Daily Scripture Reading Leviticus 18:1-25
Twenty-six-year-old Mia scrolled through her phone and saw another match. A message popped up saying, “Hey beautiful, are you free tonight?” She typed back, “Maybe.” Thirty minutes later, she was in an Uber headed to a stranger’s apartment. She reassured herself this was no big deal because everybody does it. She was practicing sexual empowerment.
The next morning she left before breakfast and deleted the guy’s number as she walked out the door. She was determined to have sex with no strings attached.
Modern society insists anyone should be free to have sex with anyone at any time without any commitment required. That is the opposite mentality of what the Bible teaches.
At the beginning of humanity, God established the standard that a man shall leave his father and his mother, cling to his wife, and become one flesh with her (see Genesis 2:24). In other words, sex should only occur between a husband and wife.
There are multiple stories in Genesis that illustrate the existence of sexual standards. Lot did not allow the residents of Sodom to violate his guests (see Genesis 19). Jacob’s sons considered it a transgression when Shechem lay with Dinah, the daughter of Jacob (see Genesis 34). Judah wanted his daughter-in-law to be burned when she became pregnant while a widow (see Genesis 38). Joseph considered it wrong to sleep with his master’s wife (see Genesis 39).
When Yahweh led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, and took them to Mount Sinai to give them His law, He included many limits on sexual activity. First, the Ten Commandments prohibited adultery as well as coveting a neighbor’s wife. Later, after explaining how to build and use the tabernacle, Yahweh gave more specific instructions about sexual activity.
Lev. 18:1 ¶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev. 18:2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘I am Yahweh your God.
Notice the word “your”. There were many gods in Egypt and Canaan. Yahweh was Israel’s God.
Lev. 18:3 You shall not do according to what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do according to what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes.
Don’t miss the required differentiation. Israel was required to live differently than the Egyptians and Canaanites.
Lev. 18:4 You are to do My judgments and keep My statutes, to walk in them; I am Yahweh your God.
Lev. 18:5 So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does them, he shall live by them; I am Yahweh.
Look at the pronoun “My” in verses 4-5. Israel had to live by Yahweh’s rules.
The following verses created boundaries on sexual activity.
Lev. 18:6 ¶ ‘None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness; I am Yahweh.
Lev. 18:7 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you are not to uncover her nakedness.
Lev. 18:8 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.
Lev. 18:9 The nakedness of your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born at home or born outside, their nakedness you shall not uncover.
Lev. 18:10 The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for their nakedness is yours.
Lev. 18:11 The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, born to your father, she is your sister; you shall not uncover her nakedness.
Lev. 18:12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s blood relative.
Lev. 18:13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s blood relative.
Lev. 18:14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother; you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt.
Lev. 18:15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness.
Lev. 18:16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness.
Lev. 18:17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are blood relatives. It is lewdness.
Take note of the word “lewdness”. Improper sexual activity was lewd.
Lev. 18:18 And you shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.
Lev. 18:19 ¶ ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her menstrual impurity.
Lev. 18:20 And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her.
The word “defiled” tells us a man defiled himself when he committed adultery.
Lev. 18:21 And you shall not give any of your seed to pass them over to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am Yahweh.
Lev. 18:22 And you shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.
The word “abomination” indicates Yahweh’s attitude toward homosexuality.
Lev. 18:23 Also you shall not lie with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.
In this verse we see the word “defiled” and the word “perversion”, describing the impropriety of mating with animals.
Lev. 18:24 ¶ ‘So do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled.
We saw earlier there are passages in Genesis that indicate there were sexual standards. However, this verse also indicates sexual perversion was common in Egypt and Canaan. The verse tells us the nations had defiled themselves by doing all the things listed in this passage.
Lev. 18:25 So the land has become defiled, and I have brought its punishment upon it. And the land has vomited out its inhabitants.
Take note of the word “vomited”. This word describes how Yahweh feels about people who put no limits on sexual activity.
Modern society values sexual freedom. Many people don’t want any limits on sexual activity.
However, in the very beginning, Yahweh established the standard that sex should only take place between a husband and wife. Then the Mosaic Law included very specific lists of sexual activity that was prohibited, such as the passage we read today.
Likewise, the New Testament is clear that there is such a thing as sexual immorality that should be avoided. 1 Corinthians 6:18 tells us to flee sexual immorality. That passage goes on to explain that our bodies are a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit; therefore, it should not be defiled by sexual immorality. 1 Thessalonians 4:5 draws a contrast between the sexual ethic of the Gentiles and that which was to be practiced by the Thessalonians. Hebrews 13:4 requires the marriage bed to be undefiled.
Is your sexual ethic different from the sexual ethic of our culture?
Does your church teach and practice a sexual ethic that differentiates it from the world?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”