Introduction
In this chapter and the next, as we move from law to law, we find some general laws which follow a varied pattern of subjects. More importantly, we come across the theme of holiness once again.
As can be seen from the chart, the main theme of this section, if not of the entire book, is to ‘be holy’, Leviticus 19:2 / Leviticus 20:7 / Leviticus 20:26.
There is an important principle here, the foundation for all true morality rests upon the existence of a holy God.
These laws included the treatment of one’s neighbour, Leviticus 19:13. One of the commands given to this section is to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’, Leviticus 19:18.
We normally think of this command as having come from Jesus, Matthew 22:39, but it had its origins in the Old Testament. This command is also extended to strangers and aliens who reside among the Israelites, Exodus 19:34.
VARIOUS OTHER LAWS
‘The LORD said to Moses, ‘Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. ‘Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God. ‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.’ Leviticus 19:1-4
God doesn’t mix His words in these verses; He wants Israel to be holy because He is holy, Leviticus 19:1-2. Each of them needs to respect their mother and father, Exodus 20:12, and they must observe God’s Sabbaths, Leviticus 19:3 / Leviticus 19:30 / Exodus 31:13-14.
They must not turn to idols or make metal gods for themselves because this would be idolatry, Leviticus 19:4 / Exodus 20:4-6. In other words, they need to live totally different lives from the other nations around them and these laws will help them do that. If anything was going to make their lives stand out from the other nations around them, it was God’s laws.
‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up. If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. Whoever eats it will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the LORD; they must be cut off from their people. ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.’ Leviticus 19:5-10
Notice again, the fellowship offering was offered in order to stay at peace with God and His people, Leviticus 19:5. The fellowship offering is to be eaten on the day they sacrifice it or on the next day and anything left over until the third day must be burned up, Leviticus 19:6.
If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted, Leviticus 19:7. Whoever eats the left over will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the LORD and they must be cut off from their people, Leviticus 19:8.
Because God is concerned about the vulnerable in society, so should Israel as a whole. When they reap the harvest of their land, they weren’t permitted to reap to the very edges of their fields or gather the gleanings of your harvest, Leviticus 19:9.
They weren’t permitted to go over their vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen, Leviticus 19:10. God wants them at harvest time to allow the poor people and any strangers among them to have a portion of the harvest, Leviticus 19:10. When the fields are reaped then the field corners are to be left for mothers in the morning, nurses at noon and the elderly at evening, Deuteronomy 24:19-21.
‘Do not steal. ‘Do not lie. ‘Do not deceive one another. ‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. ‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbour. ‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. ‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind but fear your God. I am the LORD. ‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favouritism to the great but judge your neighbour fairly. ‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. ‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbour’s life. I am the LORD. ‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbour frankly so you will not share in their guilt. ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD. ‘Keep my decrees. ‘Do not mate different kinds of animals. ‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. ‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the LORD. With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the LORD for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.’ Leviticus 19:11-22
Again, God has relationships in mind in these verses, therefore stealing, lying, and deceiving people were forbidden, Leviticus 19:11. Bearing false witness was forbidden, they weren’t permitted to make false oaths to their neighbour or speak the Lord’s Name in vain, Leviticus 19:12. Fraud, robbing their neighbour and holding back a hired worker’s waged was forbidden, Leviticus 19:13 / Deuteronomy 24:14 / James 5:4. Wages were to be paid every day.
Taking advantage of someone who was physically deaf and blind was forbidden, Leviticus 19:14. Perverting justice and showing partiality to the poor or favouritism to the great, was forbidden, they must judge their neighbour fairly, Leviticus 19:15.
Slandering, Matthew 26:60, and endangering their neighbour’s live was forbidden, Leviticus 19:16. Hating their fellow Israelite in their heart was forbidden and they are to rebuke their neighbour frankly so they will not share in their guilt, Leviticus 19:17.
