Holiness of the Seven Feasts
23:1 to 25:55

Celebrate the feasts of the LORD. This is a real big issue in the Bible, but it is even a bigger issue in Christianity. The issue is big in the Church, not because what is written in the New Testament, but because what has happened in the Catholic church between the 4th and the 6th century A.D. or Anno Domini, “In the year of our Lord” (or the way that it is called universally, C.E. – or Christian Era, to ease the minds of non-Christians who might object to this implicit acknowledgement of Yeshua as Lord) During that time, and even starting a little earlier, the paganized Christian churches were alienating themselves from Isra’el, and even from the Jewish disciples of Yeshua. They were alienating from Isra’el for clear political internal Roman issues. It is all well documented, and there is no question about it. (If you are interested to see some of the most striking documents of this systematic anti-Jewish, anti-Torah and anti-Old Testament campaign that the Catholic church set in motion, please read John Chrysostom, Against the Jews. Homily 3). Another good book to read on this subject is The Anguish of the Jews: Twenty-Three Centuries of Antisemitism.

Messiah and the apostles kept all the biblical feasts of ADONAI, and this is clear from the B’rit Chadashah itself. In fact, Paul commands the church in Corinth to keep the Passover under the inspiration of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (First Corinthians 5:7-8).

The seven festivals (the mo’adim) of Leviticus are the only place in the Bible where we find any commandment concerning worship. Each festival bearing with it a specified time for a holy assembly of the redeemed community to worship the Lord. What is even more peculiar is the fact that even in the B’rit Chadashah, there are no commanded times of worship. To be sure, believers are taught to worship, but there are no specified days on which to do it, except, perhaps for the observance of the Lord’s Supper.

Does this mean that if a believer in Yeshua is not born physically Jewish, he or she has no commanded worship times? Did God forget about this kind of a person? Are specified times of worship important? Of course they are! Romans Chapter 11 and Leviticus Chapter 23 provide us with the answer (see the commentary on Romans, to see link click Cz – The Illustration of Isra’el’s Future). It teaches that Gentile believers are grafted into the olive tree which, in context, is Isra’el. This means, among other things, that Gentile believers are part of the commonwealth of Isra’el.

But what does that look like? What is the evidence of this if Gentiles don’t do any of the things which characterize Isra’el? One point of identification is Leviticus 23 and the mo’adim cycle, which is like a dance circle. You can join in at any point, it does not matter where. Eventually as the circle goes around and around, you will always come to the places where you missed when you joined. If someone joins in at Sukkot, eventually they will come to Pesach. So come join the circle, or should I say, come join the cycle. If the Church were to celebrate these mo’adim it would accomplish two things. First, it would provide Gentile believers in Yeshua regular times of worship and praise in a systematic and logical order. Second, it would afford Gentile believers in Messiah a point of contact or identification with the nation into whom they are grafted.⁴¹⁶

Unfortunately, today, the Messianic community is treated like it doesn’t exist. When the leaders of the first Messianic Community met (see the commentary on Acts Bs – The Council at Jerusalem), the main issue was, “Can these Gentiles really be believers?” And they responded positively to that question (see Acts Bt – The Council’s Letter to the Gentile Believers). Yet, today, that question seems to have been reversed by the majority of Christian churches and denominations, who ask “Can these Messianics really be believers?” Far too often, the response to where a Jew should go if saved, the answer is “Find a good bible believing church!” Very few churches follow Paul’s command to keep the Passover feast, and fewer still systematically teach through books of the TaNaKh. If you are sitting under a pastor who teaches through books of the TaNaKh you are fortunate indeed! Fewer still (if any) follow the other feasts of the Jewish biblical calendar. This is why my wife and I attend a Messianic congregation. Implicit in Paul’s admonition to keep the Passover feast, is the idea of celebrating them all. Please contact me if you are a member of a church that celebrates all seven of the biblical feasts.

Finally, the seven biblical feasts all point to the ministry of Messiah. If we claim to be “people of the Book,” then we should be interested in learning about Yeshua: (1) The festival of Pesach (the Passover) points to the death of Messiah, (2) the festival of Hag ha’Matzah (Unleavened Bread) points to the sinlessness of His sacrifice, (3) the festival of Rasheet (First Fruits) points to His resurrection, (4) the festival of Shavu’ot (Pentecost) points to the birth of the Church, (5) the festival of Rosh ha’Shannah (Trumpets) points to the Rapture, (6) the festival of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) points to the Great Tribulation, and (7) the festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles) points to the Messianic Kingdom.

Sanctifying the Name of God
22: 29-33

Sanctifying the Name of God DIG: What does it mean to profane God’s holy Name? How are our choices in life a reflection on the Name of God? Why does 7:17 say one thing and 22:29-33 say another? Why were the people duty bound to comply with God’s holy offerings?

