I have been reading the book of Leviticus and I can easily say that it is one of the most dense, complex and detailed books of the Bible that perfectly depicts the Holiness of GOD and the sinfulness of mankind. It also demonstrates the love GOD has poured upon us through JESUS sacrifice on the cross and I’ll encourage you to read it in its entirety. I was very intrigued by chapter 19 and decided to share what I deem are very good expository commentaries I read on it; it is a practical chapter that is very relevant to our day and age.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
God spoke to the people through Moses ( he played the role of a mediator between God and Man). The message Moses received in this chapter was a call to holiness. The people of Israel were called to be holy, the apostle Peter referenced this very scripture in 1 Peter 1:16 which shows you and I that this passage is still very relevant to us this day. When Peter mentioned it, he was referring to our conduct,
conduct yourselves in [reverent] fear [of Him] and with profound respect for Him throughout the time of your stay on earth
First, God is calling the children of Israel to be Holy because HE himself is Holy. Throughout the entire book of Leviticus, the phrase ” I’m the LORD Your GOD” appears several times, why? The LORD is reminding His people that they are HIS, made in His Image, to reflect Him, to be an extension of HIM to a watching world. The Holiness of GOD first and foremost has to do with his transcendent nature, HE isn’t like man, He isn’t created. He has a righteousness unlike any other; a justice unlike any other; a purity unlike any other — and love, grace, and mercy unlike any other. In the context of this passage, Israel was to be different, separate from the nations and the peoples around them. They were to be representative or ambassadors of the character of GOD to those around them.
Matthew Poole understood this as God’s declaration, I the LORD your God am holy, “both in my essence, and in all my laws, which are holy and just and good, and in all my actions; whereas the gods of the heathens are unholy both in their laws and institutions, whereby they allow and require filthy and abominable actions; and in their practices, some of them having given wicked examples to their worshippers.”
And going back to what Peter said, the mandate of GOD to be Holy hasn’t changed today, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be Holy and it shows itself in our conduct. The rest of the passage is dedicated to show us what the Holiness looks like practically.
3 Each of you shall [a]respect his mother and his father, and you shall keep My Sabbaths; I am the Lord your God.
a. A Call to respect parents:
It is interesting that the call to Holiness begins with a mandate to children to revere their parents. Reverence has to do with having a deep respect for that which has authority over us, and in this context the children of Israel were called to revere their parents. This verse echoes Exodus 20:12 , honor for parents is an essential building block for the stability and health of all society. If the younger generations are constantly at war with older generations, the foundations of society will be destroyed. Today in America, children have become so dishonoring to their parents and view them as antiquated, old fashioned, irrelevant and the results are catastrophic and I don’t need to list them, you know what they are. Not only that but children who grow up in a broken family system are also prone to display unbridled behavior which in turn can be cancerous to the society at large. Parents are God’s representative to the children, so rejecting their authority is essentially rejecting God’s authority so whoever does not respect his/her godly parents is rejecting God which can lead to deadly consequences, and this purely Scriptural.
b. A Call to keep the Sabbaths:
I’ll reference David Guzik’s whole explanation of this verse,
ii. The command in Exodus 2:8-11 is specifically to remember the Sabbath. Here, the command is to keep My Sabbaths — to hold them as God commanded, as a day of rest.
iii. Like everything in the Bible, we understand this from the perspective of the whole Bible, not this single passage. With this understanding, we see that there is a real sense in which Jesus fulfilled the purpose and plan of the Sabbath for us and in us (Hebrews 4:9-11) — He is our rest, when we remember His finished work we keep God’s Sabbaths, we remember the rest.
iv. Therefore, the whole of Scripture makes it clear that under the New Covenant, no one is under obligation to observe a Sabbath day (Colossians 2:16-17 and Galatians 4:9-11). Galatians 4:10 tells us that Christians are not bound to observe days and months and seasons and years. The rest we enter into as Christians is something to experience every day, not just one day a week – the rest of knowing we don’t have to work to save ourselves, but our salvation is accomplished in Jesus (Hebrews 4:9-10).
v. Yet we dare not ignore the importance of a day of rest — God has built us so that we need one. Six days of work and one day of rest is good for us spiritually, mentally, and physically.
