Leviticus 20

Study Guide 15: Leviticus 18-27 WALKING IN FELLOWSHIP Overview The people of Israel were to be wholly separated unto the Lord. In all features of their individual and corporate lives, this people who bore God’ s name was to be holy. Many of the features of Old Testament Law, particularly those having to do with dietary and other elements, had no underlying moral basis. The people were given those laws to help establish a distinction between them and all the other peoples of the world. Such laws reminded Israel that she was a people of God, and because of that relationship, was to be different from others. In the latter part of Leviticus we discover regulations that do have deep moral roots: regulations that are designed to create a just and moral society. How vital to note that included are regulations concerning the feasts and festivals at which one is to worship God. It is impossible to have a truly just society without a deep faith in and a commitment to the Lord God.

II. Separation: Way of Fellowship A. Rules for people Lev. 18-20 B. Rules for priests Lev. 21-22 C. Rules concerning feasts Lev. 23-24 D. Rules concerning Canaan Lev. 25-27SEPARATION. The key Hebrew term is badal. It means to remove from something, and thus to make a distinction between them. In Genesis 1:1-31 God separated light from dark, land from sea. Now God separated Israel from all other nations of the world to be His own covenant people. A separation to God linked every thing in Jewish life to her Lord.

Commentary We noted in the last unit that many of the regulations under the Mosaic Law had no “ logical” purpose. We cannot try to explain the dietary laws, for instance, by arguing that flesh Israel was forbidden as food is somehow intrinsically “ dirty.” These and a number of other Old Testament regulations that structured the lifestyle of Israel were designed to underline this people’ s separation from all other people. Israel was in covenant relationship with Almighty God, and the life lived in the nation was to be different from life as it was lived in other lands.

The Holy To understand the importance of some of the regulations that we are about to look at in Leviticus, we need an understanding of the Old Testament concept of holiness. The following discussion of the Old Testament concept of holiness is quoted from the author’ s Expository Dictionary of Bible Words (Zondervan). The root of the words translated “ holy” and “ holiness” is qadas. The verb means “ to be consecrated,” “ to be dedicated,” “ to be holy.” Anything that is holy is set apart. It is removed from the realm of the common and moved to the sphere of the sacred. The focus of the sacred realm is God Himself, Israel’ s Holy One (2 Kings 19:22; Job 6:10; Psalms 16:10; Psalms 22:3; Psalms 71:22, etc.). “ Holy” becomes a technical religious term used of persons, places, times, and things that were considered sacred because they were associated with and consecrated to God. The seventh day was holy, to be reserved for worship and rest (Genesis 2:3; Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12). Mount Sinai was holy, for God appeared there in fire to give the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19:23). The priests of Israel were holy (Leviticus 21:7), and everything associated with worship and sacrifice was to be considered holy. In a very significant sense Israel itself was considered holy, for this people was chosen by God to be His own special possession (Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 14:2, Deuteronomy 14:21). It is important to realize that great stress is placed in the Old Testament on maintaining the distinction between what is sacred and what is secular. The holy must never be used in a common or profane way. That which was consecrated to God must be for His use alone — forever. Ritual holiness. The religion of Israel was both cultic and moral. The cultic element established religious ritual and many aspects of the lifestyle of God’ s people. A person was in a state of holiness when he observed cultic restrictions. It was a responsibility of the priests to “ distinguish between the holy and the profane, between the unclean and the clean, and [they were required to] teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord [had] given them through Moses” (Leviticus 10:10-11). Both essential and nonmoral practices, such as not cooking a young goat in its mother’ s milk (Exodus 34:26), and religious ceremonies were aspects of ritual uncleanness. Moral holiness. Two aspects of God’ s nature are associated with holiness in the Old Testament. One is His essential power and splendor. When two of Aaron’ s sons violated the ritual regulations governing worship, God, as quoted by Moses, announced: “ Among those who approach Me I will show Myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored” (Leviticus 10:3). Fire flared from the Lord on that occasion and consumed the men who had treated Him with contempt by ignoring His commands. God’ s holiness was displayed in this exercise of awesome power. Leviticus 19:2 displays a moral dimension to God’ s holiness. “ Speak to the entire assembly of Israel,” the Lord told Moses, “ and say to them: ‘ Be holy be cause I, the Lord your God, am holy.’” The commands that follow this statement are not cultic but are moral in character. They deal with theft, idolatry, lying, fraud, slander, revenge, etc., and include the command to love one’ s neighbor. These commands are punctuated regularly by the reminder, “ I am the Lord.” In this Old Testament passage and many others, God’ s holiness is directly linked with His own moral character. That holiness is displayed in His moral perfection and His faithful commitment to good and in His judgment on those who desert the way of goodness for sin. “ The Lord Almighty will be exalted by His justice, and the Holy God will show Himself holy by His righteousness” (Isaiah 5:16). When Israel was set apart to God by God’ s sovereign choice, both the ritual and the moral aspects of obedience to God were essential in their life of holiness. Because God is a holy God, those who are associated with Him are to be holy in all they do.