REFLECT: How do you sanctify the Name of God? What does it mean to sanctify His name? Why is it important to do things God’s way? What happens when we do things our way? How can you sanctify the Name of God this week? Who can you tell of our great God this week?

When God’s will is done on earth, His commandments are being kept;
When His reign and rule are being exercised on earth, and His Name will be sanctified.

When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to ADONAI (to see link click Ak – The Peace Offerings: At Peace with God), you must do it in a way such that you will be accepted. It must be eaten on the same day it is offered; leave none of it till morning; I am ADONAI (22:29-30). That principle affirmed the sense of fellowship with YHVH. To leave an offering for several days loses its connection with the sacrifice itself.

But 7:17 appears to contradict 22:29-30. The earlier text permits eating of the sacrifice on the second day as well as the first. In Leviticus 22 the prohibition clearly limits consumption to the day of the sacrifice. However, in 7:17, the sacrifice had to be eaten on the day he offered it, but anything left over could be eaten on the next day (see As – The Shalamim Offerings: Leading the Celebration of Peace). The difference was that in Leviticus 7:17 the mitzvah was for the priests, and in Leviticus 22:29-30 the mitzvah was for the people.

You are to keep my mitzvot and obey them; I am ADONAI. You are not to profane my holy Name (22:31-32a). What does it mean to profane or desecrate the Name? Conversely, how does one sanctify the Name of ADONAI? The concept is one of reputation. It is the idea that our actions and behaviors affect God’s reputation. Our behavior reflects on Him (see the commentary on Second Corinthians Be – The Ministry of Reconciliation: Reconciliation is by the obedience of faith). If we act in a holy manner befitting children of God, God’s Name is sanctified. However, if we act in a godless or wicked manner, the LORD’s reputation will be tarnished. In that case, our behavior would profane His reputation.

This can be understood in a parable. A king had two sons: a wise son and a wicked son. When people encountered the wicked son, he would abuse them and carry on in a manner unbefitting the prince. People would remark, “Is this how the king raises his son? Is this the kind of man the king is?” Yet when people encountered the wise son, he would treat them courteously and provide them all manner of service as befits a prince among his people. Then they would say, “What a fine king we have over us who has raised such a fine son. Truly he is worthy of his throne” (Midrash Immanuel). A significant amount of Jewish ethical standards are formulated around the idea of sanctifying the Name of God. Every choice we make in life will in some way or another reflect upon ADONAI. Our every interaction with other human beings will in one way or another say something about the God we serve.

This conclusion has a structure built around the threefold declaration: I am ADONAI, which occurs once in each verse. To sanctify God’s Name means to treat His Name with the respect, honor and dedication that He deserves. But in the broader sense, it refers to obedience and uprightness of character. The Torah explains that the formula for sanctifying (setting apart) God’s Name is in obedience to the commandments. I must be regarded as holy among the people of Isra’el; I am ADONAI, who makes you holy, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am ADONAI (22:32b-33). The Master concurs: Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). The central claim in this conclusion: I must be regarded as holy among the people of Isra’el, can as easily be rendered: I will be regarded as holy among the people of Isra’el. It can be a command or a promise, and that point explains the structure of these concluding verses. They move from commands Ha’Shem gives to Isra’el, to promises of His work for Isra’el to make her holy as He did the past. Safeguarding the holiness of the Tabernacle, God’s house, dominates the world of Leviticus. Isra’el needed to purify its House, because a holy God demands a holy House.⁴¹²

Therefore, consecrate yourselves – you people must be holy, because I am ADONAI your God. Observe my mitzvot, and obey them; I am ADONAI, who sets you apart to be holy (20:7-8). ADONAI commands the Israelites to make themselves holy. The only other place in the book where YHVH commands Isra’el, “consecrate yourselves,” is 11:44, which concerns eating kosher. Leviticus 20:7 repeats this because, as with the clean and unclean animals, Isra’el’s holiness required distinction from the practices of the Gentile nations and adherence to a separate way of life, whether in diet, worship, or sexual practices. By avoiding activities that would tie Isra’el with the deities of other peoples, they would be recognizing that ADONAI was their God alone.⁴¹³

This is part of the meaning of the words the Master taught us to pray: Our father in heaven! May Your Name be kept holy. May Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven (Matthew 6:9b-10), are all parallel statements. When God’s will is done on earth, His commandments are being kept. His reign and rule are being exercised on earth, and His Name will be sanctified. In Judaism, martyrdom for the sake of faith is regarded as the ultimate sanctification of the Name. When we sin, God’s Name is profaned. His reputation is tarnished because of us. This is a very serious matter that deserves far more attention than we can give to it here.⁴¹⁴

