Leviticus 18-20

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Leviticus 18:1-30

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. 3 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 ordinances. 4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. 5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. 6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD. 7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 8 The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness. 9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. 10 The nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or of thy daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness. 11 The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman. 13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister: for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman. 14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt. 15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son’s wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness. 17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness. 18 Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time. 19 Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness. 20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her. 21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. 22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. 23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. 24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: 25 and the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. 26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: 27 (for all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) 28 that the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. 29 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.”

Introduction: Statutes & Judgments About Morality

[Audio version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED573]

“Chapter 18 of Leviticus, we are breaking from much instruction in regards to sacrifices and so forth, and we come now to a number of chapters that deal with conduct and the reason we should conduct ourselves a particular way. In the next three chapters we’re going to have the phrase, if you look in verse 1, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God.” (verses 1-2) 26 times in the next three chapters. God talks to us about conduct, 26 times he says the reason why?, ‘because I am the LORD your God.’ And as we go through many of these things, it’s good for us, it’s good for me, instead of pointing the finger, blaming others, one of the things that we really get the sense of as we go through here, if we have some problem with some of these things, morally, in regards to forgiveness, whatever they might be, as we go through, the problem is between us and the LORD our God. He asks us to do these things, not because circumstances are perfect, not because the natural man can do them, and not because we are naturally inclined to do them. But because he has our best interests at heart. He can enable us through the power of his Spirit to do these things. And he lays them out for us, and over and over again he says ‘because I am the LORD your God.’ And we’ll see that 26 times in these next three chapters, 42 times between chapter 18 and 26, over and over and over again. Now, coming into these things, there’s much about morality. This is a people that had for 400 years developed in Egypt, and there’s 400 years of Egyptian morality infecting them. And they’re headed into the land of Caanan which is even more immoral than the Egyptians in some ways. So God is giving them very clear instructions about the world that’s around them, both the influence that we’ve come out of, and the influence that’s around us and ahead of us. And this is the Old Testament, without the indwelling of the Spirit, without everybody having a copy of the Scripture, without the graces that God has given to us, and yet God is saying to them, ‘You’ve come out of this world,’ it was a particular way, it had particular standards, ‘that’s not acceptable any longer to you, you’re headed into another world where things are going to be changing and morphing and even worse, that neither is that acceptable, for I am the LORD your God.’ And over and over he affirms his presence, his care, his strength, and his awe. So, as we go through these things you’re going to see that phrase broadcast over and over again.