Regulations for Holiness in the People: Leviticus 18-20 Sexual regulation (Leviticus 18:1-30). Sex is God’ s invention. It is He who created human beings male and female; He who told the first pair to be fruitful and to multiply. The New Testament even calls teaching that believers are to refrain from marriage, “ which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth,” the teachings of “ demons” and “ deceiving spirits” (1 Timothy 4:1-5). But sex has a specific and wonderful function in human experience. While pleasurable and exciting, sex is designed as a bonding experience: an expression of union and oneness to be known by a man and woman who commit themselves to each other for life. Outside of this context of lifelong union, and outside the context of intimate self-giving, sexual activity will be destructive rather than constructive. Leviticus 18:1-30 reflects this and even goes beyond it. It identifies certain sexual liaisons as “ detestable things” which defile not only individuals but the society (“ the land,” Leviticus 18:27). Included are sexual relations with blood relations and in-laws, sexual relations with animals, and homosexuality (Leviticus 18:7-23). This last practice, which the Old Testament text calls “ detestable,” is an issue today as gay men and women demand not just civil rights but to be recognized by society as persons who practice an acceptable “ alternative lifestyle.” There are even openly homosexual clergy, who demand that their denominations affirm them as ministers of God and give congregations into their care. The prohibition against homosexuality is not found solely in this one passage. Leviticus 20:1-27 expands on the sin and decrees the death penalty “ if a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman” for “ both of them have done what is detestable” (Leviticus 20:13). The New Testament Book of Romans speaks of homosexual acts as a “ degrading of their bodies with one another” and calls such passions “ shameful lusts” that lead to “ indecent acts” (Romans 1:24-27). Whatever moderns say about homosexuality, the Bible clearly identifies this sexual practice as sin. As Christians, living in a secular society rather than in Israel’ s “ society under God,” we can take a moral stand on what is right. But probably we will not be able to criminalize homosexuality. As for those outside the Christian community who practice it, their real spiritual need is for Jesus Christ. With them, we need to keep the focus not so much on this sin as on the message of forgiveness for all sins that comes with personal faith in the Saviour. But those who claim to be Christians and still demand a right to be homosexual must be challenged with a vision of our Holy God, who insists that all who have a relationship with Him depart from their iniquity, to live a holy and godly life. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Because homosexuality is such an issue today, you may want to spend group time discussing it, particularly if any in the group have homosexual relatives, friends, or are unclear on the Bible’ s teaching. Have your group brainstorm a list of “ statements people might make about homosexuality.” (This will give everyone an opportunity to raise any questions they may have in a “ safe” way.) Read together and discuss Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13; and Romans 1:24-27. Go through and evaluate the listed statements based on these passages. Then discuss: “ How are we to relate to homosexual persons?” After opinions have been expressed, look in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 for guidelines. This passage teaches that immorality outside the church is not to be judged, but that immoral people within the church are to be judged, and if they do not repent are to be expelled from fellowship. Various responsibilities (Leviticus 19:1-37). Many of the regulations in this chapter expand on the basic Ten Commandments. Not only is a person not to kill, but also “ not do anything that endangers your neighbor’ s life” (Leviticus 19:16). Respect is to be shown for the elderly (Leviticus 19:32), and aliens who live in the land are to be given the same consideration as those native-born. But mixed with these regulations which show deep moral responsibility to others are also cultic rules: do not mate different kinds of animals, do not plant two kinds of seed in the same field (Leviticus 19:19), do not “ cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard” (Leviticus 19:27). In the Old Testament the cultic regulations which were designed simply to mark Israel as different, and the moral regulations which guard the value of every individual, are mixed together. When we move to the New Testament, the cultic is set aside. But the moral obligations that are expressed in Old Testament laws are repeated as life-principles for believers of every day and age. Punishments (Leviticus 20:1-27). This chapter established the death penalty for a number of different sins, with lesser penalties indicated by “ he will be held responsible.” Does the death penalty here suggest a harsher society? No, for that penalty is imposed not for a private kind of criminal act like theft, but only for sins which threaten the whole community. Sins which would shatter the integrity of the family as the basic unit of society are particularly in view here, as is spiritism, which draws the hearts of the people away from the Lord.