Conclusion to the Holiness for the Priests (21:1 to 22:33): As the spiritual guides of the people of God, Isra’el’s leaders were to be without blemish and above reproach. The same principle applies to those who take the mantle of leadership in the Church today. A congregation leader must be above reproach, he must be faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, orderly, hospitable and able to teach (First Timothy 3:2). One particular feature of holiness of the Israelite priesthood emphasized in this section is the avoidance of contact with the dead (21:1-6). This possibility formed part of the rationalization of the priest in the parable of the Good Samaritan, who avoided contact with the injured man (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Gw – The Parable of the Good Samaritan).⁴¹⁵

The priests’ motivation to obey these mitzvot was the fact that the God who lovingly gave these commandments was the same God who delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians (22:32-33). As the Exodus was the motivation for service for the righteous of the TaNaKh in the Dispensation of Torah (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of the Torah), so the sacrifice and death of Messiah provides our motivation for obedience and service in the Dispensation of Grace (see the commentary on Hebrews Bp – The Dispensation of Grace).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for Your gracious gift of righteousness (Second Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:15). Too often the idea of a gift is thought of as something that we are given and then we can do with whatever we like; but Your gift is not like that. Your gift of salvation is a loving covenant. Salvation is all Your work, Your mercy, Your grace (Ephesians 2:8-9), but we do have a part in the covenant – to love and respect You, heeding all that You tell us to do. No matter how good and righteous any person may be, they can never earn their own way to heaven. You paid for our sin at the cross. It was Messiah’s blood that brought our redemption (Ephesians 1:7) and His blood is what is needed to bring us near to You (Ephesians 2:13). What a joy to have you as our Lord!

My heart is heavy for friends and family who know about You and who think You are good and kind, but they have only head knowledge and not heart love. Covenants are not made by head knowledge. You Yourself tell of those who will stand before You and they have performed miracles in Your Name, cast out demons, and You tell them: Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord!” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?”  Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness (Matthew 7:21-23)! Please give my family and friends who are not saved a moment of spiritual clarity so that they can see their sin for what it is and make a decision on what to do with their eternity. In Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The Eighth Day
22: 26-28

The eighth day DIG: What significant biblical events happened on the eighth day? Is there a connection between the commandment of circumcision and the sacrifice of the eighth day? How does the eighth day focus on God’s ultimate plan for mankind? Who can you tell?

REFLECT: Are there any significant day eights in your life? A broader, fuller restoration to ADONAI? How can full families be wiped out besides physically like Achan? Spiritually? Emotionally? Financially? What do you do when you are “behind the eight ball?”

The eighth day is the broader, fuller restoration to ADONAI.

The Bible is filled with symbolism, giving hints of the mind of ADONAI. The symbolism of the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25), the cherubim at God’s throne (Ezekiel 1), the creation itself (Romans 1:18). Some things about YHVH are able to be understood easily, some things can only be spiritually discerned, and some things are not knowable at this time (Isaiah 55:8). Still, the LORD does show us many wonderful and inspiring things about His plan of salvation for all of mankind. The eighth day, which is specified as being kept at the end of Sukkot in Leviticus 23:39, is the culmination of all the Holy Days. Following the description of the seven days of Sukkot, it says: On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the fruit of the land, you are to observe the festival of ADONAI seven days; the first day is to be a sabbath-rest and the eighth day is to be a sabbath-rest.

The eighth day is separate and distinct from Sukkot. God has placed symbolic meaning in counting up to the number eight. Why don’t we just go back to one after counting the seven days? Because that is not what the LORD is portraying. He is not portraying a weekly cycle with Sukkot. Instead, He is showing what it means to finally arrive at the eighth day. What does that number mean? Looking through the rest of the Bible, we find various illustrations that help open up the meaning of that great day.

From circumcision to Nazirites: One of the most enduring covenants God made was the covenant of circumcision with Abraham (Genesis 17:10-11). He said: He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Being circumcised on the eighth day was symbolic of being in complete submission to God. Today, we know physical circumcision is not required for salvation for all people (Acts 15), but it is also true that circumcision is a symbol of our spiritual commitment and focus. Paul wrote: For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God” (Romans 2:28-29). Paul is talking about righteousness, and being in complete submission to ADONAI.

