Leviticus 19:1

The Bible says in Leviticus 19:1-2, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[2] Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.” What does Jesus want for your life and for mine? God wants us to lead “holy” lives. A holy life is one that is separate from sin. Learn how to avoid sin and avoid temptation. If you have failed, ask the Lord Jesus to forgive you, but then once again make it your goal to be holy. That is God’s will.

The rest of this chapter and beyond tell the children of Israel how to live holy lives. The Bible says in Leviticus 19:3-5, “Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.[4] Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.[5] And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.” In these verses are four of the Ten Commandments. The fifth of the Ten Commandments is: “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” In Leviticus 19:3 it is written, “Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father.” The word “honour” is replaced by the word “fear.” If you have a reverential fear of someone, then you will honour them also. Human beings are told to fear God and to fear their parents. If you are a child rightly related to your parents, then you will revere and honor them. And then as you learn about God through faith in Christ, you will learn to revere and honor God too. Some people do these things in the opposite order. Because of the sins of their youth, they do not learn to honor and revere their parents, but once they get right with God, they wake up and say, “I have been a sinful and disrespectful child. I must repent and start giving my parents the honor and respect that they deserve.”

In Leviticus 19:3 God also said to be holy that people need to “keep my Sabbaths.” In the Old Testament this was every Saturday and the special feast days. In the New Testament because we are not under law, the equivalent of this takes place when Christians gather together in the name of the Lord Jesus on Sundays. The word “Sabbath” means “rest.” We cease from our labors and we rest in Christ. That is what the Sabbath Day refers to in a spiritual way. It says in Exodus 20:8, “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” Notice the word “remember.” The emphasis is on what we think about the Sabbath day. The first Sabbath day was when God created all life on the earth, and then God ceased from His labors on the seventh day. We cease from our labors when we trust in Christ. In a way we are following the example and spirit and spiritual meaning of the Sabbath day when we meet together on Sundays to hear the Word of God, to pray, to sing, and to benefit from Christian fellowship.

The third and fourth of the Ten Commandments are found in Leviticus 19:4 that says, “Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.” This is the same as the first and second of the Ten Commandments. The first of the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20:3 is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” The second of the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20:4-5 is, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:[5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” We were given life to know the Lord, to serve the Lord, and to love the Lord. Jesus loves us and He wants His love returned. That is what He longs for. That is indicated in the first of the Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” “Before me” means “before my face as an insult to me.” Notice that in the second of the Ten Commandments God says, “for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God.” People have idols in the age in which we live even if they are not the idols of wood and stone. Your idols are whatever you love more than Jesus. In case you think that you do not have idols, just identify what you spend the most time doing without dedicating it to the Lord’s glory or what is most important to you. The Apostle John warned Christians in First John 5:21, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

Notice carefully the last part of Leviticus 19:5, “And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.” An emphasis is made on the free human will. God wants us to give willingly because we choose to do so. In the New Testament that principle is emphasized even more. It says in Second Corinthians 9:7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver.” In other words, it is not a New Testament Christian requirement to give ten percent. If you choose to give a certain percentage and you do it willingly, that is fine and good; but you are not required to do so.

The Bible says in Leviticus 19:6-8, “It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.[7] And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.[8] Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.” This appears to be a restriction that primarily has to do with diet and making sure that the Israelites did not eat contaminated meat. God did not go into scientific details to a people who lived before there was very much knowledge to understand about bacteria and disease because that would have no benefit to those people. But the same is true for us. God gives us commandments, and we do not always know why. But God knows why. Every one of God’s commands are for good reason. We will benefit when we obey His commandments.

The Bible says in Leviticus 19:9-10, “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.[10] And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.” This was God’s welfare system and how God provided for the needy instead of food stamps or government programs. This was a commandment for every person. Every person was responsible to think about those less fortunate. Every person was commanded not to use all of their own material gain just for themselves. God uses people to help other people. God uses those who have in order to help those who have not.

The Bible says in Leviticus 19:11-13, “Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.[12] And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.[13] Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.” Three commands are listed here: Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not lie, and thou shalt not take the name of the LORD in vain. Notice the command in verse 13, “Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor.” It is interesting that Jesus said the same thing when He was giving a list of commandments. All of the commandments that Jesus listed were from the Ten Commandments except for this one: “defraud not.” Jesus said in Mark 10:19, “Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.” Jesus gives five of the Ten Commandments, and He includes “defraud not.” All of the commands of the Old Testament books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are part of the law. If you defraud someone, then you oppress them or cheat them in some way. You are robbing from them in some way. Notice the last phrase of Leviticus 19:13, “the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.” Do not even keep back someone’s wages a day longer than they are due. Give everyone what is rightfully theirs and give it as soon as you can. That is God’s will.

The Bible says in Leviticus 19:14-15, “Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.[15] Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.” These verses are about treating properly those who have certain disadvantages or challenges. The ones listed specifically are those who are deaf, those who are blind, and those who are poor. Something that is interesting about verse 15 is that it says to make sure to “not respect the person of the poor” in judgment. In other words, do not favor poor people in judgment. Treat all people the same. Do not treat anyone any better or any worse than others. This means: equal justice under the law.

The Bible says in Leviticus 19:16-18, “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.[17] Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.[18] Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.” The sin mentioned in the first part of verse 16 is gossip. Words can do a lot of damage. Someone who gossips likes to give bad news that they hear about someone, and they do not care if it is true or not. Notice that verse seventeen mentions “hate.” You should not gossip about your neighbor and you should not hate your neighbor. It also says that you should not “rebuke thy neighbor.” People should be treated with respect and honor, and we should be humble. We should think of others as being better than ourselves. Verse eighteen says that we should not “avenge” ourselves. People make mistakes, and we should allow for that. Put it in the Lord’s hands, but do not in any wise get revenge. God is the judge. You are not. You also should not have a “grudge” against anyone. That speaks of your attitude. You should have a good attitude towards all people no matter how they act.

And then God gives the great commandment at the end of verse 18, “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” This is the commandment that Jesus said is the second most important of all commands. The first commandment according to Jesus, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, all thy soul, all thy mind, and all thy strength.” Both commands are made of the verb “love.” If you have love, you will be serving God and pleasing God. True Christianity is all about love. First, you come to know the love of God through faith in the Lord Jesus. It says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Then you learn to love God: “We love Him because He first loved us.” Then you learn to love others because Jesus loves them and God teaches us to love them too. Both in the law of the Old Testament and in the teachings of Jesus we are told, “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

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