4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods (images cast in metal); I am the Lord your God.
This verse is reiterating what was already mandated in Exodus 20:4, idols in this context came in the image of molten gods for the most part, they usurp the LORD of His glory and we know that GOD is a jealous GOD ( positively) and will not share His glory with anyone. Idols worship was prohibited then and is still prohibited today. Idols come in different shapes and forms, and are by definition anything that replaces the place of GOD within our hearts, anything that we deem is as valuable as GOD or even higher. To determine what your idols are, take a closer look at what consumes your attention and demands your devotion, you’ll quickly find those idols. I do want to add other commentaries on this verse,
a. Do not turn to idols: This line essentially repeats the idea of the second commandment, found in Exodus 20:4-6. The word for idols literally means nothings. Idols represent gods that are not real and are really nothings.
i. “This word comes from a root meaning worthless, inadequate, or nothingness. It is frequently used in the Old Testament to refer to the gods of other groups of people. The Israelites did not consider them of any value.” (Peter-Contesse)
b. Nor make for yourselves molded gods: Israel had significant trouble with the worship of idols until the Babylonian captivity (some 800 years from the time of Leviticus). The attraction was not so much to the molded gods themselves, as to what they represented — financial success, pleasure, and self-worship.
i. After the Babylonian captivity, Israel was cured of her gross idolatry of molded gods and began a more dangerous form of idolatry — idolatry of the nation itself, idolatry of the temple and its ceremonies, and an idolatry of tradition.
5 ‘Now 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 and on the day following; and if anything remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. 7 But if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is repulsive; it will not be accepted [by God as an offering]. 8 Everyone who eats it will bear [the responsibility for] his wickedness, for he has profaned a holy thing of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].
In the earlier chapters of Leviticus, the peace offering was mentioned and it was certainly to come after the sin offering. It was also to be done as a free will offering and what it represented was that after the sin offering was offered, folks now could enjoy fellowship with GOD and in the ancient days, sharing a meal with someone was symbolic of being true friends and being at peace with them hence the peace offering. God did not want this peace offering to be profaned, desecrated and more importantly stale, this is why it couldn’t be eaten after two days. The peace offering was to mark an exciting, joyful time in the presence of GOD and the people; letting the offering sit for more than two days was synonymous of a stale worship and God did not want that. The peace offering was sacred. Jesus is our peace offering today, HE is the reason why we can have communion with GOD, He is the reason why we can sit at the table with GOD and enjoy His fellowship and to treat Him with contempt is despising what HE has done for us. This is why the peace offering was not to be eaten after two days ( like a leftover meal).
9 ‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings (grain left after reaping) of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather its fallen grapes; you shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.
In the verses above, we are made aware of the Lord’s heart for the marginalized, in this case the poor and the stranger ( foreigner , a person who is not a Jew by birth). God absolutely cares for them and HE made provisions for them. God understands that they have physical needs that need to be met ( hunger) and HE provided for them through the kindness of His people ( the Jewish nation). You’ll notice that at the end of the mandate, GOD says I am the LORD Your GOD. And this is a very important statement, He is basically telling them that HE has authority over them and consequently what HE said to them was not a suggestion but a command that had to be carried out or obeyed. Because the command was a reflection of GOD’s heart for the poor and the foreigner. So if his people who are called by his name are truly HIS, then they would do what HE said, to echo JESUS words, if you love me , you’ll obey my commands.