Animals offered for sacrifice were to be at least eight days old. ADONAI said to Moshe, “When a bull, sheep or goat is born, it is to stay with its mother for seven days; but from the eighth day on, it may be accepted for an offering made by fire on the bronze altar to ADONAI.” It seems like there is some connection with this verse and the commandment of circumcision (see the commentary on Genesis En – Every Male Who Is Eight Days Old Must be Circumcised). It may be that circumcision, in some respects, is a sacrificial right.⁴⁰⁸ An Israelite male baby was circumcised on the eighth day and became a member of the covenant community (see Bt – Women After Childbirth). In like manner, a young male animal could not be fully identified with Isra’el, and therefore function as a substitutionary sacrifice until the eighth day of its life. No animal was to be slaughtered together with its young on the same day, neither cow nor ewe (Lev 22:26-28). The prohibition against slaughtering a whole family of animals for sacrifice on the same day demonstrates the identification of the sacrificial animal with the Israelite offering it. The family was, and is, the basic unit of society, and only the worst of punishments would destroy the whole family, as seen in Joshua 7 with Achan.⁴¹⁰

Another example of the number eight is with Noah. In his second book, Peter writes to the Church, warning them about false preachers. He makes the point that each individual will be responsible for their own salvation, and he uses Noah as an example: And [God] spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly (Second Peter 2:5, KJV). Noah was saved because he was in complete submission to God. Seven other people were saved on the ark but not because of their own righteousness – only the eighth was saved because of righteousness. Peter’s point is that in the eternal judgment, each of us will be saved in response to our own righteousness, not anyone else’s, like the other seven in the Ark

Still another example of the number eight is in Exodus when God told Isra’el: You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me (Ex 22:29). But when did He say to give these? The next verse reveals: Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me. The first seven days were for preparation, counting toward and looking forward to the eighth day, when the offering of the firstborn was to be given to God. But it was not only on the eighth day that the firstborn offering could be made, it was from there on after (Lev 22:26). From eight days onward, the sacrifice could be made. Likewise, the fulfillment of the eighth day shows that God’s Kingdom will be eternal. It will begin, but never end.

As we know, ADONAI will build another Temple complex in Jerusalem during the Messianic Kingdom (Ezekiel 40 begins the description of that vision). In that vision, God explains what it will take to purify the altar before sacrifices can be made: seven days’ worth of offerings for sin offerings for the priests and for the altar (Ezekiel 43:18-27). Only then – on the eighth day – will the altar be dedicated and God will accept the burnt offerings and peace offerings made there. There is a similar seven-day period of consecration for the priests described in Leviticus 8, where Moses first prepared Aaron and his sons for their service as priests to God at the tabernacle. After being washed, clothed in the priestly garments, and sprinkled with blood, they stayed in the tabernacle for seven days. And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended. For seven days he shall consecrate you (Leviticus 8:33). After this, they came out on the eighth day and made a sin offering for the people. The seven days were the time of preparation so that on the eighth day they could begin to fulfill what they had been prepared to do.

There are many examples of the meaning of the number eight in God’s Word. The Nazirite vow included instructions on what to do if someone who had taken that vow became defiled by accident or because of circumstances beyond their control. It included seven days of purification, with an offering made on the eighth day. The steps for the cleansing of lepers or other unclean people were also seven days of purification, and an offering was to be given on the eighth day (see Ci – The Concluding Purification Ceremony). On the eighth day the process would be complete.

The Ultimate Focus of God’s Plan: We tend to focus on day number seven because we look to the return of Yeshua Messiah. We want to be done with the trials, the stresses and the troubles of this life and to see our redemption into glory. We want to rise to meet Messiah in the air. These are things we should indeed look forward to and long for. But the plan of God does not focus ultimately on the return of Messiah. That is incredibly important, but God putting His throne on this earth on the figurative eighth day is what everything ultimately moves toward. Messiah’s return is part of the process. It’s pretty clear – seven figurative days to cleanse, to dedicate, to prepare. But the eighth day is the broader, fuller restoration to ADONAI. It was on that day that baby boys were circumcised; when the baby bulls, sheep or goats could be accepted as a sacrifice; when the priests were allowed to begin to make sacrifices; when the firstborn offerings were to begin to be made; and when the Nazirites and those who were cleansed were restored to YHVH. The symbolism of the eighth day, laid out like fingerprints throughout God’s Word, is incredibly significant.⁴¹¹

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that Your purpose for mankind is not merely to take Your children to heaven, nor merely to save people from sin’s punishment; rather, Your purpose is a fuller restoration as shown by the symbolism of the eighth day. The restoration that You desire is a loving relationship of unity “in Messiah”. Making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which he set forth in Messiah as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:9-10). What a joy that You have planned to bless Your children with every spiritual blessing in Messiah.  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah (Ephesians 1:3). This is an incredibly great blessing. Being united means that when You look at Your children, you do not see their sin, instead You see Messiah’s righteousness. For our sake the Father made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21). How wonderful that you planned for an eighth day of full restoration by uniting Your children to be with you. Praise and thank You for Your wonderful and gracious love and grace. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The Unblemished Sacrifice
22: 17-25

The unblemished sacrifice DIG: What do God’s values say about His expectations for approaching Him? What does the desire for perfection say about the value of the offering? Of the Recipient? Of the worshiper? Compare the descriptions that render both the sacrifices and priests unfit for the bronze altar (Leviticus 21:18-20 and Leviticus 22:22-24).

