And the Lord spake unto Moses ,.... About the same, or quickly after he had delivered the above laws to him; and there are many in this chapter, which were before given, and here repeated: saying ; as follows. read more
Verse 1 1.And the Lord spake. This is the object of the exhortation: first, that they should not measure the service of God by their own conceits, but rather by His nature; and secondly, that they should begin by studying (281) to be holy. For nothing is harder than for men to divest themselves of their carnal affections to prepare for imitating God. Besides, they willingly lie slumbering in their own filthiness, and seek to cloak it by the outward appearance of religion. Here, then, they are... read more
Morality has a basis of its own. The moral philosopher, if asked, "Why should I act morally?" replies, "Because it is right for you to do so." If asked further, "Why is it right for me to do so?" he replies, "Because your conscience tells you that it is." If asked why conscience should be obeyed rather than passion, he replies, "Because it possesses greater authority, even if it has less power;" and in proof of this he points to the approval or disapproval which it stamps upon acts... read more
Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy. Holiness. I. THE UNIVERSAL REQUIREMENT . "Speak unto all the congregation," etc. 1 . No exception. "All have sinned." 2 . The nature of man requires him to be holy. The relation between man and God. The laws of God not mere arbitrary decrees, but the expression, in positive relation to the freedom of man, of the Eternal Reality of the universe. 3 . The universality of revelation is the universality of responsibility.... read more
Purity in worship. The laws set out in this chapter were before communicated to Aaron and his sons; now they are given to the people ( Leviticus 19:1 , Leviticus 19:2 ). It is the privilege and duty of God's people to acquaint themselves with his will. They should learn the Law from the lips of Moses. They should learn the gospel from the lips of Jesus. It is a maxim of antichrist that" Ignorance is the mother of devotion" The mother of devotion, viz. to superstition, it is (see 1... read more
These four laws are, in their positive aspects, In Leviticus 20:11 , Leviticus 20:14 , Leviticus 20:16 , 35, 36, obedience is inculcated to the eighth and the ninth commandments, which are the laws of honesty and of truthfulness; in Leviticus 20:12 to the third commandment, which is the law of reverence; in Leviticus 20:17 , Leviticus 20:18 , 33, 34, to the sixth commandment, which is the law of love; in Leviticus 20:20 , 29, to the seventh commandment, which is the law of... read more
Religion and superstition. It is not always easy or even possible to distinguish between religion and superstition. We may fall into the latter when we are seeking to practice the former; or we may, from undue fear of the latter, neglect the former. In this chapter the Jews were taught (and we are thereby encouraged) to avoid the one, and to perfect the other in the fear of God. I. THE SUPERSTITION WHICH WAS TO BE SHUNNED . 1 . Clearly and decisively everything that... read more
Social morality. cf. Matthew 22:35-40 ; Romans 12:1-21 ; James, passim. From the primary principle of unworldliness, we now have to proceed to sundry details about social morality. Although these details are given indiscriminately, it is yet possible to discern certain great principles among them. And— I. ALL SOCIAL MORALITY IS MADE TO REST ON OUR RELATION TO GOD HIMSELF . In the Decalogue we have social morality, that is, our duty to man, based upon... read more
Miscellaneous matters (19:1-37)Probably the miscellaneous laws collected here were decisions or warnings given by Moses in cases where there was some doubt about what was right or wrong. Often all that was needed was a reminder of existing laws; for example, those concerning respect for parents, Sabbath-keeping, worship of idols and eating of sacrificial food (19:1-8).When harvesting, farmers were always to leave something for the poor (9-10). Employers had to pay wages promptly, and judges had... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Leviticus 19:1-10
Moses is ordered to deliver the summary of the laws to all the congregation of the children of Israel (Lev. 19:2); not to Aaron and his sons only, but to all the people, for they were all concerned to know their duty. Even in the darker ages of the law, that religion could not be of God which boasted of ignorance as its mother. Moses must make known God's statutes to all the congregation, and proclaim them through the camp. These laws, it is probable, he delivered himself to as many of the... read more