Let me also add other commentaries from David Guzik’s study on the passage,
a. You shall not wholly reap the corners of your field: This was one of the public assistance programs in Israel. Farmers were not to completely harvest their fields, so the poor and needy could come and glean the remains for themselves. Grain was left at the corners of the field, and grapes were left on the vine. This shows God cares for the poor and wants them to have opportunities.
i. This is exactly what Ruth was doing when Boaz noticed her (Ruth 2:2-3).
ii. This was not the only care given to the poor in Israel. Deuteronomy 14:28-29 and 26:12-15 also command that every three years there be a special tithe collected for the relief of the poor.
b. You shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: This was a wonderful way to help the poor and the foreigner. It commanded the farmers to have a generous heart, and the poor to be active and to work for their food. It made a way for the poor to provide for their own needs with both work and dignity.
i. “By gleaning the corners and the leftovers of the field, the poor were spared the embarrassment of asking for charity.” (Rooker)
ii. “This is holiness according to the Divine standard, which ever has this element of compassion.” (Morgan)
11 ‘You shall not steal, nor deal deceptively, nor lie to one another.12 You shall not swear [an oath] falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.
13 ‘You shall not oppress or exploit your neighbor, nor rob him. You shall not withhold the wages of a hired man overnight until morning
This is primarily about honest dealing between the people of GOD. Remember, they were called to be Holy, separate from their surrounding nations in terms of their conducts ( the way they carried themselves). The surrounding nations were probably corrupt in the way they dealt with one another, and in our day and age, to take advantage of another is actually praised in some circles, but Israel was not to be like other nations. They were not take advantage of each other.
To profane someone or something is to desecrate it, to treat something sacred with irreverence. To swear falsely by God’s name is synonymous with desecrating Him, causing people to look at God’s character with contempt. Paul said the following in Romans 2:24,
For, “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written [in Scripture].
This verse echoes what it means to profane the name of GOD; the people of Israel were not to swear falsely by God’s name, in other words they were not to use His name in such a way that it maligned His character because they were called by His name. And the same goes for us today who call ourselves Christians. Let me be clear about one thing though, God’s character cannot be tarnished in reality no matter what we do, what I mean by that is GOD is immutable, that’s one of His attributes and no actions that we pose that are contrary to His character will truly desecrate His character in essence , the only thing that can happen is us misrepresenting who HE is. And when one misrepresents GOD, that individual is giving a bad reputation to God’s name and God will not tolerate that. Listen to the warning given in Exodus 20:7, it captures the essence of verse 12,
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the Lord will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who [a]takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power].
14 You shall not curse a deaf man nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God [with profound reverence]; I am the Lord.
God cares for those who have a physical handicap, in this care the deaf man and the blind. Because of their physical handicap, they are limited in the scope of things they can accomplish and God calls His people to not take advantage of their handicap to do harm to them. A stern warning is giving in Deuteronomy 27 in the series of curses that were given to the people of Israel for failure to obey the commands of God, and one them is in regard to those with a physical handicap,
18 ‘Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
I do believe this verse also has spiritual implication, there are those that are referred to as being spiritually blind to the truth, that is those who have not been made aware of their standing before GOD, desperate sinners in need of Salvation from God’s wrath. And when anyone put a stumbling block before them, that is distorts the Truth of GOD as to lead them into error, that person will be subjected to God’s judgement as give in verse 18 of Deuteronomy 27. And to curse a deaf man or put a stumbling block before the blind is actually showing that whoever is doing that does not fear God. I also want to add the commentaries given in David Guzik’s study of this passage,
a. You shall not curse the deaf: God commanded Israel to not mistreat those with physical disabilities. Cursing the deaf is cruel because they can’t hear your curse, though others can. To put a stumbling block before the blind is just mean.
i. “He who is capable of doing this, must have a heart cased with cruelty.” (Clarke)
ii. “Even if the deaf person were unable to hear the curse, people thought that a curse had its own power to cause harm. And the deaf man would be unable to do anything to counteract it.” (Peter-Contesse)
iii. This law sought to command and build basic kindness among the people of Israel. An accurate and revealing measure of our humanity is how we treat the weak and unfortunate.