REFLECT: Why do you think ADONAI only accepts perfect sacrifices? In what area of your life are you giving less than your best? Where are you trying to just get by with offering God the leftovers of your life? What is keeping you from offering the LORD your best? What will you do today to begin giving Him your best? Who can you help with this?

After five days of testing, Yeshua qualified as the perfect Lamb of God without blemish.

Levitical sacrifices were to be unblemished animals. The Hebrew word translated unblemished is tamim, the same word which is sometimes rendered integrity, or sometimes as perfect. Since the beginning of Leviticus, every prescribed animal sacrifice has been required to be unblemished, but until now, we haven’t had a description of what constitutes a blemish. The Torah continues with a long list of defects that disqualify an animal from sacrifice. It is prohibited to even bring a blemished animal for sacrifice because it will not be accepted.⁴⁰²

ADONAI said to Moshe, “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to the entire people of Isra’el; tell them: ‘When anyone, whether a member of the house of Isra’el or a foreigner living in Isra’el, brings his offering, it can be either in connection with a vow (Hebrew: neder) or as a voluntary offering (Hebrew: nedabah) (22:17-18a).” Vows were an important element of Israelite religion, and making a vow, in itself a private act, was often interrelated with public worship. In First Samuel we learn that Elkanah and his family, on a pilgrimage to Shiloh to offer the annual sacrifices, attended to their private vows on the same occasion. The payment of a vow could take the form of a sacrifice. The appropriateness of the Peace Offering (to see link click Ak – The Peace Offerings: At Peace with God) for such a payment is suggested in Proverbs 7:14. There we read that a prostitute might lure an unsuspecting young man to her house by offering him a portion of her peace sacrifice, “I had to offer peace sacrifices today, and I fulfilled my vows. There were no restrictions regarding where the donor of a peace offering could eat his portion of the offering, so long as it was done promptly, and brought it to ADONAI as a burnt offering (22:18b). The burnt offering (see Ai – The Burnt Offering: Acceptance by God), in addition to being the mainstay of public worship, it also served as an individual sacrifice, often brought as a voluntary offering.⁴⁰³

Gentiles, or foreigners, also donated sacrificial offerings to YHVH. In the ancient Near East, it was customary to pay respect to the god of the host country. Solomon’s prayer (see the commentary on the Life of Solomon Bn – Solomon’s Prayer of Intercession: The fifth request – a prayer for foreigners), refers to the stranger from a distant land who, impressed with the reputation of the God of Isra’el, wished to worship Him in Jerusalem.⁴⁰⁴

In order for you to be accepted, you must bring a male without defect from the cattle, the sheep or the goats. It was better not to vow, than to try one’s best and fall short. You are not to bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted from you. Whoever brings a sacrifice of peace offerings to ADONAI in fulfillment of a vow or as a voluntary offering, whether it come from the herd or from the flock, it must be unblemished and without defect in order to be accepted. Deuteronomy 17:1 states the same requirement, but to the children of the Exodus generation. The disqualifying defects are then given in detail. If it is blind, injured, mutilated, has an abnormal growth or has festering or running sores, you are not to offer it to ADONAI or make such an offering by fire on the bronze altar to ADONAI (22:19-22).

In the center of this section lies an exception to the general prohibition. If a bull or lamb has a limb which is too long or short, you may offer it as a voluntary offering; but for a vow it will not be accepted (22:23). Voluntary offerings allow animals to be sacrificed even though deformed or stunted. Having one part of the animal shorter or longer than normal did not achieve the ideal sense of balance required for sacrifices involving the perfect fulfillment of a vow, but neither did it call into question the wholeness of the animal as the other blemishes and defects did. Hence, those types of animals could be used for sacrifices that were voluntary offerings, free expressions of gratitude to the goodness of YHVH. However, an animal with bruised, crushed, torn or cut genitals could not be offered to ADONAI. This was a similar disqualification for priests in 21:20. You are not to do these things in your land (22:24).⁴⁰⁵

Even if the sacrifice is not their own, but one that they brought to the Temple on behalf of a pagan, it must be unblemished. The Torah specifically warns: You are not to receive any of these from a Gentile for you to offer as bread for your God, because their deformity is a defect in them – they will not be accepted from you (22:25).

Why was it so important that the sacrifices were unblemished? It teaches us to always place our best in the service of the Lord. The human tendency is to live a life of self-service and offer to YHVH that which is leftover at the end. We give tithe if we can afford to after all our own appetites are satisfied. We give our time to the Kingdom if there is time left after we have spent ourselves on our own pursuits. The demand for only unblemished animals teaches us that ADONAI should receive the best of what we have to offer, not the leftovers. In the first chapter of Malachi, this message is brought home in a straightforward rebuke. The prophet scolds the northern kingdom of Isra’el for bringing to God blemished animals that even a human governor would reject.

