[Leviticus 18] Anything Goes? What Does God Require? In chapter eighteen of Leviticus, God instructs Moses regarding the sexual habits and practices present in Egypt, Canaan, and among the Hebrew sojourners. It is uncomfortable to talk about incest, homosexuality, adultery, bestiality, but God brings them up anyway because some things cannot go unaddressed or unsaid. We live in a hyper-sexualized society. No one is unaffected or invulnerable though the church puts on a very hypocritical face where these things are concerned. This lesson will challenge you, help you, and strengthen you in these sensitive areas that undoubtedly touch your life.
[Lev 18:1-30 KJV] 1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. 3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. 4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I [am] the LORD your God. 5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I [am] the LORD. 6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover [their] nakedness: I [am] the LORD. 7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she [is] thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 8 The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it [is] thy father’s nakedness. 9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, [whether she be] born at home, or born abroad, [even] their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. 10 The nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or of thy daughter’s daughter, [even] their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs [is] thine own nakedness. 11 The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she [is] thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she [is] thy father’s near kinswoman. 13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister: for she [is] thy mother’s near kinswoman. 14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she [is] thine aunt. 15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she [is] thy son’s wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it [is] thy brother’s nakedness. 17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; [for] they [are] her near kinswomen: it [is] wickedness. 18 Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex [her], to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life [time]. 19 Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness. 20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her. 21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through [the fire] to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I [am] the LORD. 22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it [is] abomination. 23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it [is] confusion. 24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: 25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. 26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit [any] of these abominations; [neither] any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: 27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which [were] before you, and the land is defiled;) 28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that [were] before you. 29 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit [them] shall be cut off from among their people. 30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that [ye] commit not [any one] of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I [am] the LORD your God.
In a culture that highly values individualism, many of Moses’s laws given by God could be seen as an encroachment upon personal liberties by modern standards. Some read the Old Testament’s moral laws and consider them outmoded, not in touch with the times, and not incumbent or required upon a seeker-sensitive religious culture such as we find in the current climate in Christianity. Before getting into specifics, let look at the general statements found at the beginning of the chapter. God is prefacing this passage with references to the moral condition of the peoples of Egypt where the Israelites came from and the peoples’ moral state where they were going. He instructs that God’s people will not follow the example of ancient Egypt, where they spent 400 plus years in captivity. Neither would they be allowed to adopt the practices and lifestyle of the nations they would find in Canaan’s land where they were going.
When Ezekiel prophesied about the restoration temple (which is a picture of the body of Christ), we see that the priest’s role was to teach the difference between KINGDOM CULTURE and POPULAR CULTURE:
[Eze 44:23 KJV] 23 And they shall teach my people [the difference] between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
God is not interested in imposing some peculiar religious lifestyle upon you. He wants you to be willing to be taught that you might discern on your own and choose to withdraw from components of our culture that may represent personal temptation that are in fact, by the standards expressed in the scripture found to be profane and unclean.
In vs. 6-14, the issue of incest is addressed. Incest is rarely talked about today unless it is the day’s topic in some salacious afternoon talk show. Yet it is far more common than it would ever appear on the surface. Years ago, as a pastor, I spent hours upon hours counseling hundreds of people in inner healing and deliverance sessions (more commonly called SOZO sessions today). I found almost without exception that those I ministered to were universally victims of incest at some point in their lives and very commonly perpetrators of incest upon others. There was no difference between male or female in this statistic – both women and men I found to have this distasteful thing in their background. Usually, this happens at a young age and, at times, continues up to young adulthood. Guardians and parents hear this, and they are shocked. To protect our young people, we need to vigilant. While at the same time, I’ve seen parents overreact to curious children and lay heavy burdens of guilt and shame upon children who can’t even understand matters of a sexual nature. We must take responsibility ourselves, particularly where very young children are concerned. If we provide lax oversight with a “set it and forget it attitude” toward supervising our kids, they may very well get into trouble. Many times in these instances, with the very young, it is the parents that need to be corrected and not a child that needs to be shame.
