Leviticus 18:1

There are four divisions in this chapter:

(1) a warning for Israel not to fall into the customs of the Egyptians and the Canaanites (Leviticus 18:1-5);

(2) marriages between persons of close kinship forbidden (Leviticus 18:6-18);

(3) the prohibition of sexual deviations like those of the Canaanites (Leviticus 18:19-23);

(4) and God's warning of the consequences of failure to observe these rules (Leviticus 18:24-30).

Significantly, this chapter has a pertinence to our own times that is quite different from many of the previous chapters which dealt with the forms, ceremonies, and sacrifices to remove ceremonial defilement. Most of this chapter is just as binding upon our own generation as it was upon the first generation that received it, because Jesus Christ and the apostles incorporated nearly all of it into the New Covenant. Incest (1 Corinthians 5:1), adultery (Romans 13:9), and homosexuality (Romans 1:27; 1 Corinthians 6:9) are just as sinful today as they were when Leviticus was written. In fact, the law of Jesus Christ regarding adultery is even more strict than the regulations of this chapter (Matthew 5:27,28; 19:3-12). Paul even went so far as to say that homosexuality, not merely the practice of it, but the advocacy of it as a "life-style," is "worthy of death" (Romans 1:32).

It is not surprising that, along with the ties of consanguinity as a basis for forbidding marriages between those of close kinship, there appears also in this chapter the inclusion of the ties of propinquity (nearness in time, place or by marriage), thus forbidding marriage to certain in-laws. Surely, this is one of the most interesting chapters in Leviticus, and many of its teachings are still incorporated into the laws of nations all over the world.

There are a number of characteristics of this chapter that identify it with "the covenant-treaty form"[1] similar to that found in Exodus 20 and parallel passages in Deuteronomy. It begins and ends with, "I am Jehovah your God" (Leviticus 18:2,30). It has: (1) a preamble (Leviticus 18:2); (2) a glance at past history (Leviticus 18:3); (3) the basic condition, "Do my laws" (Leviticus 18:4); (4) the promised blessing, "enjoy life" (Leviticus 18:5); (5) the spelling out of details (Leviticus 18:16-23); and (6) the invocation of curses (Leviticus 18:24-30). The significance of this is that it identifies the passage with the times of the Hittite treaties "of the second millennium B.C.,"[2] thus linking the Book of Leviticus and the whole Pentateuch with the times of Moses (due to the manifest unity of this chapter with the entire Pentateuch). The cumulative weight of such evidence as this, which we have frequently noted in this series, is enormous and affords strong presumptive proof, not merely of the antiquity of the Pentateuch, but also of its Mosaic authorship as well!

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am Jehovah your God. 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 statutes. Mine ordinances shah ye do, and my statutes shall ye keep, to walk therein: I am Jehovah your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and mine ordinances; which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am Jehovah."

"I am Jehovah your God ..." This preamble also closes the section (Leviticus 18:30), indicating the covenant nature of the instructions. It occurs frequently in Leviticus and also in Numbers and Deuteronomy. Almost exactly the same words occur in Exodus 20:2 and Deuteronomy 5:6.

"After the doings of the land of Egypt ... of the land of Canaan ..." The gross sexual wickedness of both Egypt and the land of Canaan were extensively documented, not only in the Bible, but also in non-Biblical literature. The usual retrospective glance at history which characterizes this type of treaty-covenant is here slightly altered to include a glance forward toward the land of Canaan Israel was about to enter. The extreme wickedness of the people of the land whence they came and also that of the land to which they were going demonstrates the isolation and threat inherent in the position of Israel at that time.

"Neither shall ye walk in their statutes ..." The last words of this clause were rendered, "You must not follow their rules," by Wenham.[3] The word "rule" comes from a Hebrew word [~chuq] and denotes "something inscribed by God."[4] This indicates that other parts of the Pentateuch in addition to the Decalogue might also have been given to Moses in the form of writing by the finger of God Himself. Whether or not that was the case, the oft-repeated clause stating that God commanded Moses to, "Say unto the people ..." thus and so, serves the same utility of attesting the source of all these regulations as being God himself. Christians must not conform to the customs and value-judgments of the world where they live. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," is in the Devil's bible, but not in the Holy Scriptures. God's people in all generations are to be different.

Continued favor in the eyes of God, in those days, was contingent upon the people's adherence to God's laws and upon their fidelity in obeying them. It must also be received that the same thing is true now. Even the colossal truth that we are saved, not by our own righteousness, but by the righteousness of Jesus Christ does not alter this. Only an OBEDIENT faith can enable a Christian to continue in a saved condition (Romans 1:5,16:26). All of these things "are written for our admonition" (1 Corinthians 10:11); and the big thing that is written about Israel in the O.T. is simply this, that their failure to OBEY God resulted in their final rejection and expulsion from the land of promise. It is to be sincerely hoped that Christians will take such a fact to heart.

"If a man do, he shall live ..." True to the pattern of fifteenth century B.C. covenant-treaties, this promises a blessing upon them that receive and adhere by their conduct to the terms of it. "Life is here promised. However, the ancient Jew probably understood this as applicable primarily to the health and prosperity of the present earthly life. Nevertheless, even in the O.T. there are here-and-there substantial hints that something infinitely more wonderful was included, even a glorious life after death. See Psalms 73:17; Daniel 12:1-3; Psalms 16:10, and Job 19:25-29. Despite such O.T. intimations of the glorious after-life, it remained for Jesus Christ to bring life and immortality to to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10). See John 5:28,29; 6:54; 8:51; 11:25f; 14:1-3.

Leviticus 18:6-23 spell out in detail the particular stipulations of God's agreement here with Israel. These are the terms of the holy treaty.