Leviticus 26-27

Leviticus 26 Promises of flourishing, and warnings about rebellion

Leviticus 26:1-2 A repetition of the second and fourth commandments (Exodus 20: ) sets the stage for the blessings an cursing to follow. Do not worship idols and observe the Sabbath. Respect God’s holy place, the sanctuary.

Leviticus 26:3-13 Promises to those who keep His laws. Fruitful harvests, peace and national safety and victory in war, population growth. Most importantly, God Himself would walk among them. This did not require the Incarnation of Jesus, although He was its ultimate fulfillment. There are several places in the Old Testament where God was tangibly present with His people, and of course He is always invisibly but spiritually with us through the Holy Spirit.

Leviticus 26:14-39 Five stages of punishment for disobedience, in increasing severity. Israel went through all of these stages.

• Disease and defeat in war, being ruled by others.
• Drought and famine.
• Wild animals to ravage their children and livestock.
• Cannibalism, mass death, pillaging and ruin of cities, exile. The land will be laid waste so that it can enjoy its Sabbath rest. (See below)
• Those few who survive will flee in terror even when no one is pursuing. Exiles will die in foreign lands.

Leviticus 26:40-45 But He will not destroy them completely. If the survivors of all the above repent and to Him, the Lord will remember His covenants with their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and those who left Egypt. 

Leviticus 26:46 This concludes the laws, rules, and regulations given via Moses to Israel on Mount Sinai.

A recap of the Ten Commandments shows that the Levitical law further explained all of them except the ban on coveting.

• Have no other Gods before YHWH. (Exodus 20:3) (Leviticus 20:1-5) Stone them to death.
• Do not worship idols (Exodus 20:4-6) (Leviticus 19:4) 
• Do not profane the Name of the Lord (Exodus 20:7) (Leviticus 24:17-22) The punishment is death.
• Keep the Sabbath holy (Exodus 20:8-11) (Leviticus 19:3)
• Honor your father and mother (Exodus 20:12) (Leviticus 19:3, 20:9) - death penalty
• Do not murder (Exodus 20:13) (Leviticus 24:17-22) - the punishment is death.
• Do not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14) (Leviticus 18:20, 20:10) - death penalty
• Do not steal (Exodus 20:15) (Leviticus 19:11)
• Do not give false witness against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16) (Leviticus 19:11-12)
• Do not covet (Exodus 20:17) - perhaps not discussed in Leviticus because it is an internal sin, so no objective or concrete evidence is possible. 

Sadly, it appears that Israel did not observe the Sabbath years, and the promise of 26:34 was fulfilled as noted in 2 Chronicles 36:31. At the time of the Babylonian exile, when Nebuchadnezzar carried off the remaining Jews, it was observed that the land enjoyed its sabbath rests for the period of desolation, seventy years.  This implies that Israel did not observe Sabbath years for a lengthy period. The Sabbath schedule was that there were to be 8 sabbath years in every fifty year period. Taking seventy years times the inverse ratio 50/8 gives 437.5 years for a total span. This is interpreting the time span as though each end of every six years immediately turned over a new six year cycle with no rest. Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon and the remaining Jews were carried into captivity in 586 BC. 586 BC + 437.5 = 1023.5 BC. Saul became king of Israel around 1020 BC. Given uncertainty in ancient dates, this seems a plausible interpretation. This covers the entire time that Israel was a kingdom.  

How this differs from modern life where most don’t even observe a weekly Sabbath, and the consequences of the modern lifestyle, is entirely open to debate. I do not know if anyone in modern Israel observes Sabbath years or Jubilee years. But the stress of modern society and work is doubtless a major factor the disease-ridden society we live in.

Leviticus 27 Redeeming What Is the Lord’s

As an appendix to the conclusion in chapter 26, Moses here laid out guidelines for evaluating the price  of redemption for various kinds of items that have been promised or devoted to the Lord.

Leviticus 27:1-8 if a person is dedicated to the Lord, the price of buying them back is based on age and gender. Adults in the prime of life cost the most, children and those over sixty are less. (Recall that Moses was about eighty at this time.) Females were priced at roughly 60% of males. No explanation is given for these prices. Presumably this had something to do with their productivity over their remaining lifespan. Poor people could appeal to the priest to get their price reduced.