iv. This law also sought to correct bad theology. It was common then (and still exists today) for people to think that if someone had a physical disability (such as being deaf or blind), then that person was specially cursed by God. They thought it had to do with some special or specific sin from that person or their ancestors. They thought if God had so cursed them, then they could also curse them. With this command, God corrected that bad thinking.
b. Nor put a stumbling block before the blind: It would take a cruel, hard-hearted person to deliberately put a stumbling block before the blind — to deliberately trip a blind person. That this command was necessary shows us the kind of rough people the Israelites were after 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Their cruel environment made cruelty seem normal to them. This had to change.
i. These commands regarding kindness and generosity are in the midst of what is often called the holiness code of Israel. This reminds us of something often forgotten: generosity and kindness to those in need is an important aspect of holiness.
ii. “Under these two particulars are manifestly and especially forbidden all injuries done to such as are unable to right or defend themselves; of whom God here takes the more care.” (Poole)
15 ‘You shall not do injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor show a preference for the great, but judge your neighbor fairly
This law was given primarily to Israel judges and magistrates, they were to render their judgments in cases that were brought to them impartially, according to God’s standards. It is a tendency of ours to be usually partial to the poor because of their assumed marginalized status, but that’s not how GOD wants us to evaluate a person or a case. All people must be evaluated according to God’s standards, no matter their status. The poor doesn’t get to have better treatment in court case because of his assumed marginalized status and the rich or the mighty or the celebrity or the famous doesn’t get any special treatment either, God is no respecter of person and neither shall His children be, all judgment must be done in accordance to Go’s standards as given in His word.
i. This specific command speaks against a popular philosophy in the modern western world. An aspect of what is sometimes known as “critical theory” basically divides everyone into one of two categories: the oppressors and their victims. Their idea is that all who are mighty are oppressors, and all who are poor are victims — and that preference should always be given to the poor whom they understand to be victims. This goes against what God commands; this is to do injustice in judgment.
ii. Certainly it is more common to honor the person of the mighty than it is to be partial to the poor. But they are both sins; they both are an injustice. Things should be judged according to truth and evidence of the truth, not according to class theories. As God says: In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.
Deuteronomy 1:17 You shall not [a]show partiality in judgment; you shall hear and pay attention to the [cases of the] least [important] as well as the great. You shall not [b]fear man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you [to judge], you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’
16 You shall not go around as a gossip among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor [with slander or false testimony]; I am the Lord.
We all need to hear this, because in some shape or form, we all have gossiped and slandered others unjustly. Gossip is such a satisfying thing to do, it brings us some form of illicit satisfaction but God absolutely does not delight in it therefore the prohibition.
A talebearer is essentially a gossip, someone who cannot mind their own business (1 Thessalonians 4:11). They take great pleasure in talking about the lives of other people and spreading stories.
i. Adam Clarke described the talebearer: “The person who travels about dealing in scandal and calumny, getting the secrets of every person and family, and retailing them wherever he goes. A more despicable character exists not: such a person is a pest to society, and should be exiled from the habitations of men.”
ii. A talebearer, “who makes it his business to go up and down from one to another, and divulge evil and false reports concerning others, which, though many times it proceeds only from levity and talkativeness, yet apparently tends to the great injury of our neighbor.” (Poole)
d. Nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: God commands us to promote and protect the lives of those around us. We have no excuse to be indifferent to the loss of life.
i. “Stand forth against the life of your neighbor: literally, ‘stand upon the blood of your neighbor.’ The exact meaning of this expression is uncertain…. most commentators take it to mean that, whenever a person is in danger of losing his life as the result of a legal case, a witness should not fail to speak out.” (Peter-Contesse)
17 ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you may most certainly rebuke your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him.
