Leviticus 18:1-5

HOLINESS IN THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP 18:1-30
IMPRESSIVE INTRODUCTION TO THE SUBJECT 18:1-5
TEXT 18:1-5

1

And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

2

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am Jehovah your God.

3

After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do; neither shall ye walk in their statutes.

4

Mine ordinances shall ye do, and my statutes shall ye keep, to walk therein: I am Jehovah your God.

5

Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and mine ordinances; which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am Jehovah.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 18:1-5

387.

Why remind the children of Israel of the existence of God? Or is this the meaning of Leviticus 18:2? Discuss.

388.

The total life style of Egypt and Canaan were to be rejected. Is this the thought of Leviticus 18:3?

389.

If these people learned carefully all the laws and statutes we have discussed thus far in Leviticus (to say nothing of previous books) their whole life would be under the direction of God. Is this what is meant in Leviticus 18:4? What reason is given for such obedience?

390.

Explain the phrase ... if a man do, he shall live in (or by) them Cf. Romans 10:5; Galatians 3:12.

PARAPHRASE 18:1-5

The Lord then told Moses to tell the people of Israel, I am Jehovah your God, so don-'t act like heathenlike the people of Egypt where you lived so long, or the people of Canaan where I am going to take you. You must obey only My laws, and you must carry them out in detail, for I am the Lord your God. If you obey them you shall live. I am the Lord.

COMMENT 18:1-5

Leviticus 18:1-5 Moses doesn-'t need Aaron or his sons to help him in the instructions of this chapter. The lawgiver is to speak directly to the children of Israel or their representatives for what he has to say relates to their moral conduct and personal happiness. It is of real interest to note that the emphatic phrase I am the Lord your God is used three times in this one chapter (Leviticus 18:1; Leviticus 18:4; Leviticus 18:30) and only one other time in the whole book (Leviticus 11:44). This speaks to a very deep need. We can have no communion with God in whose image we are created if we indulge or serve the lusts of the flesh. We cannot and will not know Him personally until we are willing to submit to His way of life. The Egyptians walked in the way of sexual promiscuitythe freedom-bondage which has always been the fruit of such a choice. What a galling yoke of bondage this freedom has always provided! Strange to say man has but one choice: which master will you have? God also offers a bondage-freedom relationship but His yoke is easy and His burden is light, i.e. as compared with that of the Egyptians or Canaanites. The spirit-slave is always happier than the body-slave because we are created in the image of a Spirit not an animal. Our essential nature is spirit, not flesh. Walk in my statutes and you will have life, not deathpeace, not frustration is the message of Leviticus 18:5.

FACT QUESTIONS 18:1-5

395.

Why not include Aaron or his sons in the address by God?

396.

What is the deep significance of the phrase I am the Lord your God?

397.

Man has but one choice. Discuss what it is and the consequences of it.