Devotional Leviticus 18: Commandments on Moral Purity Reflection on Leviticus 18: the call to not copy the customs of the world, the importance of obeying God's laws, and the protection of holiness. Topics: Devotional, Old Testament.

Devotional Leviticus 18: Commandments on Moral Purity

The observations of the devotional that I am going to share with you today come from my first devotional of the day, which was on chapter 18 of the book of Leviticus.

Synopsis: This book speaks about the Levitical laws that God wrote on the tablets and gave to Moses to share with his brother Aaron and his sons so that they could preach and judge the people of Israel, ensuring they do not stray from the Word of God. Now that God has delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians and confirmed the covenant of their fathers with them, they must observe God’s commandments and laws so that God continues to be faithful to them. In this particular chapter, God speaks about the illicit sexual relationships from which the Israelites must abstain.

Observations

These were my observations:

1. God warns the Israelites to stop following and practicing the customs of the nations where they lived. It feels as though this chapter came on purpose, since just yesterday we were talking about this very topic. These are the verses that speak about it: ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “I am the Lord your God. You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.”’ (Leviticus 18:2-5). In the first verses of this chapter, God warns them that He is now the one and true God of Israel. Therefore, if they accept Him as their true God, they must follow His commandments, laws, and decrees, as this is the only way they will demonstrate that they obey and are faithful to God.
2. The people who disobey God’s laws defile the land where they live, and consequently, the land vomits out its inhabitants. This warning demonstrates what happens to nations that do not observe God’s ordinances—they are eliminated, expelled, or subjugated by other nations or by nature itself. ‘But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.’ (Leviticus 18:26-28). This is very intriguing, and I believe it is what happens to all nations that disobey God’s laws—including all the powerful empires and states that have ever existed. It seems to me that this is what is happening with the USA and many other nations in the world. But we can address this better in conversation later if you want me to explain more clearly why I think this way.
3. God calls all these types of illicit sexual relationships abominations: a son with his mother, sister (on the father’s and mother’s side or only one parent), aunt, father’s wife, brother’s wife, or uncle’s wife; a father with his daughter, daughter-in-law, or granddaughter; a man with another man; a man or woman with someone else’s spouse; a man or woman with animals; having sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual period; having relations with two women who are mother and daughter so as not to create rivalry between them, etc. Today, these types of immoral sexual relationships have become somewhat normalized, and I believe they will become even more acceptable in the future with the perversion of sexuality. As Christians, we must be very careful not to follow the practices of the nations where we live and what is popular. What types of illicit sexual relationships have you already heard about in stories from friends, on the internet, etc.? What was your reaction?