The first thing that comes to mind when we read this verse in the context in which it was written is, who does the word brother refer to? I believe it means a fellow Israelite, because they were called by His name, so all the children of Israel were therefore to refer to one another as brothers. So the mandate to them was for them not to hate each other in their heart. It is a call against hypocrisy as well, it is easy to pretend externally to love someone but God measures the heart, what is on the inside, that others cannot see. We have a GOD who is omniscient and is calling us if we look beyond the context of Israel and consider the family of GOD today ( believers in Christ) to not hate our fellow brother in Christ in our hearts. This sentiment is echoed in several New Testament Scriptures,
10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are clearly identified: anyone who does not practice righteousness [who does not seek God’s will in thought, action, and purpose] is not of God, nor is the one who does not [unselfishly] [b]love his [believing] brother.
11 For this is the message which you [believers] have heard from the beginning [of your relationship with Christ], that we should [unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another; 12 and not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother [Abel]. And why did he murder him? Because Cain’s deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.
13 Do not be surprised, believers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into Life, because we love the brothers and sisters. He who does not love remains in [spiritual] death. 15 Everyone who hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is [at heart] a murderer [by God’s standards]; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 1 John 3:10-14
22 Since by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves for a sincere love of the believers, [see that you] love one another from the heart [always unselfishly seeking the best for one another], 1 Peter 1:22
I like how the rest of verse 17 reads in the Revised Standard Version,
…. but you shall reason with your neighbor, lest you bear sin because of him
The Scripture is inviting us to rebuke( not obnoxiously but by way of reasoning with them ) in this case our neighbor, and the word “neighbor” certainly means anyone in our proximity, that may include a non believer. But the rebuke has to be motivated by a Godly desire of a hatred for sin because of the Holiness of GOD. The other part of this verse clearly says that refraining from rebuking the one at proximity ( our neighbor) is viewed as sinful before GOD. Let me put it this way, if you and I are clearly aware of sin in the lives of folks that are close to us, those we do life with and stay quiet about it because we’re afraid of being disliked, we will incur sin. And even New Testament Scriptures support this, this isn’t something new,
19 My brethren, if any one among you wanders from the truth and some one brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20
b. You shall surely rebuke: Love will rebuke another when it is necessary. We all have blind spots where we think everything is fine, but it is evident to others that we need to be corrected.
18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
The LORD himself has already said that vengeance is HIS that HE will repay, so the people of Israel were not to take matters in their own hands for wrongs they incurred at the hands of their fellow Israelites in keeping with Romans 12:9,
19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but [a]leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
Now this mandate mainly dealt with interpersonal relationships and did not restrict the proper authorities ( in our contemporary case the government) to exact punishment on those who break the law ( criminals). For example a murderer could not go free then and cannot go free now because of Romans 12:19, the verse mainly was intended to be used for interpersonal relationships.
I like how David Guzik in his study explain the remaining portions of this verse,
d. Nor bear any grudge: This is very difficult for many people. It is easy to cherish a grudge against another, especially when it is deserved, but too much damage is done to the one holding the grudge.
e. You shall love your neighbor as yourself: Some are surprised to see this generous command in what they believe to be the harsh Old Testament, but even the Old Covenant clearly commands us to love others.
i. “The significance of the verse is also highlighted by the fact that Jesus and Paul both cited this verse as a summary of the duties one has to his fellow man (Matthew 22:39-40, Romans 13:9).” (Rooker)
ii. Unfortunately, many ancient Jews had a narrow definition of who their neighbor was and only considered their friends and countrymen their neighbors. Jesus commanded us to love your enemies (Luke 6:27), and showed our neighbor was the one in need, even if they might be regarded as a traditional enemy (Luke 10:25-37).
iii. The command to love your neighbor as yourself is simple yet commonly misunderstood. This doesn’t mean that we must love ourselves before we can love anyone else; it means that in the same way we take care of ourselves and are concerned about our own interests, we should take care and have concern for the interests of others.
iv. We already love ourselves: For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it (Ephesians 5:29). Paul warned that in the last days, men will be lovers of themselves (2 Timothy 3:2) — and not in a positive sense! In fact, our misery when things are going badly shows we love ourselves; we rejoice in the misery of those we hate. Our challenge is to show others the same love we show ourselves.