A son honors his father and a servant his master. But if I’m a father, where is the honor due Me? and if I’m a Master, where is the respect due Me? I says ADONAI-Tzva’ot to you priests who despise My name. You ask: How are we despising your name? By offering polluted food on My bronze altar! Now you ask: How are we polluting you? By saying that the table of ADONAI doesn’t deserve respect; so that there’s nothing wrong with offering a blind animal as a sacrifice, nothing wrong with offering an animal that’s lame or sick. Try offering such an animal to your governor, and see if he will be pleased with you! Would he even receive you?” asks ADONAI-Tzva’ot (Malachi 1:6-8). Obviously not!

More importantly, in the B’rit Chadashah, the blemish on an animal unfit for sacrifice came to represent sin. The symbolism was interpreted thusly: Because man is blemished by sin (see the commentary on Genesis Ay – The Fall of Man), he must bring an unblemished animal in his place. Messiah is described as a lamb unblemished and spotless (First Peter 1:19) who offered Himself without blemish to God (Hebrews 9:14). In this Messianic interpretation of the sacrificial requirements, Yeshua’s perfect obedience to the Father made Him the unblemished, perfect lamb suitable for sacrifice.⁴⁰⁶

At the feast of the Passover (see Dy – Pesach), the man of the house was commanded to examine a lamb for the Passover meal (Exodus 12:3-6). For five days, from the tenth of Nissan to the fourteenth he was to examine the lamb to make sure it was without defect or blemish and worthy to be the Pesach sacrifice. Yeshua entered Jerusalem on Sunday, the tenth of Nisan and was examined by the Jews for five days. As far as the Jewish religious leaders were concerned, they had two goals. They would question Yeshua in front of the multitude to turn the people against Him, and they looked for a specific way to charge Him with a crime so they could put Him to death by Roman law. But it was not successful. After those five days of examination by the Pharisees, by the Sadducees, by the Torah-teachers and by the Herodians, Messiah answered all their objections and questions; therefore, He was found to be without defect or blemish (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ix – The Examination of the Lamb). Yeshua ate the Seder meal on the night of the Passover, the same night that all the Jewish people ate it. But because the Son of God qualified as the Pesach Lamb, He was slaughtered on the day of the Passover, the fifteenth of Nisan.⁴⁰⁷

Yet the priesthood offering the sacrifices also had to be without blemish (see Dp – Priests with Defects). That both priest and sacrifice had to be unblemished implied some connection between them. Just as the sacrificial animals had to be unblemished to be accepted at the bronze altar, so too the priest that brought them had to be unblemished. The distinction between priest and sacrifice, then, begins to blur, especially when we consider the person of Messiah. He is the unblemished Lamb and the unblemished Priest all in one (see the commentary on Hebrews Ay – Messiah’s Qualifications as our Great High Priest). He brought His own blood to the altar of sacrifice. He is Priest and Sacrifice, unblemished and perfect on both counts.⁴⁰⁸

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for always being perfectly holy and loving! Your holiness means that You can always be trusted in all that You do and in all that you tell me. Though I may not understand why You are doing something, I can confidently rest in the fact that whatever You do, it is the very most loving and best for me.

When problems come up they usually look big. In the flesh we think: Big Problem – small God. But when the focus remains on God’s Almighty Holiness and love, then the situation is reversed: Big God – small problem. The prophet Habakkuk wondered why God would use the brutal Babylonians to crush Isra’el whom He loves (Habakkuk 1:13). When Habakkuk lifted His eyes to focus on his great God, his attitude became rejoicing and he felt God’s strength. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the LORD, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places (Hanukkah 3:17-19).

Jeremiah also questioned God’s fiery wrath. He blazed against Jacob like raging fire, devouring everything around (Lamentations 2:3c). Then Jeremiah realized that Holy God could not tolerate sin and was keeping His promise to punish evil. ADONAI has done what He planned; He has fulfilled His word that He commanded from days of old (Lamentations 2:17a-b). As Jeremiah lifted his eyes and focused on how merciful and faithful God always is, then he had hope. This I recall to my heart – therefore I have hope: Because of the mercies of Adonai we will not be consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning! Great is Your faithfulness. “ADONAI is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him” (Jeremiah 3:21-24).

When I wonder why sometimes in discipline, You may allow events to happen in this world that I cannot understand. But I know that I can always trust You in every detail to do what will bring the best result, for I know You love me. Now all discipline seems painful at the moment – not joyful. But later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:11).

