Summary
Leviticus 18:1–5 – Live by God’s statutes, not the nations’
What happens: God tells Israel not to follow Egypt’s or Canaan’s practices. Keep God’s rules and live by them.
What it means: Covenant identity requires moral distinctness. Life is found in obedient trust.
Leviticus 18:6–18 – Forbidden relations within family
What happens: God forbids uncovering the nakedness of close relatives, listing many family ties.
What it means: God protects the family and the vulnerable. Boundaries resist exploitation and honor creation order.
Leviticus 18:19–20 – Menstruation and adultery
What happens: Sex during a woman’s period is forbidden. Adultery with a neighbor’s wife is forbidden.
What it means: Purity and fidelity honor God and neighbor. Marriage is sacred and guarded by God’s law.
Leviticus 18:21 – No child sacrifice to Molech
What happens: Offering children to Molech profanes God’s name and is forbidden.
What it means: God values every life he gives. Worship that destroys life is an insult to the Creator.
Leviticus 18:22 – Male with male
What happens: A man must not lie with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination.
What it means: God sets sexual boundaries that reflect his design. Holiness submits desires to God’s will.
Leviticus 18:23 – Bestiality
What happens: Sex with animals is forbidden for men and women.
What it means: God preserves human dignity and the order of creation. Crossing these lines corrupts worship and community.
Leviticus 18:24–30 – The land and the warning
What happens: These sins defile the land; it vomits out nations who practice them. Israel must keep God’s statutes or face the same judgment.
What it means: God is just and impartial. A holy God ties morality to place and blessing, calling his people to be clean.
Application
- Honor God’s design for family, marriage, and sexuality.
- Protect the vulnerable and refuse exploitative behavior.
- Value every child as God’s gift; reject any practice that harms them.
- Live distinct from culture when culture opposes God’s ways.
