Deeper Commentary
So far in Leviticus the text has dealt with
uncleanness and sin in an abstract sense. Now Lev. 18-20 exemplify this by
talking of sin in more concrete, actual terms.
Lev 18:2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘I am Yahweh
your God-
The following commandments relate to
matters of intimate relationships. If Yahweh is our God, then His
commandments and principles extent to every part of our lives, especially
the most personal and intimate.
Lev 18:3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you
lived; and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am
bringing you; neither shall you walk according to their statutes-
The contrast is presented between the word
of God and that of man (:4). And this is the abiding conflict in our
lives. The chapter will go on to outlaw various immoral relationships and
sexual bonding. But these are all prefaced by this commandment not to do
according to the laws of the Gentiles. These outlawed sexual behaviours
were therefore part of the laws of the various fertility cults. These
things were done in the belief they would thereby please the gods and
result in abundant harvests. And the idea was the more attractive because
it appealed to the lust of the flesh.
Lev 18:4 You shall do My ordinances, and you shall keep My statutes, and
walk in them: I am Yahweh your God-
Lev 18:5 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My ordinances; which if
a man does, he shall live in them: I am Yahweh-
"If a man does,
he shall live in them" is quoted in Gal. 3:12 to prove that life with God
was possible by complete obedience to the Law of Moses. The Law could not
give life in practice only in that people broke it (Gal. 3:21). Paul’s
point in Galatians is that eternal life therefore cannot be given on the
basis of doing the Law- because we all break it. But Jesus completely kept
the Law, and therefore deserved to have eternal life; but He died for us.
Because of His perfect obedience to it, it wasn’t therefore possible for
Him to remain dead, He had to be raised from the dead (Acts 2:24). The
principle that life was possible for those who lived in perfect obedience
to the Law would have driven every humble, sensitive, Godly minded person
to wonder how he or she could attain to eternal life; they would’ve so
wished to find a person who was completely obedient to the Law whose
righteousness could as it were be counted to them. In this sense, the Law
was a household servant which led people to perceive their need for Christ
(Gal. 3:24).
The life of serious obedience will lead to more obedience. Likewise the
man who is obedient to God's commands will live in them, i.e. they will
become an integral part of his way of life (Lev. 18:5; Neh. 9:29; Ez.
20:13,21 etc.). The further we go in God’s way, the clearer and more
obvious it all becomes, and the fewer agonies we face over decisions, as
perhaps we did in our early days of believing. The way of wisdom is “plain
to him that understands” (Prov. 8:9). Some seek for wisdom but can never
find it; for others, “knowledge is easy unto him that understands” (Prov.
14:6).
Lev 18:6 None of you shall approach anyone who are his close relatives, to
uncover their nakedness: I am Yahweh-
Lev 18:7 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, nor the
nakedness of your mother: she is your mother. You shall not uncover her
nakedness-
Uncovering nakedness alludes to the result of the
first sin in Eden. The idea therefore is not that it is a sin to simply
see a parent naked. Rather is it that such sins are sins because you are
leading your sexual partner into sin and they will receive the same
judgment as Adam and Eve- their nakedness will be uncovered. And so the
Lord Jesus likewise reasons that the problem with sexual sin is that it
leads other parties into sin (Mt. 5:32).
Lev 18:8 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife: it is
your father’s nakedness-
In a polygamous society, this is not the same as
"your mother", which has been addressed in :7. We learned in :3 that this
kind of thing happened amongst the Gentiles, but was not to happen amongst
God's people. Paul makes some kind of allusion to this by complaining that
this was happening in the church at Corinth, but it didn't happen amongst
the Gentiles (1 Cor. 5:1). His idea may be that there had been some moral
progression amongst the Gentiles in this area- but sadly not amongst God's
people.