Please help me to remember to lift my eyes up to You, our wonderful, holy and loving Heavenly Father. Then I will have hope. Your heart is always full of compassion and Your mercies are new every morning. Nothing can separate me from Your awesome love! Thank You and praise You always! I have great hope as I focus on You! In the name of Your holy Yeshua the Messiah and the power of His resurrection. Amen

Who May Eat the Sacred Offerings
22: 10-16

Who may eat the sacred offerings DIG: Who could eat the sacred offerings? Who was prohibited from eating it? What would happen if someone ate it accidently? Where was the mitzvot of the priest’s daughter? Why wasn’t the death penalty imposed for violators?

REFLECT: What happens to us at the moment of faith? Who is supposed to partake of the sacred food today? Who should not partake of it? Why? Who is our Great High Priest? Do you feel like a priest of the Most High God? Does Scripture overrule your feelings on that?

Our adoption into the family of God allows us to eat at the Lord’s table.

The regulations limiting the food of the sacred offerings (to see link lick Ah – The Offerings from the People’s Perspective) to members of a priest’s family resemble those who may not eat of the Passover. “But if anyone has a slave he bought for money, when you have circumcised him, he may eat it. Neither a traveler (Hebrew: tosab) nor a hired servant may eat it” (Exodus 12:44-45).

Who may (and who may not) eat the sacred offerings (22:10-13): No one who is not a priest may eat anything holy, nor may a tenant or employee of a priest eat anything holy (22:10). Note the tenant (Hebrew: tosab) here in 22:10 and the traveler in Exodus 12:45 translate the same Hebrew word tosab. Therefore, the offering to the God of the Passover as the family celebrated the feast, transfers to the sacred offerings of Isra’el, and they become available to the priest’s family and the permanent bondservant (see Cz – The Hebrew Slave). But if a priest acquires a slave who ends up being a bondservant, either through purchase or through his being born in his household, he may share his food (22:11). A bondservant in a Jewish home is also required to be circumcised (Genesis 3:17:12-13). Presumably the slave received the privilege of becoming a member of the household and being attached to the priest’s family in a way that other ordinary workers were not.

A priest’s daughter who married outside the priesthood must not eat of the food, the sacred offerings, because she no longer fell within the responsibility of her father’s household. If the daughter of a priest is married to a man who is not a priest, she is not to have a share of the food set aside from the sacred offerings. But if the daughter of a priest is a widow or divorcee, and she is sent back to her father’s house as when she was young, she may share in her father’s food; but no unauthorized person is to share in it (22:12-13). But there is one exception, she must have no children from the marriage. This suggests that any such “seed” compromises her complete loyalty to her father’s household. In such a case, her children continue the line of her husband, and his family assumes the responsibility of her well-being and that of her family. Compare 21:14-15, where the offspring constitute the rationale for prohibiting the high priest from marrying a widow or divorced woman.³⁹⁷

Eating a sacred offering by mistake (22:14): This verse envisions the possibility that someone may accidently eat of the sacred offerings. This could easily happen if a person ate food grown in Isra’el which had not yet been tithed.³⁹⁸ In such a case, the reparation offering (see Am – The Guilt Offering: Evidence of Repentance) must be used to overcome the guilt. If a person eats holy food by mistake, he must add one-fifth to it and give the holy food to the priest. This normally involved a ram and an additional 20 percent restitution. But the requirement of the ram was replaced with the demand to return to YHVH the equivalent of the food eaten.³⁹⁹

The Pharisees took special precaution in this regard, refusing to eat food unless they were certain it had been already tithed on. They even tithed a tenth of their spices – mint, dill and cumin (Matthew 23:23a), before eating any of them. The Master agreed with their concern for keeping the mitzvah, but condemned them for ignoring the weightier matters of the Torah (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Jd – Seven Woes on the Torah-Teachers and the Pharisees).

The pharisaic necessity to be certain that all food was properly tithed forced them to eat only within their own fellowships where those concerns could be monitored. However, when Messiah sent out His disciples, He dismissed this stringency saying: Eat what is set before you (see The Life of Christ Gv – Jesus Sends Out the Seventy). Nevertheless, the principle is one of placing the things of the Kingdom before our own needs. The tithe and priestly portions must be separated out first. So too, the priorities of the Kingdom must be set ahead of our own. Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).⁴⁰⁰

Summary: the priest’s responsibility (22:15-16): These verses warn that the lack of care when eating the sacred offerings could lead to profaning them. In this case, however, the result envisions the need for a payment of restitution rather than death as in 22:3 and 9. They are not to treat the sacred offerings as everyday items, thus profaning them by allowing common Israelites to eat them. The priests had a special responsibility to guard the LORD’s holy things. Doing so meant that they were actually protecting the Israelites from sin (see the commentary on First Corinthians By – Issues Surrounding the Lord’s Supper). ADONAI’s shepherds are responsible for the spiritual well-being of their sheep (Malachi 2:7-8; Acts 20:28; First Timothy 4:16; Hebrews 13:17). If they failed to do so, it would cause the common Israelites to bear their guilt requiring a guilt offering (see above).⁴⁰¹ Why should the Israelites obey these mitzvot? Because I am ADONAI, who sets them apart to live in a holy manner.