The Building Blocks Of Nations Are Healthy Families

These Things Destroy The Family Unit

He says in verse 3, “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 ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.” (verses 3-4) And within those ordinances would be healthy family, healthy marriage, healthy body, healthy community, God is very deliberate in giving those things that would benefit his people. He says in verse 6, “None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.” “uncover their nakedness” is an idiom that means “to have sexual relationships with them,” the reason, ‘because I am the LORD.’ “The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.” (verse 7) So, prohibition against sexual relationships with your mother, your father, practiced in Egypt, not uncommon in Egypt. “The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness.” (verse 8) because they’re one, not to get involved in your father’s wife. Now look, you think ‘Why does anybody have to say that?’ In 1^st Corinthians chapter 5 Paul has to write to the Corinthian church because they were glorying in the fact that they were enjoining liberty to the point where they were famous of fornication, and there was a particular man there who was sleeping with his father’s wife. And Paul says, ‘We’re going to bind him over to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh,’ [i.e. kick him out of the church] a means to an end, that the man might repent, that he might be restored. So it isn’t an ancient problem, it’s mentioned here, but it was something they experienced in the New Testament Church. “The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.” (verse 9) Now the Law is being given, both Cain, Seth, the pre-diluvians no doubt had marriages with their sisters. Everybody wants to know, where did Cain get his wife? I don’t know why everybody wants to know that. She was a sister, and if you understand gene frequency, and the gene pool, and dominant-reascent genes, you have to understand, Eve was made from Adam’s side, Eve was female, but Eve had the exact same genes and chromosomes that Adam did, she was made from him. There was no possibility, early on, of dominant-reascent genes causing destruction. Certainly as time went on that becomes a problem. So the Law is given, and this is a prohibition, not to marry your sister, not to have relationships with her. Ah, “The nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or of thy daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.” (verse 10) imagine, this is your granddaughter. “The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman.” (verses 11-12) your aunt. “Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister: for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son’s wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness.” (verses 13-16) Now of course this is not speaking about the Levirite marriage, if your brother died and left his wife without children, Deuteronomy chapter 25, verses 5 to 10 covers that, there was a responsibility in ancient Israel to raise up a male child to your brother through your brother’s wife, your brother’s widow, and there was a responsibility given there. But this is talking about sexual relationships while your brother is alive, with his wife. “Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.” (verse 17) imagine that, don’t get involved with a woman and her daughter, so you can’t get involved with a woman and her grandchildren. “Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.” (verse 18) You can’t marry a woman and then take her sister, as long as she’s alive to be your wife, to vex her. That would vex her, wouldn’t it. So not to be marrying sisters. Jacob, before the Law was given, I don’t think that was ever a real happy environment, with the two sisters and their handmaids and the 12 boys, always seemed like a little bit of insanity going on there, not God’s original design. “Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness. Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her.” (verses 19-20) Adultery. “And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.” (verse 21) Now, one of the major deities in Canaan, where they were coming to inhabit the land, involved the worship of Molech. The Ammonites on the other side of Jordan they were going to encounter, worshipped Molech, and one of the ways that Molech was worshipped was they would have brass statutes of Molech, they would heat them up in the fire until they were glowing red hot, and then you would take your infant children and lay them in the arms of this burning statute and sacrifice them alive to Molech. It’s unnatural, it’s prohibited. [see https://www.unityinchrist.com/kings/1.html and scroll to American Temple of Baal Discovered.] Verse 22 says this, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Homosexual relationships forbidden. “Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.” (verse 23) This practiced in Canaan, and some of the excavations since 1929, the last century they uncovered in the northern part of the land of Canaan, unspeakable, you can go to the University of Pennsylvania Library and get some of the archeology, some of the books on Canaanite rituals and practices and so forth, just unimaginable. Notice this, “Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: and the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.” (verses 24-25) So this is confusion, incest, adultery, intermarrying, sacrificing of children, homosexuality, bestiality, it is all confusion, it is all unnatural, it is all in the same list, and it is strictly forbidden by Scripture. You know, we live in a world today that is vastly different than that Scriptural standard, and some of these things [nowadays] are being protected [legally], and the question is going to be, how long is the Word of God going to be allowed to remain open. Because this is not my opinion, or your opinion, this is God’s opinion, this is God’s Word, these are God’s words, these are the things that he has to say. He’s bringing them out of Egypt, bringing them into Canaan, beseeching them to be a separate people, and he says ‘I don’t want you involved in any of these things that are unnatural, these are the things that shouldn’t be going on, you stay away from these things, we want to see healthy families, healthy marriages, a healthy nation.’ The building block of nations are families. The backbone of this nation is the father, for fathers to stand up and take their role in the home and be what God wants them to be in regards to being a high priest in the home. This [these things] would all contradict any of that. He says the land that I bring you into to possess, he said, is defiled, ‘I’m going to visit the iniquity thereof upon it, so that land itself vomits out the inhabitants thereof.’ When the land is this polluted, God said the land vomits out its inhabitants. Ah, the water’s polluted, the air’s polluted, however that happens, sometimes I wonder, God grant us a Revival here in the United States of America, grant us in spite of legislation, a sweeping among the hearts of men and women in this country. Be the legislator, Lord, in our hearts, do what no government can ever accomplish in people. And I think we can pray that way, because I think in the name of Jesus he can override human government and natural law, if we will beseech him. Verse 26 says “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (for all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) that the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.” (verses 26-30) If you’re living in sexual sin, there is a problem between you and the LORD your God. You don’t make up your own rules, you don’t make up your own morality. As we head into these things we see ethics and theology are married forever, never to be separated in the heart of God, they go together.

Leviticus 19:1-37

“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. 3 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. 6 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 it 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 hollowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 9 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 thy God. 11 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. 14 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. 16 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. 19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee. 20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering. 22 And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him. 23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. 24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal. 25 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD. 26 Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times. 27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. 28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. 29 Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness. 30 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. 31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. 32 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD. 33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. 34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. 35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. 36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.”