19 ‘You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear clothing of two kinds of material mixed together.
a. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed: The mixing of these things — different species of livestock, seeds, and fabrics — was usually seen by ancient pagans to be a source of magical power. God wanted Israel to have no association with these pagan customs.
i. “Partly, to teach the Israelites to avoid mixtures with other nations, either in marriage or in religion; which also may be signified by the following prohibitions.” (Poole)
b. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you: Since those pagan customs are no longer an issue in our day, we shouldn’t worry about mixing wool, linen, or other fabrics. This law is a good example of something that is no longer binding upon Christians today because the pagan custom the law guarded against is no longer practiced.
i. However, in our modern age there are important distinctions that have become blurred and things Christians must not participate in. The present-day blurring of distinctions between genders should be resisted by Christians.
David Guzkik’s study
20 ‘Now if a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave acquired for another man, but who has in no way been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be punishment; they shall not, however, be put to death, because she was not free. 21 He shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord to the doorway of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22 The priest shall also make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed, and the sin which he has committed will be forgiven him.
Essentially, if a man had intimate relations with a slave girl who was engaged to be married to another man, there were specific consequences outlined. Slave women who were engaged were often referred to as concubines, likely because their status as slaves meant they didn’t hold the same societal standing as free women. In such cases, there was to be a punishment or disciplinary action, but not the death penalty, because the woman was not free. The underlying assumption was that, as a slave, she lacked the ability to resist the man who forced himself upon her. Therefore, she was not held accountable in the same way as in situations where both parties willingly engaged in the act. This reflects God’s heart in protecting those who are vulnerable and unable to defend themselves. It ties into the idea that vengeance belongs to the Lord, as this is an example of God working through the agency of man to ensure justice and fairness.
a. Whoever lies carnally with a woman who is betrothed to a man as a concubine: This deals with a woman who was a concubine in the sense she was a slave girl, who was eligible to be married.
i. This is the situation described: A slave girl is engaged to marry a free man, and then a different man has sex with her. Normally, the penalty was death; but because the woman was a slave and was presumed to be not free to resist (or guarded by a father), the penalty was not death. Yet, because of the rape, she was not marriable to her fiancée, so he must be reimbursed (the punishment mentioned). Then the moral guilt would be settled by sacrifice, and presumably the man who had sex with her would be obliged to marry her.
b. And the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him: With the appropriate sacrifice, the sin could be forgiven.
i. “It is worth noting that only the man was considered blameworthy, not the female slave. Being a slave, the woman may have felt she had little recourse in resisting a male who was a free man and thus more powerful both in the social and economic spheres.” (Rooker)
David Guzik’s study
23 ‘When you enter the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as [d]forbidden. Three years it shall be [e]forbidden to you; it shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 In the fifth year you are to eat of its fruit, that its yield may increase for you; I am the Lord your God.
You may check the following commentaries for these particular verses:
bible hub commentaries: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/leviticus/19-23.htm
https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/leviticus/leviticus-19.cfm
26 ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor practice divination or soothsaying
Leviticus 17:11 says the following,
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’
And Genesis 9:4 says this,
4 Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
So clearly GOD already prohibited the consumption of blood because it represented life and more importantly the meaning behind the blood was that it was used to make atonement for the souls of mankind. And if we look further into the New Testament, JESUS , the only begotten Son of GOD shed His blood to save us from the wrath of GOD, so to eat blood is to desecrate the life behind the blood. And moreover, eating blood was a practice in many pagan cultic ceremonies, and Israel was to be separate from this. In many places in the world today, some people group still drink and eat blood, a very repugnant practice in the sight of GOD for the reasons I’ve already mentioned. We must also talk about the mandate not to practice divination or soothsaying. What do these two words mean?
