DBG - February 10 - Leviticus 19-21

This chapter contains various regulations.

vs. 1-2 – This introduces the reason for this chapter.  The nation of Isarel was supposed to represent the holiness of the God they served.  What follows is practical expressions of this holiness in life.

vs. 3 – The Fifth Commandment, see Exodus 20:12

vs. 4 – The Second Commandment, see Exodus 20:4-6

vs. 5-8 – The Peace Offering is discussed in Leviticus 3 and 7:11-21

vs. 9-10 – Here is provision made for the poor of the land.  Some of the harvest is purposefully left that they may glean from it.  This is famously seen in the Book of Ruth.

vs. 11-14 – The Fourth, Eighth, and Ninth Commandments, see Exodus 20:7,15-16

vs. 15-16 – Protections are made for the handicapped and the poor.

vs. 17-18 – Here is the deeper Law that Christ speaks of in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:21-26, 43-48.

vs. 19 – A.C. Gaebelein writes: “In verse 19 the raising of hybrid animals is forbidden. Anything ‘mingled’ God despises. His people are to avoid this, even in the smallest things.”

vs. 20-22 – This is not permission for the abuse of enslaved women.  This is the punishment for the crime.

vs. 23-25 – The direction here is for newly planted fruit trees.  The first three years the buds are to be removed (“circumcised”).  This is a common practice with fruit trees to help them mature and eventually produce more fruit.  The fourth year is counted as the “first fruits” and given to the Lord.  The fifth year the fruit is to be eaten by the people.

vs. 26 – The eating of blood is linked thematically to soothsaying and divination.  This amplifies God’s hatred of both.

vs. 27-29 – These verses, like the one preceding, are directed at pagan customs in Canaan that God did not want His people to adopt.

vs. 30-31 – Separation is both from evil and to God.  Both sides are seen here.  The Jews were to keep the sabbaths and revere the Tabernacle but were supposed to shun divination and pagan rituals.

vs. 32 – God commands us to honor the aged among us.

vs. 33-34 – The Israelites were to have learned by the injustices done to them in Egypt to show kindness on outsiders that dwelt in the land with them. 

vs. 35-37 – The chapter closes with commands to be fair and just in business dealings and to obey all the commands God had given them.

In this chapter we see punishments attached to the restrictions God has been pronouncing.

vs. 1-5 – God condemns child sacrifice in the most severe terms.  If the people did not punish the perpetrators, God says He will step in and see that justice is performed.  A sobering thought.

vs. 6 – Another prohibition against witchcraft.

vs. 9 – Note that this verse is linked in seriousness to child sacrifice and witchcraft.  This is not referring to someone saying something in anger a time or two.  This is the case of someone who does the opposite of 19:3.  They fail to love and honor, instead they hate and despise. 

vs. 10-21 – Various death penalties are pronounced for various sexual sins.  There are various phrases to describe the death penalty: put to death, cut off, and die childless.

vs. 22-26 – Again God emphasizes that His chosen people, the Jews, were to be a holy people reflecting their holy God. 

vs. 27 – The death penalty is pronounced against practitioners of witchcraft.

In this chapter we deal with holiness in the lives of the priesthood.

vs. 1-4 – Priests were not to defile themselves by contacting a dead body except for close relatives.

vs. 5 – These customs are supposed to be part of pagan mourning rituals.

vs. 7,9 – The wives and daughters of the priests were held to high standards.

vs. 10-15 – Additional regulations for the High Priest.  They were to be protected from reproach.

vs. 16-24 – Priests with deformities were barred from service in the Tabernacle/Temple.  In vs. 22 they are permitted to eat of the priests’ portions. 

It is important to remember that we are not under the Law so these regulations are not necessarily for us.  However, like the sacrifices and Temple, there is a deeper meaning behind them.  We are seeing the morality of God on display.  We may learn much about the holiness of God in the Law and discern many practical principles to live by.

Our hymn today, “Take Time To Be Holy”,  was written by William D. Longstaff around 1882.  Longstaff was converted after hearing a sermon on I Peter 1:16, “Be ye holy, for I am holy”, which is quoted from Leviticus. Years later he wrote these words which were put to music by George Stebbens.  While we are not bound to follow the stipulations of the Mosaic Law, we too are called to be holy as our God is holy.

Take time to be holy,
Speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always
And feed on His Word.
Make friends of God's children,
Help those who are weak;
Forgetting in nothing
His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy,
The world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret
With Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus
Like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct
His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy,
Let Him be thy guide,
And run not before Him
Whatever betide;
In joy or in sorrow
Still follow thy Lord,
And looking to Jesus,
Still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy,
Be calm in thy soul;
Each thought and each motive
Beneath His control;
Thus led by His Spirit
To fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted
For service above.