Various & Sundry Laws: Statutes and Judgments

“Chapter 19 says “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 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.” (verses 1-2) And again, is there a complicated reason? “for I the LORD your God am holy” very simple. “Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.” (verse 3) and I did when I was growing up. A reverence for mother and father. My mom was usually the one who whacked us, she was the first in the line of whacking, but if it was something that happened and my dad had to be the whacker, it was major and we were in trouble, and those times were memorable. There was reverence for mom and dad. And look, I knew they loved me, my dad was a good dad, he really loved me, but I both loved him and feared him. It was good and it has healthy. Home and church, to reverence your mother and father, and to keep the Sabbath, family should be functioning in such a way that mom and dad are the authorities in the home, the spiritual leaders, they don’t have to be buddies with the kids, and they should be the ones who drag that family to church, ‘This is what we do, and as long as you live here and you eat free and you enjoy, we worship together.’ This first precept, ‘you shall fear every man his mother and father, and you shall keep my sabbaths, I am the LORD your God.’ “Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.” (verse 4) I mean, this is the 1^st Commandment, not to worship any other gods. “And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.” (verse 5) when the peace offering was offered, it was a free-will offering, and you ate part of it, the priest ate part of it, and the LORD took part of it. “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.” (verse 6) So don’t eat it the 3^rd day, nobody would have to tell me that without refrigerators, and my wife would have everything thrown out immediately after the 2^nd day, when 48 hours hit the sand down through the hourglass it would be gone. The 3^rd day you’re not to eat any of it, it should be burned in the fire, “And it if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hollowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.” (verses 7-8) Now look, we’re going to hear this phrase “cut off” a number of times. The context seems to determine whether it means to be excommunicated from the people of Israel and all of their benefits and worship and to be put out, or whether it means to be put to death. And it’s hard sometimes to tell the difference. Very clearly in the next chapter we’re going to hear about capital crimes in Israel, and these things, in chapter 18 and 19 as we’re going through them, we have laid out before us the sins, the things that the children of Israel are not to do, the violations. And then in chapter 20 we’re going to have then the judgments that should be passed on these violations. So we’re going to come to that. “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. 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 thy God.” (verses 9-10) So you have a farm, you go in one time with your reapers, you go through your orchard, you go through your vineyard, you go through your field and you gather at harvesttime. You leave the corners of the field, anything that wasn’t ripe you leave it there, you don’t go back through a second time, those things are left for the stranger, for widows, for orphans. And you didn’t pick them for them and set them by the road, it wasn’t like so much welfare we have today, there was a sense of worth, you worked for it, but it was yours, it was there for you to take. So, you didn’t go back through the field, God took care of the widow, he took care of the orphan, he took care of the foreigner so that they wouldn’t starve. And look, he’s asking them to obey. He’s the one that determines the bounty of your field. God could make you have the greatest increase you have ever had in your field. And we see that over and over again, when the children of Israel worshipped him and they obeyed him, God blessed their fields. In fact, you remember every seventh year they were to let the land go fallow, which meant in the sixth year, they had to have twice as much increase as they normally had to keep them through the seventh year, then into the eighth when they planted again. So every six years they would see a miracle from God if they obeyed him and let the land rest. Here he asks them for the benefit of others that they would leave the corners of the gleanings of the field, for the less fortunate. “Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.” (verse 11) He knows us so well, doesn’t he? “And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.” (verse 12) So he doesn’t lie, he doesn’t steal, he doesn’t sware falsely, he’s asking a reflection of himself in the lives of his people. “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.” (verse 13) because often they had to be paid on a daily basis just to be able to buy something to eat for dinner. So you have people working for you, and you’ve agreed to pay them on a certain day or at the end of every day, you’re not allowed to defraud them, you’re not allowed to keep that back, you need to make good and give that to him. [Fair labour laws.] “Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.” (verse 14) Isn’t this sad that he has to tell us this? And these are his people he’s talking to. Some people think ‘Hey, I can say whatever I want, he can’t hear me anyway.’ Isn’t it sad he has to stoop all the way down and tell us that? My grandmother, she’s with the Lord now so she doesn’t mind that I can tell the story now that she’s gone. She died about ten years ago, 96, grew up in Germany. And her, it was either the grandfather or uncle, she used to tell me, towards the end you hear the same thing over and over again, you know, just like you never heard them before, and sometimes it was the kids job, depending on what was happening at the farm, to take him to church, the old grandfather. But he was blind and deaf. And it was an old church, it was a stone church, no windows, no doors, no wind to blow through, but he loved to go to Mass there, and it had stone benches inside, and sometimes depending on what was going on at the farm it was the kids’ job to take him to church. And she said if it was our job and we knew no one was around, she said there was a field by the church we loved to play in, and there was a stone wall there, and we would take him and sit him on the wall for an hour and he thought he was in church, and we would all go play for an hour. So, just, it’s in us from the time we’re little, that God has to say these things to us, that’s my gene pool, I don’t know about yours. My mom’s side, I just got it from her. “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.” (verse 15) that there should be just weights and balances, there should be justice. “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.” (verse 16) Imagine that. You weren’t allowed to gossip. A tale bearer is someone who takes a tale and bears it to the next person to the next person to the next person. I guarantee you there are people in this room who have been as hurt by gossip or slander as they ever have by a surgeon’s knife, it can be painful. “neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.” (verse 16b) You’re not allowed to bear false witness in a capital crime. “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.” (verse 17) Now look, people do that sometimes, don’t they. I’ve done that. You know, ‘OK, I’ll forgive, but I’ll never forget.’ ‘ok, I’m not going to drive you off the cliff, but I’m going to dream about it every day for the rest of my life.’ “thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.” (verse 17b) But you can reprove him if you see him in sin, you’re allowed to challenge him for his benefit, but you’re not allowed to just sit around and hate him in your heart. “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.” (verse 18) that’s a tough one, isn’t it, “thou shalt not avenge” we know “vengeance is mine, saith the Lord,” so then we think ‘ok, you get him.’ “but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” There it is, the second table of the Law, Jesus said the second part of the great commandment, I am the LORD.