Leviticus 27:9-13 An animal that was vowed to the Lord can only be redeemed by a substitute of equal or higher quality. A clean animal that is vowed becomes holy. 

Leviticus 27:14-15 The price for redemption of a house dedicated to the Lord will be set by the priest. 

Leviticus 27:16-21 The price for a field depends on two factors. The amount of seed it will take to plant it, and the number of years until the next Jubilee. Fields can be redeemed for 120% of their valuation. Otherwise, they will become the permanent possession of the priesthood at the next Jubilee.

Leviticus 27:22-25 A field bought from another and then dedicated to the Lord has the additional provision that it will revert to its original owner at the year of Jubilee, and not become the priests’ property. 

Leviticus 27:26-27 Special rules for the firstborn  animal. If it is clean, it is automatically the Lord’s. If it is an unclean animal, it can be bought back for 120% of its value.

Leviticus 27:28-29 Nothing that is devoted to the Lord can be bought back. It is His - person, animal, or land. A person  that is devoted to destruction must be killed. No exceptions or redemption.

Leviticus 27:30-33 The tithe can be redeemed for a 20% surcharge. Inferring, this means if someone has a number of animals and ten percent of the increase needs to be tithes, they can buy back the animal for cash, at a 20% markup. However, the substitution of one animal for another has limits and special rules.

Leviticus 27:34 This really is the conclusion of Leviticus. (26:46)

Leviticus 24-25

Leviticus 24 Light, Blasphemy, and eye-for-eye retaliation

Leviticus 24:1-4 The Israelites are to bring pure olive for the priests to burn in the tent of meeting, outside the most holy place, continuously (continually). The priests will put flame on top of the golden altar.  After God created the heavens and earth, the very next thing He created was light. (Genesis 1:3-5). The psalmist says that God’s word is light, going beyond simply saying God spoke to bring light into existence. (Psalms 119:105,130) The point being, coming into God’s presence brings the opportunity to hear from Him, and thus have our lives and paths illuminated by truth. Of course, this is only opportunity, we are free to accept or reject what He slows us, or unintentionally or deliberately misinterpret it. The flame of burning olive oil simply symbolizes this opportunity to partake of the truth. (John 8:12, 9:15)

Leviticus 24:5-9 The Israelites are to bring twelve loaves of bread to set on the table in the holy place every sabbath. Each loaf is to contain 0.2 ephah (about seven cups) of flour. These will become food for the priests, part of their food allotment. This bread probably speaks on at least three levels. On the physical level, it reminded Israel of the manna He provided in the wilderness for forty years to the twelve tribes, and continued to provide as they farmed in the promised land. Next, God provides His word as bread for our souls. At the spiritual level, Jesus is the bread of life, represented in the New Testament by the Eucharist. Twelve loaves probably represent the tribes of Israel or Jesus’ apostles.  (Matthew 4:4,  Luke 22:19)

Leviticus 24:10-16 A mixed breed man (perhaps teenager), cross between Israelite and Egyptian, got into a fight and cursed the Lord’s Name, violating the third commandment. (Exodus 20:3) The Lord told Moses that anyone who curses His Name is to be stoned. This is an equal opportunity rule, applying to both Israelites and gentiles residing with them. His Name is to be respected because He is holy. The entire assembly is to lay their hands on him  (reminiscent of 4:15, 16:21) and participate in the execution.  Presumably this was to transfer any guilt for the offense to the offender, and to remind the rest of their responsibility to honor God with their speech.

Leviticus 24:17-22 The punishment for violating the sixth commandment is death. (Exodus 20:13) The eye-for-an-eye rule is to be applied to injuries of all sorts, including fracture, eye or tooth damage, or loss of an animal. It also applies equally to both Israelites and gentiles. Jesus contravened this rule. (Matthew 5:38-42) He said to forgive and turn the other cheek. He went on to tell us to love our enemies and pray for those who despitefully use us (Matthew 5:43-48), because this is the character of God who forgives us. But at this point in Israel’s formation, having just spent 400 years in Egypt, they needed to understand that might does not make right, and the powerful could not abuse the downtrodden with impunity.