Regulations for Priests: Leviticus 21-22 The priesthood, set aside for service to God, was regarded as specially holy. Priests lived under more restrictions than the rest of the people. This was particularly true of whom a priest was allowed to marry: “ The woman he marries must be a virgin. He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people” (Leviticus 21:13-14). LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT This feature of priestly life may stimulate a thought-provoking debate. Divide your group into pro and con teams to study Leviticus 21:1-24. Each team is to suggest arguments for or against: “ Ministers should live by higher standards than ordinary Christians.” After discussion, have each research team choose two members to debate. When the debate is finished have general discussion. But then introduce this thought: in the church all are believer-priests. Because we have been called into this unique relationship with God, we are all — every one of us — to live most holy lives.

Regulations concerning Festivals: Leviticus 23-24 God established a religious year for Israel, broken into patterned celebrations which permitted Israel to relive its heritage annually. Three of the annual feasts were “ pilgrim festivals,” during which families were to journey to a central place of worship, later established in Jerusalem. These were times of special joy and celebration, linked with the agricultural seasons, but intended to help Israel relive salvation history and reaffirm commitment to God. The three pilgrim festivals were Passover, including the week-long Feasts of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 13:3-10; Leviticus 23:4-8; Deuteronomy 16:1-8), Firstfruits (also called the Feast of Weeks and Pentecost) (Leviticus 23:9-21; Deuteronomy 16:9-11), and Tabernacles (also called the Feast of Booths) (Exodus 23:16; Leviticus 23:33-43; Deuteronomy 16:13). During this last festival the people lived outside in rough shelters, commemorating the years of travel from Sinai to the Promised Land. A vital principle underlying this religious system helps us understand how we can better communicate our own faith. The principle is expressed in a Hebrew term, zikkaron, which is often translated as “ memorial” and means “ a reminder” or “ a remembrance.” It is used of objects or actions that help Israel identify with some particular religious truth. For instance, the pile of stones beside the River Jordan that commemorated Israel passing through on dry ground is one such memorial (Joshua 4:7). What was the zikkaron intended to do? It was intended to help individuals who saw or participated in it sense his or her identity with what God had done in the past. In essence the festivals of Israel were designed to help each new generation relive God’ s great and wonderful acts for His people. In the festivals that annually reminded Israel of what God had done for them, the people were intended to sense their own identity with their forefathers, and to realize that God had worked His wonders for each one of them! LINK TO LIFE: CHILDREN The Christian year, featuring Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter, are annual reminders to you and me of all God has done for us in Christ. We can help boys and girls appreciate the significance of these occasions best by using them as God used the festivals in Israel, as opportunities for individuals to relive, to participate in, the sacred events. In class and at home we can let children act out different roles: let them be Mary or Joseph or a shepherd or be a disciple of Jesus when He is crucified, or one of the women who finds the empty tomb. After telling and playing the story, be sure to talk about the feelings of the people they played. How did the shepherd feel when he saw the Baby Jesus? How did the disciple feel when Jesus was dying? The opportunity to relive these wondrous events each year, associated with songs, celebration, and joyful church services, lets us build into the lives of growing children a sense of the reality of the great events of Christian faith.