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Divination: The practice of seeking knowledge or insight about the future or the unknown through supernatural means. This often involves rituals, tools (like tarot cards, crystal balls, or runes), or interpreting signs and omens believed to come from a divine or mystical source.
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Soothsaying: The act of predicting or foretelling future events, often based on intuition, visions, or interpreting signs. Soothsaying is typically associated with individuals who claim to have the ability to foresee what is to come, often without the use of elaborate rituals or tools.
Divination and Soothsaying both involve predicting the future, but divination often includes specific methods or rituals, while soothsaying is more about intuitive prediction. Both are still practiced today and are influenced by demons and are still abhorred by GOD and all believers must stay away with such practices as they seek to usurp GOD of His Glory. Paul encountered in one of his journeys a women who was possessed by a spirit of divination and we’ll do well to see how he dealt with it,
16 It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you [g]the way of salvation.” 18 She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very [h]moment.
Acts 16:16-18
27 You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard.28 You shall not make any cuts in your [f]body for the [g]dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.
b. You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard: To do this was to imitate pagan customs of that day. Today, Jewish orthodox men are noticeable by their untrimmed beards and the long, curly locks on the sides of their heads.
i. “This the Gentiles did, either for the worship of the devils or idols, to whom young men used to consecrate their hair, being cut off from their heads, as Homer, Plutarch, and many others write; or in funerals or immoderate mournings, as appears from Isaiah 15:2; Jeremiah 48:37.” (Poole)
There are several tribes in Africa that still shave their heads either to dedicate themselves to some deities or when a death occurs in their family.
c. Cuttings in the flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: These were also pagan practices God wanted Israel to be separate from. The trimming of the hair, the beard, cutting, and tattoos were all connected with pagan rites of mourning.
i. Cuttings in the flesh for the dead: “The reference here is to the practice of making deep gashes in the skin while mourning the death of a relative. This was done to provide life blood for the spirit of the dead person rather than to express sorrow.” (Peter-Contesse)
ii. “The tattoo indicated that one was a slave to a particular deity.” (Rooker)
iii. “Ancient writers abound with accounts of marks made on the face, arms, etc., in honour of different idols; and to this the inspired penman alludes.” (Clarke)
iv. Part of this message to us today is that what our culture thinks and how they perceive things is important. If some clothing or jewelry or body decoration would associate us with the pagan world, it should not be done. This is a difficult line to draw because the standards of culture are always changing. Some modern examples of changing standards are hair length and earrings for men.
v. In Paul’s day, in the city of Corinth, only prostitutes went around without a head covering — so it was right for the Christian women of Corinth to wear veils, though they were not required to by the letter of the law (1 Corinthians 11:5-6).
29 ‘Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land will not fall to prostitution and become full of wickedness. 30 You shall keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary. I am the Lord.
In this context, verse 29 was talking about a practice that was adapted by the people of the land ( Canaan) whereby it was customary for men to give their daughters to the idolatrous temples to be used as a temple prostitute, this practice was alluded to in Paul’s epistles as there were even temples’ males prostitutes’. It was regarded as virtuous on their parts and Israel also fell into this sexual immorality when they asked Aaron to make a golden calf for them to be their god as mentioned in Exodus 32. It is interesting that pagan worship practices somehow involve for the majority of the part some form of sexual misconduct. So God forbade this practice to the people of Israel because it led to the land being given over to prostitution and being full of all sorts of evil practices and wickedness. Listen to the warning Paul gives in 1 Corinthians 6:15-20,
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Am I therefore to take the members of Christ and make them part of a [f]prostitute? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “The two shall be one flesh.” 17 But the one who is united and joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18 Run away from sexual immorality [in any form, whether thought or behavior, whether visual or written]. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the one who is sexually immoral sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]? 20 You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body.
The warning Paul gives is very clear as it has spiritual implications, our bodies have become the temple of the Holy Spirit, as such we cannot and dare not engage in any activities especially sexual that may violate the sanctuary of GOD less we be destroyed by GOD because of it.