Seeking revenge or bearing a grudge against anyone among their people, was forbidden but they are to love their neighbour as themselves, Leviticus 19:18 / Leviticus 19:34 / Matthew 22:39. They must keep God’s decrees, they weren’t permitted to mix any breeds of animals, seeds or fabrics, Leviticus 19:19 / Deuteronomy 22:9-11.
Dummelow, in his commentary, says the following, concerning Leviticus 19:19.
‘There may be an allusion to the practice of magic, in which unnatural mixtures played an important part.’
If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man but hasn’t been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment, however they are not to be put to death, because she hadn’t been freed, Leviticus 19:20 / Deuteronomy 22:23-24.
The man must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the LORD, Leviticus 19:21. With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the LORD for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven, Leviticus 19:22.
‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the LORD your God. ‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. ‘Do not practice divination or seek omens. ‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. ‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD. ‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness. ‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD. ‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God. ‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD. ‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God. ‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. ‘Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the LORD.’ Leviticus 19:23-37
When Israel enters the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, they are to regard its fruit as forbidden and for three years they are to consider it forbidden, it must not be eaten, Leviticus 19:23 / Exodus 13:12 / Exodus 34:19. However, in the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD, Leviticus 19:24. But in the fifth year they may eat its fruit, in this way their harvest will be increased, Leviticus 19:25.
They were forbidden to eat any meat with the blood still in it, Leviticus 7:26 / Leviticus 17:10, or practice divination or seek omens, Leviticus 19:26 / 2 Samuel 20:9 / Isaiah 7:20 / 2 Samuel 10:4. Cutting their hair at the sides of their head or clipping off the edges of their beard was forbidden, Leviticus 19:27 / Leviticus 21:5 / Deuteronomy 14:1.
Herodotus, in his writings says the following, concerning this haircut.
‘The use of this type of haircut, forming what is called a tonsure, was the practice of pagan religious cults of ancient times who did so honouring one of their gods.’
Cutting their bodies for the dead or putting tattoo marks on themselves was also forbidden, Leviticus 19:28.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Tattooing was probably practiced in ancient Egypt, as it is now by the lower classes of the modern Egyptians and was connected with superstitious notions. Any voluntary disfigurement of the person was in itself an outrage upon God’s workmanship and might well form the subject of a law.’
They weren’t to give their daughters into prostitution or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness, Leviticus 19:29.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The outstanding characteristic of ancient paganism was the substantial company of ‘sacred prostitutes’ who were the source of the income for pagan temples as well as the principal advocates of their system. A poor man could be tempted, by money, to devote his daughter to such a profession, but God strictly forbade it.’
Israel are to observe God’s Sabbaths, Leviticus 19:3, and have reverence for His sanctuary, Leviticus 19:30. Turning to mediums or seeking out spiritists, 1 Samuel 28:3-7, was forbidden because they will be defiled by them, Leviticus 19:31.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The people whose God was Yahweh were not to indulge those wayward feelings of their human nature which are gratified in magical arts and pretensions, Isaiah 8:19.’
They are to stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere God, Leviticus 19:32 / Isaiah 3:5. Through all these laws God was protecting everyone in society, the rich and the poor as well as the stranger, there was to be no racial prejudice, after all, they were foreigners and strangers themselves, Leviticus 19:33-34 / Leviticus 16:29 / Exodus 23:9.
Notice they are to love the foreigner as they love themselves, Leviticus 19:34 / Leviticus 19:18 / Matthew 22:39. Using dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity was forbidden, instead they are to use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah which is around twenty-two litres, Exodus 29:40, and an honest hin, which is around one gallon, Leviticus 19:35 / Leviticus 14:10 / Amos 8:4-6.
If anyone broke any of these laws then relationships within the society would begin to fall apart, but if they obeyed them then peace would continue throughout their whole land.
The reason for Israel being obedient to these laws is simply because God is the One who brought them out of Egypt, Leviticus 19:36. Israel are to keep all God’s decrees and all God’s laws and follow them, Leviticus 19:37. They needed to understand that their newfound freedom came with responsibilities, if they wanted to remain free, then they had to obey God’s will.