Leviticus 24:23 The Israelites obeyed God and stoned the blasphemer.

 

Leviticus 25 Sabbath Years and Slavery

Leviticus 25:1-7 Israel was to let the land lie fallow for one year every seven, calling it a Sabbath year. The land was to be allowed to rest. God would provide such an abundant harvest the sixth year that they could have food until the harvest of the eighth year, which reset the clock.  Verse 6 is a bit puzzling because it says whatever a land yields the Sabbath year would be food for them, but since they weren’t to harvest it, it is not clear how this worked.  Perhaps this simply means harvesting for sale was not to happen, but the farmer could feed his household from it. There is some recent thought that letting the land rest was a natural way to allow for ecological health in farmlands.

Leviticus 25:8-13 The year of jubilee is an additional Sabbath year that occurs after seven Sabbath years, so that there will be two Sabbath years in a row. Hence this happens every fifty years. The rules for this jubilee year are the Sabbath rules with additional provisions for the  return of families to their ancestral properties, the forgiveness of debts, and the freeing of slaves.  

Leviticus 25:14-17, 23-28 Further elaboration on the return of the land emphasizes that the land belongs to the Lord and the Israelites are only tenants. If someone sells their ancestral land, they are really only subleasing it to the other party for the number of years until the next jubilee. Hence, the sale price should be accordingly pro-rated. 

Leviticus 25:18-22 As with the year of jubilee, the Lord promises bountiful harvests to feed the Israelites, in this case for two full years of rest for the land.

Giving the land rest possibly stands for giving our bodies rest, although on a larger scale than weekly Sabbaths. Certainly God rested on the seventh day of creation, although the duration of the days in Genesis has been the subject of some debate. (Genesis 2:2-3) It appears that He planted the garden of Eden after He created Adam and Eve. I can find no hint at a year of jubilee in the Genesis account. Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years, and did not plant nor harvest in the desert, but simply gathered manna for six days per week.  (Exodus 16:22-30) Entering the promised land was a celebration of sorts, but the Israelites had to fight. There is no record of them observing Sabbath years during the era of the judges. In the New Testament there isn’t any parallel dynamic matching this time line, of celebrations of rest every seven or every fifty years. 

Leviticus 25:29-34 Rules for the redemption of non-agricultural dwellings: The right of redemption extends to dwellings in small towns. However, houses in walled cities have only a one year right of redemption. After that, the sale is permanent. All houses of Levites have a permanent right of redemption, regardless of location. And a special rule, the pastures of Levites  are never to be sold, because they belong to God.

Leviticus 25:35-43 A warning about mistreating fellow Israelites who become poor. They are not to be taken advantage of, by gouging them financially. They are to be helped. They do not lose their status as Israelites, even if they sell themselves as slaves to other Israelites. Treat them with respect.  In the year of jubilee they are to go free and return to their ancestral land, to which they did not lose the right of redemption.  

Leviticus 25:44-46 By contrast, foreigners can be treated as chattel slaves, property, to be owned, bought, and sold. No right of redemption. This applies whether they are bought from other nations or are immigrants to Israel. Unfortunately, verses like this have been used to justify slavery across the centuries and millennia. Often in the antebellum era, slaves had a much deeper relationship with Christ than their owners, who practiced the form of religion without substance or depth. Seeing these verses from a racial perspective completely ignores the spiritual dimension. A person with a personal relationship with Jesus will see those lacking that personal relationship as a mission field for evangelization, not as property to be bought and sold.

Leviticus 25:47-55 If a foreigner living within Israel becomes wealthy and an Israelite sells himself to them, the right of redemption remains. In addition to the year of Jubilee, a relative has the statutory right to buy him back from the foreigner. Prices to be prorated based on the calendar.  

Leviticus 23 The Ecclesiastical Calendar

Leviticus 23:1-2 The Lord appointed these festivals, which they are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. This implies a synergy of celebration with holy observances.

