest in order to atone for his sin. Verses 23-25: When the Israelites eventually conquer the promised land, and after they have planted fruit trees, they are not to eat the harvests of those trees at any time in the first three years. The fourth year’s harvest is to be set aside and dedicated to the Lord. Only in the fifth year and onward may the children of Israel eat of the fruit tree’s harvest. This is another command that seems odd at first, if only because God does not explain His reasoning behind it. The most obvious lesson, however, is that God deserves the firstfruits of all our labors. He created this world and all that is in it. He alone causes the rain to fall, the crops to grow, and the womb to be opened or closed. All of life and the seasons that go with it are under His eye and operate according to His sovereign command. Therefore God has every right to the firstfruits of our labor because He comes first in our lives. Everything we do should be for His honor and glory alone. “I am the Lord your God.” (v.25) Verses 26-31: Each of these laws has to do with pagan funeral rites and other practices involving divination or spirit worship. The law from chapter 17 regarding the drinking of blood is repeated here in verse 26. Soothsaying, witchcraft, and the consulting of mediums are also expressly forbidden. (v. 26, 31) (Leviticus 20:6, 27, Deuteronomy 18:11, 1 Samuel 28:3, Isaiah 8:19) Verse 27 most likely refers to a specific manner of cutting one’s hair or trimming one’s beard as part of a ceremonial rite for the dead. Same goes for verse 28. (1 Kings 18:28, Jeremiah 16:6) Some Canaanite funeral customs demanded that priests slash at themselves with knives or carve images into their flesh. Many Christians today will use verse 28, along with 1 Kings 18:28, to claim that God is making a clear command against tattoos, no matter the reason. They claim that it’s a sin for Christians to get tattoos. However, that is not what these verses say. The context of verse 28, as well as the two verses preceding it and the three that come after it, makes it clear that God is forbidding this practice as it relates to the pagan funeral rites. Cutting one’s flesh or tattooing one’s skin “…for the dead…” is what is forbidden. In other words, God is objecting to the purpose behind those actions, not the actions themselves. Tattoos, like so many other things in everyday life, are not inherently good or evil. It’s what we do with them that either magnifies God and points others to Christ, or causes us to shame His name and damages our testimony before the lost. Four months after I was saved, I went to a local tattoo shop and requested a cross on my left bicep with the date of my salvation, 9/20/20, below it. Below the date was the reference of my life’s verse: Psalm 139:16. I wanted to commemorate the date of my spiritual birth in a permanently visible way that others could clearly see. That was three years ago, and I have since gone back to that same shop twice more. Each of my tattoos has a verse reference, and all three have sparked conversations with customers at work or strangers that pass by me while I’m out running at the park or standing in line at the grocery store. (The one on the inside of my left wrist is the fire flower from Super Mario Bros with “Ephesians 6:11” inked below it.) Each time has been a chance to share the gospel and, therefore, I have no issue with permanently marking up my skin with colored ink. If, however, I was to get a tattoo of a curse word, or a pornographic image of the female body, there would most definitely be a problem. The former examples draw attention to God and glorify Him while the latter ones would most definitely damage my testimony and hurt the cause of Christ. Verses 29 and 30 make it clear that the worship of God is to be kept completely separate from all forms of sexuality. (Leviticus 21:9, Deuteronomy 22:21, 23:17-18, Ecclesiastes 5:1) God is holy, and his sanctuary is holy. He will not tolerate it being profaned with sexual immorality, nor will He allow such behavior among His chosen people. As noted in earlier chapters, this is in stark contrast to the wickedness of the heathen nations surrounding Israel in the promised land. The warning in verse 29 is clear: if Israel does not obey this law, they are in danger of defiling the land and incurring God’s wrath. Verse 32: This command carries the same principle as the earlier command to honor one’s parents. We are to respect our elders by listening to their instruction and caring for them in their old age. (Proverbs 23:22, Lamentations 5:12, 1 Timothy 5:1) Only in this verse and verse 14 is the fear of the Lord equated with caring for those who are aged or handicapped in some way. The best way that we demonstrate God’s love toward us is to show that love to others, especially our parents, elders, and all those who are less fortunate than us. Verses 33-34: This command echoes the same principle given in verse 18: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” The Israelites are to treat the foreigners and strangers among them as brothers and sisters by not taking advantage of them or oppressing them in any way. (Exodus 22:21, Deuteronomy 24:17-18) The reason for this is clear: “…for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt…”. (v.34) It’s interesting how God warns His people in the same chapter to be kind and welcoming to strangers, yet also beware of those who might corrupt the Israelite community with pagan idolatry and heathen customs. Yet this is exactly how believers today are to behave towards the lost. We are to be kind, patient, and loving to those who are not saved in order that we might show forth Christ and win them with the gospel. At the same time, though, we must be careful not to allow the ways of the world to corrupt us or damage our testimony. Verses 35-36: In all business dealings amongst themselves as well as with strangers, the Israelites are to be fair, just and honest. (Deuteronomy 25:13, Proverbs 20:10) The Lord again reminds His people of their slavery in Egypt where they were not treated honestly, fairly or justly. That, and the fact that He is the Lord their God, are the primary reasons for them to obey this command. Verse 37: As with previous chapters where He gives the law, God concludes this passage with a summary statement: “Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 18:4-5, Deuteronomy 4:5-6, 5:1, 6:25) Each of these closing statements echoes the pattern of the treaties of the Ancient Near East: the king makes it clear to his subjects what he expects of them and they, in turn, agree to obey his laws and live under his rule. God is reminding the Israelites once more that it was He who freed them from slavery, brought them out of Egypt, and has called them to be His people. As such, these are the laws by which He expects them to live. In doing so, the children Israel demonstrate their love for God. Conversely, disobedience will cause chastening and judgment from God. The same is true for believers today. Jesus told His disciples, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15). We show our love for God by striving for holiness in all areas of our daily lives. We obey His law, not in order that we might attain salvation, but because He saved us from the bondage of sin and death. He has called us to Him to be His children, and we serve Him as Lord, Savior and Master. The Moody Bible Commentary sums up Leviticus 19 as thus: “…God’s people were to demonstrate conformity to His holiness by keeping His commandments (the letter of the law), by relating to others in love (the spirit of the law), by living according to His standards of separation from the world (the requirement of the law), and by demonstrating His kindness and justice to others (the heart-application of the law).”
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