Daily Scripture Reading Leviticus 18:26 - 19:19
Alex stared at the open Bible on his desk. He felt like he was drowning. After growing up in a world that promoted following your heart and pursuing pleasure, he had come to the belief that the hookup culture was empty. He had decided to read the Bible and live according to God’s rules; however, there were too many rules. He couldn’t possibly remember all of them.
The Bible is a big book. There are many commands we need to follow. Fortunately, all of God’s commands can be summed up in a couple of major concepts. We will see one of those concepts in today’s passage.
The 18th chapter of Leviticus is a list of prohibited sexual activity. It mostly prohibited sex between relatives, but it also forbade adultery and homosexuality. Yahweh warned Israel that the Egyptians and Canaanites had defiled themselves by doing the things He was telling Israel not to do.
Lev. 18:26 But as for you, you shall keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native nor the sojourner who sojourns among you
Lev. 18:27 (for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled);
Take note of the word “abomination”. Sexual activity outside the marital bonds of a husband and wife was an abomination.
Lev. 18:28 so that the land will not vomit you out, should you defile it, as it has vomited out the nation which has been before you.
The land had vomited out the Egyptians and Canaanites due to their sexual perversion, and Israel was instructed to behave lest they also be vomited out.
Lev. 18:29 For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people.
Lev. 18:30 Thus you are to keep My charge, that you do not do any of the abominable statutes which have been done before you, so as not to defile yourselves with them; I am Yahweh your God.’”
Lev. 19:1 ¶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying:
The first verse of chapter 19 indicates Yahweh was done with His instructions regarding sexual ethics and was moving to a new topic.
Lev. 19:2 ¶ “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.
Lev. 19:3 Every one of you shall fear his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am Yahweh your God.
Lev. 19:4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am Yahweh your God.
Lev. 19:5 ¶ ‘Now when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.
Lev. 19:6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it and the next day; but what remains until the third day shall be burned with fire.
Lev. 19:7 So if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an offense; it will not be accepted.
Ponder the reality behind this regulation. It was okay to eat the peace offering on day one or day two, but not day three. It is probable that this was a good rule in order to avoid eating spoiled food. However, it is also true that eating the sacrifice on the third day was wrong simply because God said it was wrong. There is no inherent law of nature which states that eating meat on day one or two is fine, while eating it on day three is not okay. While it was logical to eat a sacrifice sooner rather than later, this is an example of one of the rules that the Israelites simply had to remember.
Lev. 19:8 And everyone who eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned the holy thing of Yahweh; and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Lev. 19:9 ¶ ‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
Lev. 19:10 Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the afflicted and for the sojourner. I am Yahweh your God.
Note the words “afflicted” and “sojourner”. The rule against reaping to the edge and gleaning was designed to provide for the poor and needy.
Lev. 19:11 ¶ ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.
These three rules protected humans, not God.
Lev. 19:12 And you shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am Yahweh.
Lev. 19:13 ¶ ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor nor rob him. The wages of a hired man shall not remain with you overnight until morning.
These rules also protected humans, not God. The regulation about wages protected those who did not have power.
Lev. 19:14 You shall not curse a deaf man nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God; I am Yahweh.
The Israelites were prohibited from taking advantage of disabled people.
Lev. 19:15 ¶ ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.
Note the requirement to judge rightly protected both the poor and great. Some judges are tempted to favor the poor since they have a rough life. Others are tempted to favor the rich and the great in order to earn favor. However, both were prohibited. No matter the status of any party in a judicial dispute, the judge was to do what was right. They were not allowed to use a dispute to exact revenge or make life fair.
Lev. 19:16 You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand against the life of your neighbor; I am Yahweh.
Lev. 19:17 ¶ ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, and so not bear sin because of him.
Take note of the words “in your heart”. We often think of the Old Testament as focusing on external acts while the New Testament focuses on the heart. However, in this case we see the Israelites were prohibited from hate.
Lev. 19:18 You shall not take vengeance, and you shall not keep your anger against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh.
Don’t miss the phrase “love your neighbor as yourself”. When Jesus was on earth, He included this phrase in His summary of the whole law (see Matthew 22:40).
It is easy to be overwhelmed by the long list of things in the Bible we are commanded to do and not to do. It is difficult to remember every rule and regulation. This passage is an example of the long list of rules the Israelites were required to remember.
However, if the Israelites simply considered what was good and fair for other people, they would end up obeying most of the commands in this passage. This is true for us today. If we live life considering the perspective and interests of other people, and if we treat other people well, we will end up obeying a large chunk of God’s commands.
Lev. 19:19 ¶ ‘You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together.
While many of God’s commands will be followed simply by considering what is good for other people, verse 19 is an example of rules that simply need to be remembered. There is no inherent law of nature that would lead people to think that there is anything wrong with mixing two kinds of material.
It is easy to be overwhelmed by the long list of things in the Bible we are commanded to do and not to do. It is difficult to remember every rule and regulation. However, if we love our neighbors as ourselves, as the Israelites were commanded to do and as Jesus commanded us to do, then we will be well on our way to living life the way God wants us to live.
Do you love your neighbor as yourself?
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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.”