Nine More Judgments

“Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.” (verse 19) What he’s saying is, there needs to be separation, truth and error should never mingle, and in everything they do they’re supposed to think about that. We’re going to read in another place you shouldn’t plow with an ass and an ox, you shouldn’t sow mingled seed, you shouldn’t weave together wool and linen, that there are things that should always remind you about separation, about truth, about right, wrong, what’s higher in regards, in God’s estimation. [These were laws in verse 19 were about quality: maintaining genetic quality of your cattle, genetic quality of seed crop, and quality in manufacturing.] “And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged;” and we’re not sure what that exactly means, beaten or whipped, we’re not sure, “they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.” (verse 20) So this is a particular circumstance they would never have today, this woman is a bondslave, she’s working in someone’s employment, therefore she is not free, and even though she is betrothed to somebody, she’s not free to do that. If someone in the house has a sexual relationship with her, and she is agreeable to that, if a free person was engaged in the period of espousal and had a sexual relationship with someone else, that was considered adultery and they would be stoned. If she does it here, because she is not free, it say she should be scourged, “And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.” (verses 21-22) So I get the impression reading through this, he had a relationship with her, he didn’t know she was engaged to someone else, she was agreeable to the relationship, she had sinned, but because she belonged to someone else, the ultimate sentence would not be passed, she would be beaten, he would have to offer a trespass offering. “And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised:” it’s not ready, it’s outside the covenant, “three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal. And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD.” (verses 23-25) So, it says you plant vineyards, the first three years it starts to bear fruit, the fruit is small, often knarled, it’s about the fourth year when it produces a real yield. And what they’re saying is, don’t bring anything from the first three years as an offering to the LORD, don’t give your little walnut apples, wait till the fourth year when the tree really produces, then in that fourth year give everything to the LORD [i.e. to the Levites, the priesthood] and then the fifth year you can start to enjoy the fruit of your labour. I wonder if sometimes if we’re this patent with human beings. You know, Jesus said you dung around the tree, you do it for three years, and then if it bears no fruit it’s time to deal with it. Here it says three years you let it grow, the fourth year the fruit goes to the LORD, the 5^th year you can begin to enjoy the fruit thereof. “Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.” (verse 26) We’ve been through this, and again, in Canaan they were going to encounter this. Mescaline, Cannabis, drugs, potions, there’s nothing new under the sun. One of the ancient hieroglyphs that they read in Egypt, they decoded, was by a professor in Egypt, and he said “My students are no good, all they do is carouse and drink beer.” What’s changed? there’s nothing new under the sun. And here there is a prohibition in regards to enchantments, using drugs, in the New Testament the word is sorcery in the King James, the Greek word is either Pharmekia where we get pharmacy, or Pharmakos, it’s using or selling illegal drugs, certainly not a prohibition of a prescription drug or a medicine. But it would be the taking of drugs to get high. And certainly the use of marijuana, all those things open you up to a realm that God doesn’t want you opened up to [a demonic realm]. And don’t talk to me like you’re an expert because I am too, I left my brain in San Fransico or somewhere else, back in the 1960s. And you get high, it’s an enchantment, because everything is, you sit in the park, everything’s beautiful, the trees, look on the bark on the tree, look at the weeds, how beautiful, everything looks enchanting because you’ve been reduced to an idiot. And, enchantment, it’s prohibited. And I think the LORD, most of us would never get involved in sorcery, putting a pentagram in our livingroom floor and sacrificing chickens or something. But we get opened to these realms by the use of illegal drugs and so forth, so there is a prohibition of enchantments. Huge in Egypt, huge in Canaan. “nor observe times.” horoscope’s, astrology, and it’s everywhere today. Some people, as soon as they get the TV Guide they turn right to the back of it to see what their predictions are. One of the most prestigious publications put on Wall Street for investors, which is over $200 a month, I had a page from it in my office years ago, it said ‘Don’t invest in July, Torus is rising in his house,’ you know, here are some of the wealthiest people in the world that follow this stuff, you know, people come up to you ‘What sign are you?’ I’m a Stop Sign, just go away. Observing of times, huge in Egypt, huge in Egypt, and would be in Babylon also. “Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” (verses 27-28) And none of you have listened, I can see that. There’s only a few square heads in here this evening. Notice, here’s the context, “for the dead.” Now this is not a specific prohibition of tattoos [some believe it is, it’s up to what part of the Body of Christ you attend and hail from]. If you get one, you got it. This is in regards to mourning for the dead, they would cut their hair a certain way, they would trim their beard, the corners of their beard a certain way, they would make cuttings in their flesh so that they would bleed, and they would put certain marks on themselves. He’s warning them when they come in to the land of Canaan, not to involve themselves in the mourning practices of the heathen that inhabit the land. “Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.” (verse 29) Common in Canaan. If it comes to the point that any father, any parent could let their daughter do that, what is the land coming to? “Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.” (verse 30) “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.” (verse 31) Familiar spirits, the prohibition of séances . And I’ve had people come to me here in the church and tell me they went to a séance, and you know you have to go into the Scripture and show them, ‘Look, this is prohibited, when the dead are gone, their gone, they’re not coming back to say Hi.’ You know, you go to a séance and you’re sitting there at the table and some four-foot-two lady starts talking in your Aunt’s voice, that’s not your Aunt. Demons, they’re ventriloquists, can produce whatever they want. When someone is gone, they’re gone, and it tells us in Luke there’s a great gulf fixed and it’s never crossed over again. Séances, necromancy, we’re not supposed to go after the dead, we’re not supposed to go after séances, we’re not supposed to seek the spiritual realm through the occult, it’s prohibited by God, and God is in charge of the spiritual and physical realms. He’s in charge of the spiritual realms, he prohibits that. “neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.” (verse 31b) window wizard is ok, but you know what this is talking about. “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.” (verse 32) reverence for the aged, boy how that has gone out the window. “And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” (verses 33-34) “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.” (verses 35-37)

Leviticus 20:1-27

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed to Molech, and kill him not: 5 then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people. 6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. 7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. 8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you. 9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him. 10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11 And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 12 And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them. 13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 14 And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you. 15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. 16 And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death: their blood shall be upon them. 17 And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity. 18 And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19 And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister, nor of thy father’s sister: for he uncovereth his near of kin: they shall bear their iniquity. 20 And if a man lie with his uncle’s wife, he hath uncovered his uncle’s nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless. 22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out. 23 And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. 24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people. 25 Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. 26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. 27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.”

