Leviticus 19:1-37
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.
6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.
7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.
8 Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.
11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.
17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.
20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrotheda to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
21 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering.
22 And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.
23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.
24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holyb to praise the LORD withal.
25 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.
26 Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
29 Do not prostitutec thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.
30 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.
31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
32 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.
33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vexd him.
34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.
36 Just balances, just weights,e a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.
MANY LAWS GROUPED TOGETHER (vv. 1-37)
We have seen at the beginning and end of chapter 18 God's announcement, “I am the Lord your God.” In chapter 19 the expression “I am the Lord” occurs 15 times. But here it is difficult to find any division of topics, for laws of every kind are found following one another. It has been suggested that in this case the reason is to stress that the law is one: there is a unity about it that is not to be ignored by those under law. James 2:10 strongly enforces this: “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”
The chapter begins with God's assertion, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (v. 2). Holiness involves, not only acting rightly, but loving what is good and hating what is evil. Thus, Israel was to be totally and feelingly on God's side. True regard for mother and father is linked with the keeping of the sabbath days, which was to express regard for God (v. 3).
Idolatry is therefore firmly forbidden (v. 4). This had been stated in the ten commandments, but is often repeated because God knew Israel's tendency to disobedience. If a peace offering was offered, it was to be eaten the first two days, but after this any part left over was to be burned, not eaten (vv. 6-7). One who ignored this was to be put to death (v. 8).
Self discipline was also to be exercised in harvesting. They must not reap the corners of their fields, nor go back to glean what had been left in the first harvest. This was to be left for the poor or for strangers who had little means of support (vv. 9-10). Such a law tested whether they loved their neighbor and whether their faith was really in God.
Stealing, cheating, lying, swearing falsely in God's name are common evils, but forbidden by law (vv. 11-12), and no less evil under grace, for again there is no faith nor love in any of these. The same is true in whatever kind of oppressive treatment one may practice on his neighbor, including deferring to pay the wages of an employee (v. 13). Consideration of the deaf and the blind is also required by law (v. 14), as is fairness and impartiality in judgment, favoring neither rich or poor (v. 15).
Talebearing or slandering is then mentioned followed by hidden hatred. Law does not only forbid bad actions, but also bad thoughts of the heart (vv. 16-17). If one's brother had done evil, this was no reason to hate him: rather, even the law required that he should rebuke the offender, not in a harsh spirit, not condemning him nor bearing any grudge against him, but instead, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 18).
Mixtures were also forbidden. Jews were not to allow their livestock to breed with other species. Mixed seed was not to be sown. Linen and wool were not to be mixed in any garment. This has typical significance such as is seen in 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?”
While adultery was punishable by death, yet a difference was made in the case of verse 20, and this fornication could be atoned for by a trespass offering (vv. 21-22).
When Israel came into the land of Canaan and planted trees, they were not to eat any of their fruit for the first three years. In the fourth year they were still not to eat the fruit, but sanctify it to the Lord, then in the fifth year they could eat it. These are not laws for Gentiles, nor for the present dispensation of grace, but they teach us that in everything, even in our eating, God should have the first place.
In verse 26 the prohibition against eating anything with blood is linked with that against divination or soothsaying, for the first speaks of God's rights, the second that we are not to allow Satan any rights over us.
Verses 27-28 tell us that our bodies are not our own to do with them as we please, whether in shaving for show or making cuts in the flesh or being tattooed (Compare 1 Corinthians 6:19). All of these are only to satisfy a person's pride.
Parents are warned against the horrible evil of prostituting their daughters (v. 29). This would not only be gross cruelty to the daughters, but would lead to wickedness filling the land. Again also the Lord insists on their keeping His sabbaths and reverencing His sanctuary, for the parent-daughter relationship will be rightly sustained only where there is a proper relationship with the Lord. This sacred relationship also calls for the total refusal of any relationship with mediums and familiar spirits (v. 31), who represent Satan, the arch-enemy of God.
The aged among the people were to be held in honor and respect. In eastern countries today people are more careful about this than in the west. Also, when a stranger came to reside in Israel he was to be treated with respect and courtesy, in fact, Israel was told to “love him as yourself” (v. 34). If this was true in Israel under law, how much more emphatic it should be for Christians who are “under grace.”
It is insisted that no injustice of any kind should be found amongst Israelites, whether in measurements, weights or volume. Their scales were to be honest, their weights and all measurements. These things are always right, whether in Israel or among Gentiles, as everyone's conscience bears witness. The Christian is glad to conform to such instruction, not because it is law, but because he knows and loves the Lord. Thus it is added here, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” We have been brought by grace out of worse bondage than that of Egypt, and have greater reason to respond in love and obedience to the Lord.