Regulations concerning Canaan: Leviticus 25-27 The rest of Leviticus focuses on the way that God’ s people were to live when He brought them out of the wilderness and settled them in the Promised Land. This section too is linked with God’ s holiness, but in a distinctive way. We move here to God’ s design for a just, moral community: a holy social order. That order is expressed in part in the establishment of a Sabbatical year and a Year of Jubilee, and even in regulations concerning slavery! To understand the significance of these striking laws, we need to understand the total system God’ s Law sets up for the care of the poor and needy. This system is summarized in the Expository Dictionary of Bible Words. Preservation of capital. This is one of the most significant of Old Testament social mechanisms. Israel was an agrarian society: originally wealth was based on land and what the land could produce. Old Testament Law decreed that the land was to remain perpetually in the family of the first settlers. “ The land must not be sold permanently. . . . Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land” (Leviticus 25:23-24). What the Old Testament Law did permit was sale of the use of the land. The value of a property was to be computed by the projected value of crops between the time of sale and the Year of Jubilee. Every fiftieth year was a Year of Jubilee. In that year, people were not to work the land but to enjoy a year of rest; and in that year everyone was to take possession again of his family heritage — his own land. In addition, if a person needed funds and sold the use of his land and later prospered or found a rich relative who was willing to help him, that person could reclaim his property by recomputing its projected value to the Year of Jubilee and paying that sum. The potential significance of this mechanism cannot be overestimated. A person might make bad decisions or squander his wealth, but there was always provision for capital for the next generation, to be reclaimed in the Year of Jubilee. Thus, every fiftieth year, wealth was in a sense redistributed, and the poor were given the means for making a fresh start. Voluntary servitude. Another option that the poor in Israel had was to sell their personal services to a fellow Israelite. This relationship was carefully governed by Old Testament Law (Leviticus 25:39-54; Deuteronomy 15:12-18). Such a sale of services was paid for in an initial purchase price, but it was not a permanent sale of the individual. Rather, at the end of his seventh year, a Hebrew servant was to be released. “ And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed. Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress” (Deuteronomy 15:13-14). In a sense we can perhaps look at this as an apprenticeship program. A poor person who could not meet his financial obligations was given a sum of money to pay off his creditors. He bound himself to serve the person who had purchased him. During the seven years of service the servant should have learned skills, both for working and for managing his own finances, so that when he was released, he would be able to make it on his own. At the time of his release his former master supplied him “ liberally” with the resources he needed for a fresh start. While these two features of God’ s design of a just, moral community are presented here, there are other mechanisms imbedded in Old Testament Law we need to grasp if we are to understand the whole picture. The Expository Dictionary continues: Access to necessities. Two social mechanisms were designed to give the poor immediate access to life’ s necessities. First, during the seventh Sabbatical year no crops were to be planted. Instead, the poor of the land were to be given access to any crops that had grown up (Exodus 23:10-11). In addition, during regular harvests in other years, the landowner was to go through the fields one time only. Everything that had been missed and all that fell to the ground or was left on the vine or tree was to be made available to the poor. They were to be allowed to glean such fields freely (Leviticus 19:10; Leviticus 23:22). Interest-free, forgivable loans. Loans to other Israelites were to be made without charging interest (25:35-37; Deuteronomy 23:19-20) and were to be canceled when the Sabbatical (seventh) year came (Deuteronomy 15:1-3). Of course a person was to try to repay a loan he made, but if this was impossible, that debt was not to be permitted to weigh him down forever. The proper and loving attitude toward a brother is indicated in Deuteronomy 15:7-11 : “ If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: ‘ The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,’ so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. . . . There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” Organized collections. A number of tithes were to be collected from the people of Israel. One such collection described in Deuteronomy 14:28-29, was to be undertaken every three years, and what was collected was to be stored in each locality. This was to supply the Levites and also “ the aliens, the fatherless, and the widows.” Taken individually, or together, these social mechanisms are extremely striking. They make provision for the immediate needs of individuals, for training of the ineffective, for the preservation of capital, and for the preservation of the respect of the poor as well as of the wealthy. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT It’ s fascinating to speculate on the relevance of some of these social mechanisms for our society today. You can profitably build a group session around this issue. Have your members study the passages referred to in this section. Then give a lecture summary, drawing from the above discussion. Then assign your group the task of redesigning our social welfare system. What laws might be drawn? How could a modern businessman participate? What might individuals and local communities do? While Israel was to be a unique community that expressed God’ s holiness in its law and way of life, many of the principles seen in the Old Testament are superior to those on which our country’ s treatment of the poor and needy is based. And who knows? One of your group might become involved in the political process and make a difference in our own country’ s future. Obedience (Leviticus 26:1-46). God’ s regulations are not intended to be burdensome. Instead they are intended to bring blessing. Now God reaffirmed His personal commitment to bless if His people would be obedient. “ I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid” (Leviticus 26:6). Only if Israel disobeyed and violated God’ s covenant would life hold disappointment and tragedy. As God warned, “ If you remain hostile toward Me and refuse to listen to Me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve” (Leviticus 26:21).

Teaching Guide Prepare Consider the makeup and needs of your group. Which of the emphases in these chapters would best minister to, or challenge, your members?

Explore and Expand Select one of the following emphases for your group study of this section and, except perhaps for a brief lecture overview, give your entire time to it.

1. How do we respond to homosexuality and homosexuals? Follow the process outlined in the “ link-to-life” suggestion above.
2. Should Christian ministers be expected to live by higher standards than lay Christians? Follow the process outlined in the “ link-to-life” suggestion above.
3. How can we make Christian holidays meaningful to our children? Explore the meaning of Israel’ s festivals as zikkaron, and plan meaningful family holiday activities. See above.
4. How can our society become more just in its treatment of the poor and needy? Follow the process outlined above.

Apply Conclude each study with the assignment to list: What will I do?