Introduction

“Now as we come to chapter 20, and I think we can make it through here, chapter 18 and 19 address the offenses, chapter 20 addresses the penalty for those offenses, and we’re going to find in the Old Testament there 15 capital offenses. Ah, cursing or striking a parent was a death sentence, I wouldn’t be here, I didn’t hit my parents, but you know. Breaking Sabbath was a capital crime, committing blasphemy against God, a capital crime. Participating in the occult, witchcraft, any of that, a capital crime. Prophecying falsely, being a false prophet was a capital crime. Adultery, a capital crime. Rape was a capital crime. Incest was a capital crime. Homosexuality was a capital crime. Bestiality was a capital crime. Kidnapping was a capital crime. Idolatry [which is treason against the King of Israel, Yahweh] was a capital crime. Sex before marriage, the idea is if you were engaged, during the period of espousal and you were unfaithful to the person you were engaged to was tantamount to adultery. Ah, being a false witness in regards to a capital crime, because you could put someone to death if you did that, and you were found out, that was the death sentence. And premeditated manslaughter [murder] also called for the death sentence. And there will be more as we go on.

Sacrificing Your Children To Molech, Baal, Is A Capital Crime

The Following Crimes Carry A Death Penalty

But chapter 20 tells us this, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech;” sacrificing his children, “he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people;” now in this context being put to death and stoned is being cut off from among his people, “because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.” Now listen, “And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed to Molech, and kill him not: then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.” (verses 1-5) So he takes it so seriously, he says not only is the idolator whose worshipping Molech [and including Baal, Molech by another name] put to death, because he’s sacrificed his children, but if someone knows that, someone sees that and someone doesn’t take a stand against it, God says I hold them as guilty as the idolator, and they themselves will be cut off from Israel. You know, to plead the 5^th and to take no position is basically approval in any of these things, and God does not allow it. We are to take a stand. “And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.” (verse 6) Séances and so forth. It seems the death penalty there. “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you. For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.” (verses 7-9) “Curseth” seems to be someone who is in this habit of cursing mother and father, you’re cursing the sovereignty of God, you’re cursing the vessels that God has chosen to bring you into this world. And I understand, in our culture, and there are many in our church, that were sexually abused by a parent, that lived with an alcoholic father or mother and were abused by them. And I understand the hurt that comes along with that, and the wounds that come along with that. In the Old Testament, that person would have been, it would have been a capital crime, having sex with your child. We live in a different time. But certainly I would say, at least get some folks that will pray with you, and don’t let the bitterness of that eat up the rest of your life. But God is gracious, he’s patient, sometimes he heals us very slowly, but I know he would have us rise above those things, and I know people that have done that. And I’m not being cavalier about it, and I know it’s not easy. But I know whose on the throne, and I know who is the Lord our God. So he says here not to curse mother or father, his blood shall be upon him. “And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” (verse 10) In John chapter 8 they first brought the woman before Jesus, here it says the man and the woman. You know, I mean we have, look, television is just glorifying adultery, just our media and the music industry. It’s something for us to at least think about, you know, Garbage In Garbage Out, I don’t even have a computer and I know that. I’m not that technically challenged that I don’t understand that. So, godly morality is something God wants for us because he loves us. “And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.” (verses 11-12) “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” (verse 13) A man and a man together. Now look, that is not in the law of this nation today, and again, God loves the sinner and hates the sin. It isn’t for you and I to point the finger at someone else, homosexuality, and think that they’re no more of a sinner than someone whose into pornography or someone whose cheating on their wife. Look, and the Bible says in Galatians the Law has come to bring, to be a schoolmaster, and to bring us to Christ. The Law that would say to us, in the Old Testament this was so serious that it was a capital crime, adultery was so serious that it was a capital crime, cursing your mother and father, so serious that it was a capital crime, being involved with drugs, so serious that it was a capital crime, homosexuality so serious that it was a capital crime. That Law should say to us, God takes all of this seriously. And it should be a schoolmaster to take us to Christ because there is complete forgiveness and deliverance in Jesus Christ. [Comment: So how should the greater Body of Christ act toward those in the outside world, those outside the Church who commit such things? see https://unityinchrist.com/topical%20studies/America-ModernRomans6.htm] And I’m so glad that we’re under the New Covenant. Aren’t you? And not under the Old. “And if a man take a wife” notice “and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.” (verse 14) It’s a really tough verse, one commentary says what it means they were probably stoned first and then burned with fire. Most of the commentators said they were probably just burned with fire, if a man married a mother and daughter, and they were both agreeable to that and they were caught, that all three of them were just burned. I think Wiersby in his commentary says that some Hebrew scholars said in this case, that molten lead was poured down their throats and that that was the mode of death. I couldn’t dig that up anywhere else. But just interesting, this one says instead of stoned they shall be burned with fire. “And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death: their blood shall be upon them.” (verses 15-16) And bestiality common in Canaan.