Leviticus 23:3 Keep the Sabbath. The fourth commandment. (Exodus 20:8-11) Take a day off every week and rest! (Genesis 2:2-3) Celebrate that the Lord has provided so generously that you can prosper without working all the time.

Leviticus 23:4-8 Passover originated during the Exodus, marking the date that the Jews left Egypt. Since they were in a hurry, they did not have time to put yeast in their bread, hence it is also the feast of unleavened bread. (Exodus 12:14-20). It begins on the fourteenth day of the first month (Nisan). Nisan begins the Jewish calendar (in the Pentateuch), on the first day after the new moon closest to the vernal equinox. The relationship between the lunar and solar calendars, apart from any religious significance, and their history over the millennia in various cultures is fascinating.

  Passover also is mentioned as the day on which the Last Supper was celebrated. (Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12, Luke 22:1, John 13:1) In every respect, the Passover was consummated during the Last Supper as Jesus identified the bread with His body (Matthew 26:26), and it was truly not leavened by sin. (Hebrews 9:14) The disciples ate the unleavened bread, as Jesus’ body would shortly become the means of their deliverance from the Egypt of sin. Although the temple guard wasn’t as numerous or fearsome as the Egyptian army, they did come to arrest Jesus. 

Leviticus 23:9-14 Offering the wave offering of the first-fruits of the land before partaking of them indicates the necessity of showing our allegiance to Christ in order to receive forgiveness of and deliverance from sin. This takes many forms today. In some circles, saying the sinners’ prayer, in others it is baptism, in others it is public testimony. The simplest text simply says whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13)  

Leviticus 23:15-21 The feast of weeks, which begins the day after seven weeks has passed (the fiftieth day), is designated for offering first-fruits from the new grain to the Lord. This lasting ordinance was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1) They were to bring both a wave offering, a burnt offering, and a drink offering to the Lord. 

On Pentecost when the disciples were gathered in the upper room, there was the sound of a rushing, mighty wind and the appearance of tongues of fire, and the disciples began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them. (Acts 2:1-4) The story is well-known, but Peter cited the prophet Joel and the Psalms rather than the Law. (Acts 2:17-21, 25-28,34-35) The disciples were the first-fruits of the New Testament, believers who had become sons and daughters of God through faith in Jesus. 

Leviticus 23:22 Leave the gleanings for the poor and alien. (19:9)

Leviticus 23:23-25 Rosh Hashanah, the feast of trumpets, is the first day of the  seventh month, Tishrei. This prefigures the angels’ blowing trumpets as described in the New Testament, to announce the return of Jesus and the gathering of His people. (Matthew 24:31, 1 Thessalonians 4:16) This is observed annually in Israel with the blowing of the shofars in anticipation of that great day. Many believe this fulfillment will fall on Rosh Hashanah. 

Leviticus 23:26-32 The day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is nine days later, on the tenth of Tishrei. It is to be observed as a Sabbath rest, with an assembly and presentation of food offerings to the Lord.  This was described in considerable detail earlier. (Leviticus 16) It points to Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. (Hebrews 9:23-28) The timing in the ecclesiastical calendar is a bit of a mystery since we observe Good Friday before Easter, the day after the Passover Seder. It is unclear to me why this falls in the seventh month of the Jewish calendar.

Leviticus 23:33-43 Succoth, the feast of tabernacles, begins five days later on the 15th of Tishrei, lasting for a week. An assembly is held on the first and eighth days. Branches from different types of trees are taken before the Lord. They are to live in temporary shelters, to remind the Israelites of living in tents in the desert during the Exodus. Perhaps this is a picture of being caught up in the air to be with the Lord after the angels’ trumpet blasts announce His return. (1 Thessalonians 4:17) On that day, we will shed our temporary earthly bodies for the glorified bodies He will give us. 

Leviticus 23:44 Moses announced the ecclesiastical calendar to the Israelites. This is somewhat different, and much more systematic than our modern calendar. We celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus, which has no corresponding observance in Leviticus 23. Easter is of course the third day after Good Friday, celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. Many churches observe Pentecost, celebrating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We do not typically observe the holy days of the seventh month, most likely because they haven’t been fulfilled yet. The modern liturgical calendar has a season for every week, including Advent, Epiphany, Lent, and so on. The important point of Leviticus 23 is that all holy days point to Jesus. It is sad when the commercialization of Christmas overwhelms references to Jesus’ birth. Such crass worldliness was not unknown in Moses’ day, hence the warnings in this chapter.

