Leviticus 19:30-37

CONCLUDING INJUCTIONS 19:30-37
TEXT 19:30-37

30

Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am Jehovah.

31

Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor unto the wizards; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am Jehovah your God.

32

Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.

33

And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not do him wrong.

34

The stranger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.

35

Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.

36

Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37

And ye shall observe all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them: I am Jehovah.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 19:30-37

440.

Just how does reverence for the sabbath and the sanctuary relate to the context?

441.

What is a familiar spirit?

442.

What was the work of a wizard?

443.

In what way were people defiled by spirits and wizards?

444.

What is meant by hoary head? What request is here made?

445.

The Israelites would know just how strangers felt and just how to treat them. Why?

446.

How does fair measurement relate to the nature or name of God?

447.

What advantage was there in observing all the statutes and ordinances of God?

PARAPHRASE 19:30-37

Keep My Sabbath laws and reverence My Tabernacle, for I am the Lord. Do not defile yourselves by consulting mediums and wizards, for I am Jehovah your God. You shall give due honor and respect to the elderly, in the fear of God. I am Jehovah. Do not take advantage of foreigners in your land; do not wrong them. They must be treated like any other citizen; love them as yourself, for remember that you too were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Jehovah your God. You must be impartial in judgment. Use accurate measurementslengths, weights, and volumesand give full measure, for I am Jehovah your God who brought you from the land of Egypt. You must heed all of My commandments and ordinances, carefully obeying them, for I am Jehovah.

COMMENT 19:30-37

Leviticus 19:30-37 We have six concluding commands and a summary in these verses. They are: (1) honor the sabbath and the sanctuaryLeviticus 19:30; (2) avoid familiar spirits and wizardsLeviticus 19:31; (3) honor the agedLeviticus 19:32; (4) deal kindly with strangersLeviticus 19:33-34; (5) keep my standards of righteousnessLeviticus 19:35-36 (6) summarythe reason for obedienceLeviticus 19:37.

Leviticus 19:30 The greatest safeguard for an Israelite against idolatry and all attendant sins was a sincere consistent observance of the sabbath days and a regular attendance at the tabernacle along with his various personal sacrifices, not to mention his interest in the national feasts and sacrifices. Considering the number and frequency of these personal and national sacrifices the conscientious Israelite would have but little time for idolatry.

Leviticus 19:31 We are indebted to Adam Clarke for a study on the meaning and application of the terms familiar spirits, wizards, and witches. He says in commenting on Exodus 22:18 :

Leviticus 19:18. Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. If there had been no witches, such a law as this had never been made. The existence of the law, given under the direction of the Spirit of God, proves the existence of the thing. It has been doubted whether mecashshephah, which we translate witch, really means a person who practised divination or sorcery by spiritual or infernal agency. Whether the persons thus denominated only pretended to have an art which had no existence, or whether they really possessed the power commonly attributed to them, are questions which it would be improper to discuss at length in a work of this kind; but that witches, wizards, those who dealt with familiar spirits, etc., are represented in the sacred writings as actually possessing a power to evoke the dead, to perform supernatural operations, and to discover hidden or secret things by spells, charms, incantations, etc., is evident to every unprejudiced reader of the Bible. Of Manasseh it is said: He caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times (veonen, he used divination by clouds) and used enchantments, and used witchcraft (vechishsheph) and dealt with a familiar spirit, performed a variety of operations by means of what was afterwards called the spirit of Python, and with wizards, (yiddeoni, the wise or knowing ones;) and he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord; 2 Chronicles 33:6. It is very likely that the Hebrew cashaph, and the Arabic cashafa, had originally the same meaning, to uncover, to remove a veil, to manifest, reveal, make bare or naked; and mecashefat is used to signify commerce with God, or the invisible world. From the severity of this law against witches, etc., we may see in what light these were viewed by Divine justice. They were seducers of the people from their allegiance to God, on whose judgment alone they should depend; and by impiously prying into futurity, assumed an attribute of God, the foretelling of future events, which implied in itself the grossest blasphemy, and tended to corrupt the minds of the people, by leading them away from God and the revelation he had made of himself. Many of the Israelites had, no doubt, learned these curious arts from their long residence with the Egyptians; and so much were the Israelites attached to them, that we find such arts in repute among them, and various practices of this kind prevailed through the whole of the Jewish history, notwithstanding the offence was capital, and in all cases punished with death.

Leviticus 19:32 The due honor and respect we should give to the elderly are beautifully expressed in these words: When you meet them in public places, or they come to where you are, show them reverence. Both the infirmity and the wisdom of the aged have a claim on us; and besides, age, apart from its qualities, has in it solemnity. By the sight of it, the Lord would solemnize us in the midst of our pursuits. -Lo! the shadow of eternity! for one cometh who is almost already in eternity. His head and beard white as snow, indicate his speedy appearance before the Ancient of Days,-' the hair of whose head is as pure wool.

Every object, too, that is feeble seems to be recommended to our care by God; for these are types of the condition wherein He finds us when His grace comes to save. It is, therefore, exhibiting His grace in a shadow, when the helpless are relieved, the fatherless find mercy (Hosea 14:3), the orphans relieved, and the widow, (Psalms 146:9) and the stranger preserved. (Bonar)

Leviticus 19:33-34 Deal kindly with strangers should strike a responsive chord in the heart of the Israelite since for so long he was a stranger in a strange land. To become a Jew meant much more than just being circumcised. All of the laws and ceremonies must also be understood and observed. When a stranger acts in an awkward or unusual manner, do not laugh at him or criticize him. Put yourself in his sandalsyou were once the stranger in Egypt. Treat him as you wish you were treated.

Leviticus 19:35-36 It is a strange but true fact that men somehow become blind to the application of morality in certain areas. Put some people behind the steering wheel of an automobile and their code of ethics has somehow disappeared. The same is true of weights and measures. If a larger share than we deserve is available we are sorely tempted to take it! This was true in the day of Moses. The Bible frequently brands these dealings as wicked, and an abomination to the Lord, while it designates the right measures as coming from God Himself. Cf. Deuteronomy 25:13; Deuteronomy 25:15; Ezekiel 45:10; Ezekiel 45:12; Hosea 12:8; Amos 8:5, Micah 6:10.

Leviticus 19:37 The reason for obedience is cited in this verse. You must heed all of my commandments and ordinances, carefully obeying them, for I am Jehovah, or as the New English Bible translates it: You shall observe all my rules and laws and carry them out. I am the Lord. The Jerusalem Bible translates it: Keep all my laws and customs, put them into practice. I am Yahweh. Without an acceptance of the majesty and power, to say nothing of the presence and wisdom of God we will have no desire to obey God. With a full awareness His commandments are not grievous.

FACT QUESTIONS 19:30-37

454.

List the six commands in these verses.

455.

What was the greatest safeguard against idolatry?

456.

Define: familiar spirits, wizards, witches.

457.

Aged people have a double claim on us. What is it?

458.

How can we exhibit His grace in a shadow?

459.

The loving care of strangers should have been easy for the Israelites. Why?

460.

When are men blind to the applications of morality? Discuss.

461.

What is the strongest motive for obedience to the laws of God?