Having Sex With Near Of Kin

There Should Be A Great Distinction Between Us & The Unbelieving World

“And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people:” which seems to be put to death, “he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.” (verse 17) “And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.” (verse 18) Now this is not the menstrual cycle, this is evidently someone who is bleeding long-term, like the women with the bloodflow for 12 years, I guess. “And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister, nor of thy father’s sister: for he uncovereth his near of kin: they shall bear their iniquity. And if a man lie with his uncle’s wife, he hath uncovered his uncle’s nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.” (verses 19-20) Now it’s just interesting, not any other details given. “And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.” (verse 21) Now that’s I guess with a living brother. “Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out. And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.” (verses 22-23) Now of course the problem with Israel, when you follow them, is they become so integrated with the culture and the people in Canaan [and Phoenicia to their north] that God finally, when the land spued them out, and has them carried away to Babylon, he says there’s no difference between you and the inhabitants of the land that I drove out before you to bring you in. Remember in Genesis chapter 15 God said to Abraham that he was going to take his inhabitants down into Egypt for four generations, and the fourth generation, after 400 years, he would bring them out, and he would bring them into the land of Canaan, and he would use them to judge the inhabitants of the land, and he says there ‘For the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.’ God was saying to Abraham, the Amorites are going to continue to be in this sin and idolatry, the Canaanites, for 400 more years, it’s going to come to a point, as God measures time morally, not by the clock, not by the calendar, he measures time morally, there’s going to come a point, God says, when I’m going to look at the land of Canaan and say there’s nothing left to redeem here. And then the children of Israel would be brought in as a chastening rod and his tool of judgment to cleanse the land, and then to inherit it. And it finally comes to the point where they [the Israelites] get so involved with the inhabitants of the land, there’s no distinction between them and the Canaanites. Of course the overleaf, the warning for us is, there should always be a distinction between us and the people we want to share Christ with. You know, we have this huge city in front of us, again, we’re in the middle of the fattest fishing hole on the face of the earth. They say if you take a 150 mile radius off of William Penn there’s more people in that 300 mile diameter than anywhere on the globe. More than Mexico City, more than London, more than Hong Kong, because it takes in New York, it takes in Philadelphia, takes in Baltimore, takes in this incredible population, and we’re right in the middle of it [Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]. But the thing is, we should be distinct from that, we should be, you know, I think there’s part of the Church that’s trying to be so cool you can’t tell the difference between somebody in church and somebody that’s not a Christian. Make everybody so comfortable…You know this should be, our lives should be so transformed, so radical, so on fire for Jesus Christ that the light should be shining out the front door like the presence of the LORD showing outside of the Temple, and anybody that gets near here should sense ‘There is a radical difference between the lives of these people, their joy, their outlook, than anything I’ve ever had before in my life.’ And how can God use you and I to reach a world in rebellion if our own lives are in rebellion to him? He won’t use an uncommitted life to reach an uncommitted world. He wants to hold us up. You know, it says we are living epistles known and read of all men, there are people that will read you that will never read a Bible, and what will they read when they read you and they read me? Will they see the things we profess in our lives, or do we get so inculcated with the culture that there’s no difference morally, there’s no difference what we watch, what we listen to, there’s no difference between us and the unbeliever? And that’s what’s being shown here, God’s warning his people about here, and it said it came to the point where the land spued them out. He carried them to Babylon. [Comment: First, God had the Assyrian Empire carry the Ten Northern Tribes of Israel into captivity to the shores of the Caspian Sea, never to return. Then 145 years later God had Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon and his army carry the southern Kingdom of Judah, the Jews, to Babylon. You’re skipping some history there, Pastor Joe. see https://www.unityinchrist.com/kings/3.html and https://www.unityinchrist.com/kings/4.html and https://www.unityinchrist.com/kings/6.html] Now we’re in his grace, we’re not going to be spued out of anywhere, that’s not my point, but the overriding lesson is, there should be a great distinction between us and the unbelieving world. And we should share the love and the power and the forgiveness of Jesus Christ, not just with our mouths, but with transformed lives. When I got saved, I got set free. When I got saved, Jesus began a work in my life that changed me, and the life I had before Christ to me is BC, it’s like another life, another person. And what he’s encouraging us in all of these things is, that we have a different standard, ‘for I am the LORD your God, for I am the LORD your God.’ “And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey:” flows with milk and honey means there’s grazing land, there’s pollination, “I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people. Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.” and then it’s kind of an interesting tagging this on the end here, some think it should have been earlier, “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.” (verses 23-27) Now he prohibited earlier seeking that person or getting involved. He seems to say now ‘I’m the spiritual force in your life, I’m your LORD.’ God is laying a foundation to build a nation, to have a people that will be his own, to set aside a tribe called Judah, and a line that would produce the Messiah of the world, so that we could be sitting here tonight studying his Word, washed in the blood of his precious Son, and what a privilege that is for us to be here. So, Leviticus, I’m having fun, things are exploding, the sound system’s going on and off, there’s all kinds of exciting things going on in Leviticus. [Comment: We must remember, that the Law of God as given in the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy were the Constitutional Laws of the Land for the physical nation of Israel, and will yet be the Constitutional Laws for all the nations of the world during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ and the resurrected, immortal saints of God. The punishments and death penalties in this Constitutional law of God do not apply to the Church, the greater Body of Christ. If someone is deliberately and willfully breaking any of the Ten Commandment laws of God, as outlined in the four Gospels and Epistles, as Paul showed in 1^st Corinthians 5, the only thing the church can do is kick that individual out of church. Where certain church movements, such as the Puritans, try to enforce a theocratic government over a state and people living within that state, this is unbiblical and leads to many evils. Christian-nationalism nowadays is headed in this direction, and it’s evil. The greater history of the Roman Catholic church is a history of that church marrying itself in an unholy alliance to state governments, utilizing those state governments to enforce Catholic dogma, and often having those state governments killing those individuals it views as heretics. Millions died under those evils of church abuse of power. This is not God’s way, nor does the Church, the greater Body of Christ have such authority in carrying out Old Testament Law of God penalties. Obedience to the Laws of God is totally voluntary within the Church, carried out through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. see https://unityinchrist.com/topical%20studies/America-ModernRomans6.htm]