The church has struggled with descending into cold formalism throughout its history. Whether this is the result of activity by the world, the flesh, or the devil has varied. Formal religion has its place in retaining a structure of godliness in these eras of coldness, but every generation needs a fresh fire of personal relationship with Jesus kindled anew. We need the whole gospel as expounded in all of the Bible, and we need the direct intervention of the Holy Spirit to apply these truths to our lives and thusly experience God’s presence. Others have written at length about the specifics of this process. We must simply remember that the whole of the Christian life includes doctrinal truth, personal experience with God, and the consequent implications for eschewing sin, relating to others, generosity to the poor, sharing the gospel, and so forth. Structure is part of this, but only part.

Leviticus 21-22 More Rules for Us

Leviticus 21 The Behavior of Priests

Leviticus 21 In giving instructions for the Levitical priests lives and conduct, Moses is pointing towards the New Testament priesthood of believers. (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6, 5:10, 20:6) He also paints a picture of Jesus, in His role as our great high priest (Hebrews 4:14, 6:20, 7:24). In this passage, one of the common themes is that we, as priests, must avoid anything that would cast doubt on our loyalty to God, in others’ eyes or our own. Purity of heart enables us to see God and Christ in this life. It is ultimately what enables us to act as intermediaries between God and man, revealing His purity in human form (as Jesus did), and bringing the stuff of life in this world to His holiness. 

Leviticus 21:1-8 Priests must avoid anything that will make them ceremonially unclean. In the New Testament God cleanses what the Israelites deemed unclean. (Acts 10:28, Romans 14:14), but Christians must still reject idolatry (2 Corinthians 6:17). Presenting food offerings to the Lord is now transcendently celebrating the Lord’s supper. We must not do it in an unworthy fashion, but correctly discern the body of Christ.  (1 Corinthians 11:27-32) 

Leviticus 21:9 We must not disgrace the Lord, for example by sexual immorality. (1 Corinthians 6:18-19)

Leviticus 21:10 A priest must show due respect in appearance, specifically in hair and clothing. (1 Corinthians 11:2-16)

Leviticus 21:11-12 A priest must not become ceremonially unclean by contact with a dead body. When Jesus raised Lazarus, He didn’t touch him, but went to see his body to speak life into him.  (John 11:43-44)

Leviticus 21:7,13-15 A priest may only marry a virgin from among his own people. Believers should not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. (2 Corinthians 6:14) 

Leviticus 21:16-23 Only a person without physical defect can be a priest. The blood of Christ cleanses our conscience from acts that lead to death. Our heart that must be free from defect in order to serve God.  (Hebrews 9:14)  

Leviticus 21:24 Although these instructions are for priests, Moses told them to all Israel so they would understand God’s standards. The epistles to the Corinthians and the Hebrews were written so that both Jewish and gentile believers would understand what Jesus calls us to. Peter and John also agreed, writing to believers scattered abroad and to those experiencing the apocalyptic unveiling of the last days.

Leviticus 22 More rules for priests

In reading some of these rules, it is very hard to understand either natural or spiritual backgrounds or implications. They seem like arbitrary rules. One theme does come through -  these rules pertain to every aspect of life. God is interested in every dimension of our existence, and has plans for us in all of them. We must give what is best to God in all things.

• Leviticus 22:3 Ceremonial behavior, i.e., public rites not to be contaminated by personal wrongs. (No pun intended.)
• Leviticus 22:4 Bodily infections & health.
• Leviticus 22:5-8 Vermin likely to carry disease are like disgusting habits.
• Leviticus 22:10-11 Provision for and dignity of slaves.
• Leviticus 22:12-13 Marriage and divorce.
• Leviticus 22:14-16 Making mistakes, like mistakenly taking other peoples’ stuff.
• Leviticus 22:17-25 Moral defects. We can’t approach God in good conscience if we tolerate known internal sins.
• Leviticus 22:26-28 Motherhood and babies. Childbirth is bringing new life into the world and must be respected.
• Leviticus 22:29-30 Don’t eat old food. The Old Testament was nourishing, but we need to move beyond the elementary teachings to solid food, life in the Holy Spirit. (Hebrews 6:2)

Leviticus 22:9 warns about the consequences of treating the things of the Lord with contempt. It is a capital offense, in an eternal sense.