I’ve ministered to adults who were subjected to brutal sexual abuse for their entire childhood, and their loving, God-fearing parents were never aware of it. It is quite common for children to notify parents, and the parent simply shuts the conversation down because it is just too disgusting to even think about. Later, when accusations are flying, the child reminds the parent, and the parent insists that they were never informed. All of this can be avoided with a little wisdom and watchfulness ahead of time. Practical parenting suggestions will save a child a lifetime of heartbreak and fracture. If you look back on your child-rearing days and find you were one of these parents who swept this type of incidences under the rug and have a troubled and conflicted adult child, a good sit down to ask forgiveness and speak healing into that situation would go a long way.
In vs. 15-20, we find prohibitions on sexual behaviors outside Biblically defined norms. We live in a sexualized culture. The values of culture in the West define fulfillment in terms of sexual conquest and gratification. Suppose we simply coast through our day and our life without proactively combatting this on several levels. In that case, we will experience the intensity of an environment characterized by promiscuity that celebrates the objectification of the opposite gender. To the men, I would like to quote a few scriptures:
[Pro 4:23, 25 KJV] 23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life. … 25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
Paul instructed Timothy regarding his interactions with the opposite gender:
[1Ti 5:2 KJV] 2 [Treat] The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
To the ladies, I would share the following verse:
[1Ti 2:9 KJV] 9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety …
Ladies, God created men to be influenced by your appearance, your perfume, the sound of your voice, and your body language. Men and boys around you are designed to be attracted by a visual, olfactory, and auditory stimulus. This is a matter of biology that any sociologist or psychologist can confirm to you. The extreme reaction of Islam is to dress a woman in a burka from head to toe. This isn’t necessary or desirable. But ladies use common sense. It doesn’t matter what the fashionistas may suggest; God wants you to walk in love and deference toward everyone, including the opposite gender, particularly in your appearance and comportment. Take an approach toward your behavior and appearance that reflects a thoughtful determination not to be a distraction to a man or boy in this vulnerable area of sexual attraction.
In vs. 21-30, we see prohibitions of pagan practices that involved child molestation and outright torture. The Hebrews throughout Bible history continually fell into idolatry and worship of a pagan god called Molech. In these horrific rites, they would heat the iron figure of Molech by fire with his arms outstretched and lay their children in the embrace of the glowing red-hot idol as an expression of sacrifice and worship, hoping to gain Molech’s favor. Is there any reflection of this today in our culture? There was a day that a child could play in the front yard or walk around the block unsupervised to visit a friend. That isn’t possible today. Children are so at risk to predators that Child Enforcement agencies are leveling charges at parents who let their children play outdoors without supervision. We have sacrificed our children’s well-being and safety to pursue a certain quality of life, choosing financial gain over the mandate to raise our children in fear of the Lord. After raising several generations of latch-key kids who spend more time in front of the TV or computer, we see our young people’s resulting chaos and lost condition. We cannot merely cluck our tongues and shake our heads. As a people and a nation, we must take responsibility for our lifestyle choices individually and culturally that have sacrificed our children to our own idols of conspicuous consumption and materialism.
What about homosexuality? Verse 22 of our chapter reads unambiguously, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind…” This is universally addressed in both the Old and New Testament. Paul said in Romans that these lifestyle choices would become common in a culture that “does not like to retain God” in its knowledge (See Romans 1:28). We live in a day that billions of tax dollars are being spent to exclude God, and any reference to God from the public square. Because of this, God withdraws His presence and allows our choices to produce their consequences. The answer is not to berate and vilify the LGBT demographic. The presence of this element in our culture is a symptom and not a cause. If God allows this because we don’t like to retain God in our knowledge, then it is up to us to return God’s presence to the public square. This is NOT done effectively or sufficiently through the legislature or the judiciary. That is man’s way, and fails every time. What you resort to accomplish a goal becomes the god that will rule over your life in return. Zech. 4:6 says it is not by might, nor by power but BY My spirit says the Lord. Returning God to the public square only comes as individuals and groups determine to live out their faith openly without shrinking away in timidity or faltering because of the resulting persecution. The government will not save us, politics or the military will not save us. Only God Himself is Lord in the earth, and as we seek His kingdom, His kingdom will come.