Lev 18:9 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter
of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home, or
born abroad-
Lev 18:10 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter, or
of your daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness: for theirs is your own
nakedness-
The idea is that such sexual sin is effectively a
sin against ourselves, a shaming of self. Paul sees this as an abiding
principle, when he warns the Corinthian Christians to quit using temple
prostitutes because they were thereby sinning against their own bodies (1
Cor. 6:18). Sin is its own judgment, and to be made naked is the language
of the shame of condemnation (Rev. 16:15). By being naked with
inappropriate partners, the sinner was effectively living out their own
condemnation. Sin is its own judgment, the condemned are essentially self
condemned, and in this sense judgment day is now.
Lev 18:11 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s
daughter, conceived by your father, since she is your sister-
It is no mere coincidence that so many of these
forbidden relationships were seen in the patriarchal family. Abraham and
Sarah were half brother and sister. So we see that Israel were being
reminded that their whole national basis was rooted in moral weakness from
the start. They were God's people by grace alone.
Lev 18:12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister: she
is your father’s near kinswoman-
We note that Moses' father Amram had married his
father's sister (Ex. 6:20). It could be that uncovering the nakedness
therefore refers specifically to perversions practiced in the name of
idolatry, which is the context here. Or the idea may be that the founding
fathers of Israel broke these very principles, showing how the whole
nation was built upon Divine grace rather than obedience.
Lev 18:13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister: for
she is your mother’s near kinswoman-
These awful things listed here were clearly real temptations for
Israel; for they are repeated in the list of what Judah actually did in
their idol worship (Ez. 22:11).
Lev 18:14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother,
you shall not approach his wife: she is your aunt-
We note the distinction between uncovering
nakedness and 'approaching' the woman. The word for "approach" is the
standard word used in Leviticus, and very often, for 'offering' in a
religious sense. This confirms that what is in view here is illicit sexual
activity performed as part of idol cult worship.
Lev 18:15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law: she
is your son’s wife. You shall not uncover her nakedness-
This was exactly what Judah did (Gen.
38:11,16,24).
Lev 18:16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife: it
is your brother’s nakedness-
Herod was condemned by John the Baptist for doing this (Mt. 14:3).
This raises the issue as to whether we have a duty to point out to people
in the world that they are living in sin. Although it could be argued that
Herod claimed to be some kind of Jew, and therefore was under these laws.
The laws of Levirate marriage allowed such marriage (Dt. 25:5), so it
seems to me that uncovering nakedness doesn't refer to marriage but to
illicit sexual activity, probably in the context of idol worship.
Lev 18:17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter.
You shall not take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to
uncover her nakedness: they are near kinswomen: it is wickedness-
Lev 18:18 You shall not marry your wife’s sister, to be a rival, to
uncover her nakedness, while her sister is yet alive-
This verse seems to have stuck in David's mind, in
that he lay with Bathsheba "because" she was "purified from her
uncleanness". This is typical of so much spiritual dysfunction- to focus
on a few Divine words and be strictly obedient to them, whilst ignoring
the far larger principles. We think of the Jews being so careful to keep
the Passover, whilst crucifying God's Son.
Lev 18:20 You shall not lie carnally with your neighbour’s wife, and
defile yourself with her-
This may indeed be a condemnation of adultery, but
I suggest that the specific reference is not to having an affair, but to
sleeping with women as part of the Moloch cult- and the woman slept with
might well be their neighbour's wife. "And defile yourself with her" makes
better sense if read as referring to defilement with idols, you along with
her. "Defile" is often used in the context of idolatry.
Lev 18:21 You shall not give any of your children to sacrifice to Molech;
neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am Yahweh-
Lev 18:22 You shall not lie with a man, as with a woman. That is
detestable-
Or, "an abomination". The related passage in Lev.
20:13 also says that the two men have committed "abomination". "Abomination" is a word distinctly and specifically associated with
idol worship. The context of these commands is an appeal not to follow the
ways of Moloch worshippers (also in Lev. 20:2-5). As was the case in Corinth centuries
later, idol worshippers slept with both male and female prostitutes; and
that is what is primarily in view here.