In Closing

So, read ahead, let’s do 21, 22, 23, we’ll move into looking at some of the things relative to the priests, then we move into the Feasts of Israel, which are very instructive, very typical, then into Numbers. And as we get to Numbers I don’t want any of you to be afraid, you’ll read the first six chapters and say no wonder they call this Numbers. We know how to get through that and actually make it look like something, and there’s purpose and there’s beauty and there’s some remarkable things as we head, we move on. So I encourage you, read ahead next couple chapters, if the Lord tarries, next Wednesday night we’ll be here. Let’s stand, let’s pray. And look if you’re here this evening and don’t know the God that we’re talking about, you’re thinking ‘Man, I’m involved with some of this stuff,’ we’re in Leviticus, but we do say there’s forgiveness, that God’s Son died on the cross for you, shed his blood so you can be forgiven. Not religion, relationship, not playing church, reality, that Jesus loves you, that he died for you, that you need not be lost in your sin, the price has already been paid, the ticket has been purchased to heaven with your name on it. You need not go to hell, you need not die and slip out into outer darkness for eternity, because the price has been paid for your forgiveness. The blood of Jesus Christ has been effective on your behalf, you need only come and say ‘Lord, here I am, forgive me, wash me, cleanse me, I’m a sinner, make me your own, I repent, fill me with your Spirit, make me your child, my Saviour.’ And if you haven’t done that and you want to do that this evening I encourage you, we’ll be up here after the service, we’d love pray with you, give you a Bible, some literature to read, we’d just love to have the privilege to see you come into the Kingdom, even in a strange place like Leviticus, who knows what the Lord might be doing in your heart. So we put that out there as an invitation, it’s so important. But let’s bow our hearts, we’ll pray, let’s lift our voices and let’s bring the deepest part of our being to him in song…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on Leviticus 18:1-30, Leviticus 19:1-37 and Leviticus 20:1-27, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]