Leviticus 17-18

Leviticus 17-18

After discussing the importance of the Day of Atonement, God gives the Israelites commands on the importance of blood. Several times in Leviticus 17, it is mentioned that blood is life. God had made blood precious in their culture, not wanting them to kill anyone. The spilling of blood was associated with death, so if anyone or anything was killed, then blood was spilt. As a result, they had to make a sacrifice for their actions, handling the situation in the proper manner. This is another idea that has lost its significance in today’s culture. We still respect life to a certain extent, but I do not feel as if we pay as much attention to the importance of blood or link blood to life. If nothing else, this chapter shows the importance of life. Although it is talking about animals here, we can apply it to our lives. Life is precious, a gift from God, and we are not to decide who shall live and who should not live. That decision is left up to God, for He is the one who knows the number of our days. So part of living a holy lifestyle before God is respecting life.

The beginning of Leviticus 18 serves as a reminder as to why the Israelites should obey God’s commands. They are not the Egyptians or the Canaanites, for they are expected to live differently from them. God held them to a higher standard, and they were commanded to live in obedience to Him, the one who had protected them from the hands of the Egyptians and would give them their land back, taking it away from the Canaanites. So He continues with His lists of commands by moving back into more commands regarding sex.

God explains what sex is not, giving them a listing of situations that should not even be considered. Out of this listing, the one our culture deals with the most today is homosexuality. However, some of these other examples could apply today as well. God stressed the importance of this act being between a husband and his wife and no one else. Neither the husband nor the wife was to pervert this act by finding another partner. God reminded them that the Egyptians and Canaanites had perverted the act of sex, and He expected His people to live better than them. They were His children, and they were to be holy as He is holy, so participating in these sinful acts would not be acceptable. In fact, He told them that if they did any of these things, they would be cut off from the land and from the people of Israel (a common punishment for breaking almost any of the laws in Leviticus). Once again, it is clear that God’s intention for these laws was to make His people a holy nation.

Matt