Leviticus 18-20
Soul, Spiritual,
and Sexual Holiness

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Psalm 18:28-50 Shielded and Saved
the LORD my God lightens my darkness. 29 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall. 30 This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God, but the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?— 32 the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless. 33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights. 34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your gentleness made me great. 36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip. 37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed. 38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet. 39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me. 40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed. 41 They cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them. 42 I beat them fine as dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
43 You delivered me from strife with the people;
you made me the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me. 44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me. 45 Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling out of their fortresses.
46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation— 47 the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me, 48 who rescued me from my enemies;
yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from the man of violence.
49 For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations,
and sing to your name. 50 Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.
Application
We should trust God for both His defensive and offensive help, and praise Him for loyally executing justice for us.
Prayer
Thanks God, that I can trust You to protect me, and teach me what You want me to do, so that Your name might be exalted in my life. Amen.
Proverbs 5:18-20 Antidote to Adultery
and rejoice in the wife of your youth, 19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated always in her love. 20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman
and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
Application
We will reap what we sow. If we want a bed of strawberries, we can't plant radishes, and allow thistles and thorns to grow.
Prayer
Lord, thanks that You are sufficient for all my needs; may I draw upon Your grace to live as You intended, and reap the blessings of obedience. Amen.
Leviticus 18-20 Soul, Spiritual, and Sexual Holiness
These three chapters detail the daily holiness we need to receive the blessings God has planned for His people.
Leviticus 18 From Ritual to Sexual Purity
Unlawful Sexual Relations
1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the LORD your God. 3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. 4 You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD. 6 “None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the LORD. 7 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness. 9 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home. 10 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter or of your daughter's daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. 11 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, brought up in your father's family, since she is your sister. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is your father's relative. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's relative. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife; it is your brother's nakedness. 17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity. 18 And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive. 19 “You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. 20 And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her. 21 You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23 And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion. 24 “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, 25 and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you 27 (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), 28 lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.”Application
Sexual purity or impurity starts in our soul (mind, will, emotions/values) before it manifests itself in our bodies.
1Thess 4:1 Finally then, brothers, we beg and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, that you abound more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God: your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, 4 that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles who don't know God; 6 that no one should take advantage of and wrong a brother or sister in this matter; because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as also we forewarned you and testified. 7 For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification. 8 Therefore he who rejects this doesn't reject man, but God, who has also given his Holy Spirit to you.
Prayer
My Creator and Maker, You are infinitely wise and loving; You know what's best; thank You for creating me with desires and giving me grace to use or not use them as You desire. Amen.
Leviticus 19 Other-centered Holiness
Idolatry Forbidden
1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. 3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. 4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the LORD your God. 5 “When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is tainted; it will not be accepted, 8 and everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned what is holy to the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from his people.Love Your Neighbor
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God. 11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. 13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD. 15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD. 17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.Keep My Decrees
19 “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material. 20 “If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; 21 but he shall bring his compensation to the LORD, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the LORD for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed. 23 “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. 24 And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the LORD your God. 26 “You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. 27 You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD. 29 “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. 30 You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. 31 “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God. 32 “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD. 33 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. 35 “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the LORD.”Application
What would happen if you treated others the way you would want them to treat you?
Prayer
All Sufficient Meeter of All My Needs, thank You that all my needs can be met in my relationship with You, so I'm free to love rather than use others (to meet my needs). Amen.
Leviticus 20 Walk This Way or Get Whooped
Punishments for Disobedience
1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, 5 then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech. 6 “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you. 9 For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.Punishments for Sexual Immorality
10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11 If a man lies with his father's wife, he has uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them. 13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 14 If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you. 15 If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 17 “If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister's nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity. 18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister or of your father's sister, for that is to make naked one's relative; they shall bear their iniquity. 20 If a man lies with his uncle's wife, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness; they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 If a man takes his brother's wife, it is impurity. He has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.Keep All My Decrees
22 “You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them. 24 But I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25 You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. 26 You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. 27 “A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.”Application
Do you use the Scriptures to guide your walk on this planet, or do you just follow the crowd or your desires?