Lev 18:23 You shall not lie with any animal to defile yourself with it;
neither shall any woman give herself to an animal, to lie down with it: it
is a perversion-
Lev 18:24 Don’t defile yourselves in any of these things; for in all these
the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled-
I suggested on Lev. 1:1 that Leviticus was given at the beginning of
the wilderness wanderings. At that point, God was casting out the nations
from Canaan. Their refusal to enter the land was therefore a waste of so
much potential. And a reflection of their disbelief in words like these
which were spoken to them. Israel were eventually cast out of the land as
the Canaanites were intended to be; and yet God's patience with them was
remarkable. We note that God's plan was to cast out the nations before
Israel so that they could enter the land immediately after leaving Egypt.
But there is no evidence this happened- because the people chose not to
enter the land. And when they did, they themselves didn't cast out the
nations but rather coexisted with them in the land, and worshipped their
gods. Again we see how so much potential was wasted; just as many have the
path to entrance into the Kingdom made clear for them, but they reject it.
Lev 18:25 The land was defiled; therefore I punished its iniquity, and the
land vomited out her inhabitants-
The period for gathering iniquity was fulfilled, and so the land was
intended to vomit out the Canaanites (Gen. 15:16). But we see here the
flexibility and open ended nature of God's ways of working. For one thing,
that period was extended by around 40 years; for Israel didn't enter the
land when they were intended to, and so the local inhabitants remained
there. And the vomiting out of the inhabitants was to be fulfilled through
human agency, i.e. the Israelites were to cast them out with God's help.
But they generally didn't do this, and chose to coexist with those
inhabitants within the land, and to serve their gods.
Lev 18:26 You therefore shall keep my statutes and my ordinances, and
shall not do any of these abominations; neither the native-born, nor the
stranger who lives as a foreigner among you-
The idea was that the perversions listed above
were not to be found within the land. The original inhabitants who did
these things were to be vomited out; and Israel and any Gentiles remaining
in the land were to not do these things, lest they be vomited out of the
land. This was the Divine intention. But as noted on :24,25, the reality
was different. Israel chose not to enter the land, so these abominations
were done in the land for another 40 years longer than ideally
anticipated. Israel then entered the land, didn't cast the nations who did
these things out of the land; and Israel did the same abominations because
they worshipped the gods of the local inhabitants.
Lev 18:27 (for all these abominations have the men of the land done that
were before you, and the land became defiled)-
"Defiled" is the word used for being ritually
"unclean". The land was to be "clean" because Yahweh lived as it were in
the land (Num. 35:34). As soon as Israel entered the land, they defiled it
by their abominations / idolatry (Jer. 2:7 s.w.). Clearly Joshua was not
representative of the people generally, and the generation who entered the
land were hardly strongly committed to Yahweh. They had after all carried
the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of Remphan all through the
wilderness, and Joshua himself told them that he considered that they were
so far gone in idolatry that they ought not to sign up to a covenant of
loyalty to Yahweh. We can therefore assume that seeing the land was
instantly defiled by Israel when they entered it, they therefore did in
fact commit the abominations of the Canaanites which are listed in this
chapter.
Lev 18:28 that the land not vomit you out also, when you defile it, as it
vomited out the nation that was before you-
"When you defile it" shows God's premonition that they would do all
these abominations and defile it; and indeed that is what happened (s.w.
Jer. 2:7). The figure of vomiting suggests that their rejection from the
land was going to happen as an immediate gut reaction if they did these
abominations. They did them, but God's response was so patient. It was as
if He did not vomit them out immediately as planned, but remained feeling
nauseous at their behaviour for centuries, until He finally did so.
Lev 18:29 For whoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls
that do them shall be cut off from among their people-
As noted on :29, this didn't happen immediately,
because of God's love and patient, pitiful hopefulness that it wouldn't
continue. But they defiled the land when they entered it by their idolatry
(Jer. 2:7 s.w.), and they repeatedly defiled the land by their
abominations, i.e. their idolatry and the associated perverted practices
listed in this chapter (s.w. Ez. 22:4; 33:26; 36:18).
Lev 18:30 Therefore you shall keep My requirements, that you do not
practice any of these abominable customs, which were practiced before you,
and that you do not defile yourselves with them: I am Yahweh your God’-
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