The mandate to keep the Sabbaths is reiterated here. There’s a reason for it, the sabbaths would help the people of Israel remember GOD and thus live according to His Word. This is why HE kept reminding them to keep His sabbaths, forgetting the sabbaths would lead them to forget about Him and his word. And this is very relevant to us as well, when we fail to prioritize spending quality time with GOD, we run the risk of allowing all sorts of evil in our lives. We should set time aside daily to commune with GOD and certainly dedicate one day of the week if not more to really completely focus on HIM.
Reverence for His sanctuary is also mentioned here because God’s sanctuary should never be polluted and mixed with pagan practices because HE is the LORD. For us today, this mandate still applies as we must have the utmost reverence for God’s sanctuary and refrain from including in our worship anything from the culture that is vile before GOD.
31 ‘Do not turn to mediums [who pretend to consult the dead] or to spiritists [who have spirits of divination]; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
This verse is very clear and is self explanatory. Israel was to stay away from mediums or spiritists because they would be defiled by them, they would be made unclean by them because they ( spiritists and mediums) are practicing things taught by demons, they are in the league with demonic forces and Israel was to stay away from them for they were the LORD’s. People in our day have actually been fascinated and enamored with mediums and spiritists so as believers in Christ, we must never under any circumstances taken part or get involved with them.
32 ‘You shall rise before the gray-headed and honor the aged, and you shall fear your God [with profound reverence]; I am the Lord.
The gray-headed and the aged, these are those we refer to as “senior citizens”. God told the Israelites to honor and respect such people and regard them very highly; He had told the Israelites to honor their father and mother so their days would be extended on earth. So any gray headed individual was synonymous with one whose life had been extended ( favored by GOD) so in God’s economy the gray headed Israelites were synonymous with wisdom ( Godly wisdom) and therefore owed the utmost respect and honor. It is true that for the most part older folks even in our western societies exude much wisdom but true wisdom comes from fearing GOD as there are many older folks that exude the kind of foolishness that ought to be only seen with teenagers. But if we read this verse fully, rising before the gray-headed and honoring the aged would ultimately lead to fearing GOD because He is the LORD. The LORD is sometimes referred to as the Ancient of Days, an appellation that can communicate oldness but we all know that GOD is no given over to change as we humans are. A person that has no regard for the aged and gray-headed ultimately despises counsel and therefore GOD. God gives us the agency of man so that through man we are able to see who HE is but when we reject the authorities HE has given us, we are ultimately rejecting Him.
33 ‘When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress or mistreat him. 34 But the stranger who resides with you shall be to you like someone native-born among you; and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.
These are all expositions on the principle of you shall love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). Some in our day and age have misused these verses to support illegal immigration but I do not believe the verses are referring to that.
35 ‘You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight or quantity. 36 You shall have just and accurate balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just [c]hin. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 You shall observe and keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them. I am the Lord.’”
You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume: God cares that we do business honestly. The surrounding culture may tell us that it doesn’t matter how we make our money, but God tells us to use honest measurements in all our business. This idea is repeated in passages such as Proverbs 11:1, 16:11, and 20:23.
c. I am the LORD: 15 times in this chapter, God declared that He is the LORD — and the one with the right to tell us what to do. This is something that God expected ancient Israel to respect and expects His modern-day followers to also respect.
PS: I started Tayibs.com for the sole purpose of exploring difficult questions about the Christian faith that most of us shy away from. All the content generated on this website is thoroughly analyzed prior to being shared. And the site is run solely by myself, your generous support is very much appreciated
My name is Tayib Salami and I started Tayibs.com for the sole purpose of exploring difficult questions about the Christian faith that most of us shy away from. In 2017, I entered a very dark time in my life and it’s only by the grace of the Living God that I’m still alive today. It led me to really go deeper in my faith and consider a myriad of questions that I never thought about asking myself or others before. Welcome and enjoy the ride with me.