Prayer
Holy God, guide me in the paths that lead to godliness, so that I may be holy as You are Holy. Amen.
Digging Deeper
Deeper Understanding Through Bible Study
(or being a mole about Molech)
I'm including this blurb to give those of you who want a more accurate understanding of the Scriptures a little insight into how to attain that. In most, if not all, cases where the translators had a difficulty interpreting a verse, it doesn't really matter. You would not follow God any differently.
Lev 18:21 Molech was a Canaanite fertility deity. In other passages and archeological evidence, children were sacrificed to him by fire. However, most translations of Lev 18:21 indicating sacrificing children by fire are incorrect. The original text is inspired; translations are not.
First, the passage is clearly in the context of sex (most of the chapter, and the verses above and below). So why the reference to Molech? It seems out of place. Inquiring minds want to know.
Second, we notice that “fire” is not in the original text. Where did that come from? Cross-references. The translators added “fire” to the text to try to reflect their understanding of Molech from other references. Interpreting Scripture with Scripture can lead to error, if you don't first understand the Scriptures in their original context. Only then you can compare your understanding of one verse with other verses. Otherwise you're building a theology on the basis of hundreds of half understood verses, or half-truths. Shaky ground to stand upon.
Third, some versions translate “children” as “seed”. A few clicks on Strong's number in a free software program like the OnlineBible.org, or theWord, or Biblos.com, will tell you that this word is indeed “seed” and only twice translated “child” in the KJV. Hmmm.
Fourth, I wonder if there is a Hebrew word for child or children. Typing “child*” into the search bar of the above mentioned programs (or using a concordance if you're old school) reveals that there is indeed a common Hebrew word, used thousands of times, to refer to children. The word in 18:21 means literally seed, as in that which causes life to start and grow. It's not about children, but about sperm, which in the right or wrong context do yield children.
Fifth, at this point I usually pull up an interlinear in Biblos.com or the OnlineBible (OLB) to see what's going on under the hood. Clicking on the Strong's numbers to bring up the lexical definitions, and seeing which fit the context will yield an insightful interpretation.
The first verb is to not “give, deliver, devote, consecrate, or dedicate” one's seed.
The next verb is to “pass or cross over” but in the Hiphil (a click in the OLB will tell you that this gives a “causative” meaning to “pass or cross over”) means to “cause to pass over, dedicate or devote.” (In the Piel intensive intentional form, it means to impregnate.)
The last verb “profane” is to “defile, pollute, or desecrate,” but it is in the Piel, where it expresses intentional action, yielding the meaning of “violating a covenant or honor.”
Six, using the interlinear text and the context appropriate definition yields:“You shall not give/devote your seed to cause it to pass over to Molech, and thus not violate/pollute the name/honor of God; I am Yahweh.”
You can get a similar but fuzzier view going to BibleGateway.com or anywhere else you can find Young's Literal Translation (YLT) 21`And of thy seed thou dost/shall not give to pass over to the Molech; nor dost thou pollute the name of thy God; I [am] Jehovah.
So how would an Israelite cause their seed to cross over to Molech, and thus violate the covenant and pollute the honor of God? By participating in the orgiastic worship of Molech, the fertility god, impregnating either a temple prostitute, or a pagan worshiper, and thus (in the wrong context) causing the seed of Abraham to become a follower of another god. Now you see why this prohibition is included in a section on sexual purity.
If you actually read this far, you have too much time on your hands, or you have the mental equipment to engage in real Bible Study. See “How to Study the Bible Like Sherlock Holmes”, and love God with all your mind.
God in a nutshell: God is holy (but then by now you totally know that), and requires holiness in His people in order to bless them (some are a little slow about this). He not only requires individual holiness but corporate as well, and charges us with the responsibility of keeping the community sanctified.
Us in a nutshell: By default we get defiled, and then forfeit being blessed (sometimes our lives). We have the responsibility to be holy, governing our desires from the inside (soul=mind, will, emotions/values) out (body). We also need to keep spiritually pure, seeking only the True God in the ways He has revealed.
Where to go for more
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