Leviticus 22:31-33 All types of sin corrupts, pollutes, and poisons what God is doing in and through us.

Leviticus 19-20 Miscellaneous Rules and Punishments

 Leviticus 19 Miscellaneous Rules for Life 

This chapter recaps six of the Ten Commandments with implications of them for specific situations. 

• Leviticus 19:3 Honor your father and mother. (Exodus 20:12) Stand up in the presence of the elderly. (19:32)
• Leviticus 19:3 Observe the Lord’s Sabbaths. (Exodus 20:8-11) When you take possession of the land, allow it to lie fallow for three years, offer the harvest of the fourth year to the Lord. Then in the fifth year you can eat its fruit. (19:23-25)
• Leviticus 19:4 Do not worship idols or metal gods. (Exodus 20:4-5) Do not practice divination or put cuts or tattoos on your body or cut your hair. Do not practice ritual religious prostitution. Do not consult mediums. (19:26-29, 31)
• Leviticus 19:11 Do not steal. (Exodus 20:15) Do not defraud your neighbor. Do not withhold pay for a laborer overnight. (19:11) Do not rob your neighbor. (19:13) Do not use dishonest measures of weight, volume, or size. (19:35-36)
• Leviticus 19:11 Do not lie. (Exodus 20:16) Do not deceive. Do not swear falsely. (19:12) Do not spread slander. (19:16)
• Leviticus 19:16 Do not endanger your neighbor’s life. (Exodus 20:13)

Beyond the Ten Commandments, there are other rules for society that are loosely related to the idea of a society that observes the overarching value articulated in Leviticus 19:18:  Love your neighbor as yourself.

Leviticus 19:1-2 We are to be holy, like YHWH. This is not just about rituals, it is about how we behave in the context of community. The assembly of Israel, the church we are involved in.

Leviticus 19:5-8 While not eating food that has spoiled has clear health implications, when Lazarus had been in the grave for three or four days before Jesus arrived, his sisters knew his body would have started to decay, and would stink. (John 11:39) Nevertheless Jesus restored him to life. When Jesus died, He rose after three days (Luke 24:46). God created decay as a normal mechanism for recycling dead bodies as compost, but this is not the way eternity works. Even in hell, people do not cease to exist. (Mark 9:43-48)

Leviticus 19:9-10 As provision for the destitute, Israelites were required to leave the edges of grain fields unharvested and to not glean every last grape from the vineyard. This provision was not intended to encourage laziness or dependence, because the poor would still have to go and hand-pick these gleanings, likely still a small amount of food, but at least they wouldn’t starve if they put out that effort. Ruth was both poor and a foreigner. (Ruth 2:3) 

Leviticus 19:14-18 A number of specific and general precepts for a just society. These include dealing with aliens, the poor, the disabled, and even our enemies.

• Don’t mock the disabled. I think we try to follow this principle, although every generation needs to be taught it anew. 
• Don’t pervert justice to favor either the powerful or the poor. This is hard because we all have bias based on experience. Regardless of individuals’ behavior, don’t base judgments on class distinctions. 
• Don’t spread slander (implicitly gossip). 
• Don’t do something, or leave some set of conditions that endanger our neighbor’s life. There are some drivers in today’s traffic who brazenly defy this command. Sometimes they reap accordingly. Don’t take that risk. 
• Don’t hate your neighbor by failing to warn them. If they do something wrong, either practically or morally, we should honestly point it out to them, so that we don’t share in their guilt. But on the highway, be very cautious about this. They might be armed with a car.
• Don’t seek revenge. (Matthew 5:38-42)
• Love your neighbor. Jesus quoted this as the second great commandment. (Mark 12:31). But He went further to command us to love our enemies, whether neighbors or not was not. (Matthew 5:43-47) This principle is the foundation for a just society, indeed for the Kingdom of God, who loves His enemies. Is it impractical? In earthly terms, it makes no sense, because it seems to contravene other commands such as justice and holiness. But here we are getting just a hint of how eternity operates, to the extent we can follow all of God’s commands at the same time. Eternal reality is transcendent. We won’t fully get it until we are there. But we can try to observe the golden rule. (Matthew 7:12)

Leviticus 19:19 This is a bit of a mystery. I know of no practical reason to avoid these kinds of mixing. A potential spiritual application: Paul wrote to Timothy that a woman should not adorn herself with  makeup, hairstyles, or elaborate clothing, but with good deeds. (1 Timothy 2:9-10) Perhaps this is a picture of mixing good deeds with common or evil deeds - a believer must not do so.  

Leviticus 19:20-22 Dealing with this situation seems like a compromise. It seems tantamount to giving an out for several heinous behaviors. Having sexual relations with a female slave (likely involuntary even if not forced) who is engaged to another man, is not treated as adultery because she has not yet been freed. The punishment is the normal guilt offering. 

Leviticus 19:33-34 The command to treat immigrants as native-born echoes 19:18 with an additional caveat. If your neighbor is foreign-born, they are still God’s children, even gentiles. This seems to fly in the face of the command to exterminate certain tribes when they entered the promised land. But the difference is that when the Jews settled in Canaan, the natives already there weren’t foreign born. They, the Israelites, were the ones born elsewhere (in Egypt, in the desert). The tribes identified for extinction were specifically called out elsewhere, along with the reason for showing no mercy. (Deuteronomy 7:1-5)

In today’s world, we have laws seeking to control and limit immigration, regardless of how ineffective they may be. This passage does not speak to the issue of legal vs. undocumented immigrants. In that day, no such framework existed. The decision on how to treat aliens leads to behaviors, and is born of the essence of agape, or its absence.

Leviticus 19:37 The admonition to keep all of these commands is based on the overarching reality that His name means “I am that I am”. He is the non-contingent creator of all that we know in this universe. Take Him seriously.

Leviticus 20 Appropriate punishments

Leviticus 20 designates punishments for violating the rules given previously. The rules haven’t changed, this just gives the consequences of breaking them. A combination of repetition with motivation for observing them.

• Leviticus 20:1-5 Sacrificing children to Moloch. (18:21) Stone him to death. Cut off his family.
• Leviticus 20:6 Following mediums and spiritists. (19:31) Excommunication.
• Leviticus 20:7-8 Exhortation to follow His decrees.
• Leviticus 20:9 Cursing father or mother. (19:3; Exodus 20:12) Death.
• Leviticus 20:10 Committing adultery. (18:20; Exodus 20:14) Death.
• Leviticus 20:11 Having sex with father’s wife. (18:8) Death.
• Leviticus 20:12 Having sex with daughter-in-law. (18:15) Death.
• Leviticus 20:13 Homosexuality. (18:22) Death.
• Leviticus 20:14 Marrying both a woman and her mother. (18:17) Death.
• Leviticus 20:15-16 Bestiality. (18:23) Death. Kill the animal also. 
• Leviticus 20:17 Marrying sister or half-sister. (18:9) Excommunication.
• Leviticus 20:18 Having sex during a woman’s period. (18:19) Excommunication.
• Leviticus 20:19-20 Having sex with an aunt. (18:12-13) Childlessness.
• Leviticus 20:21 Marrying his sister-in-law. (18:16) Childlessness.

Leviticus 20:22-24 The Lord says to follow all these decrees and laws in order to inherit the land, and do not do what the previous occupants did. Their punishment is exile. If you do what they did, that will be your punishment as well. (18:28)

Leviticus 20:25-26 Harking back to Leviticus 17, the Lord commands a distinction between clean and unclean animals, birds, and creeping things, because He is holy and He has chosen Israel as His.

Leviticus 20:27 Any medium or spiritist is to be put to death. Previously He had prescribed excommunication for anyone turning to them. (20:6) He now commands the death penalty to those who practice it.