Once we are adopted into the Body of Messiah (see The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith), Yeshua Messiah becomes our Great High Priest (see the commentary on Hebrews Ay – Messiah’s Qualifications as our Great High Priest), and we can partake of the holy food of the Lord’s Supper: the bread (see The Life of Christ Kj – Breaking the Middle Matzah) and the wine/grape juice (see The Life of Christ Kk – The Third Cup of Redemption) because we are a kingdom of priests. The Bible tells us that we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of the darkness into His marvelous light (First Peter 2:9), and made us a kingdom of priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen (Revelation 1:6). However, those who are not believers, like those who were not from the household of priests (22:10-13), should not partake of the Lord’s supper, for they are not of the family of faith.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that You are always Holy! Thank you that Your Holy Ruach lives inside Your children to help us live holy lives and conqueror temptations (First Corinthians 10:13). Sometimes we hear so much about Your great love, which is a fantastic steadfast love, that we forget our part of the covenant is to love You back. Receiving Your gift of love happens by someone moving beyond intellectual agreement. They love you so much for forgiving their sin that they eagerly follow You as their Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10).

Knowing about you is wonderful, but head knowledge can never unite any two people. Being one in union takes a heart of love. Someone may like someone else, but that is not being one in union with them. Your purpose and plan, which you set forth in Messiah for all who love you, is to unite them into one with Him. For those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in us, I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me (John 17:20b-21b, 23).

How gracious You are that You open the door of union with You, to Jews and Gentiles. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 2:28). But now in Messiah Yeshua you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah . . . For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father (Ephesians 2:13, 18). We are so thrilled to be united to You in Messiah and we desire to live our lives pleasing to You, honoring You with holy living, with hearts quick and eager to obey and actions that lift up Your holy Name. In Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Purity for Priests
22: 1-9

Purity for priests DIG: Why did the priests need to be careful with regard to the sacred sacrifices on the bronze altar? Why was it important for a priest not to touch a dead body? What did it mean for a priest to be unclean? What did it mean to be “cut off” from YHVH?

REFLECT: What do these verses imply about the attitude necessary for anyone to approach ADONAI? How would you depict your own attitude in approaching God? Casual or formal? Confident? What is “unclean” in your world? What do you have to be careful to avoid?

Priests had the privilege of handling God’s holy items. But with such privilege came great responsibility,
for now they risked disrespecting those items, and the One who owned them.

The reason for the priesthood’s added concerns around ritual purity was their regular contact with the Tabernacle/Temple and the sacred offerings within. ADONAI said to Moshe, “Tell Aaron and his sons to be extremely careful with the sacred offerings that the Israelites set apart for me. So, they do not bring shame on My holy Name. I am the LORD. This phrase occurs many times throughout Leviticus. It occurs at the beginning and end of this chapter. It affirms the holiness of what YHVH has received and warns against giving Him less than the best or treating His offerings with disrespect (22:1-2).³⁸⁸ The verses that follow provide the details and consequences of such actions. The first mitzvah is that impure/unclean priests may not come into contact with the sacred offerings.

Tell them, “Any descendant of yours through all your generations who approaches the sacred offerings that the people of Isra’el dedicate to ADONAI and is unclean will be cut off from before Me; I am ADONAI” (22:3). The general principle first appears here, then again in verse 9. In rabbinic literature the penalty is called karet, or “cutting off.” In priestly literature, the penalty of karet was understood to include a series of related punishments at the hand of God, ranging from the immediate death of an offender, as in 20:17, to his premature death at a later time, and even to the death of his descendants. In Mishnah Sanhedrin 9:6 and Mishnah Keritot 1:2, this penalty was characterized as mitah biydei shamayim, or “death at the hands of heaven.” Since in 7:20-21 karet is mentioned in the context as childlessness, there is the implication that it took that course as well.³⁸⁹

Any descendant of Aaron with tzara‘at (to see link click Bv – The Test of Tzara’at) or a discharge is not to eat the holy things until he is clean. Then Moshe, inspired by the Ruach Ha’Kodesh mentions several examples. Any priest who has touched a person made unclean by a dead body (22:4a). Corpse contamination was suggested earlier, where the bodies of Nadab and Abihu were removed by using their tunics as the means of lifting them. This prevented direct contact with the bodies (see Bh – The Death of Nadab and Abihu). In 21:11 the Bible prohibited a high priest from being in the same room or building as a corpse. Such strict separation of the corpse and the high priest was also demanded for the other priests. They could only mourn the loss of close family members (see Do – Prohibited Practices for the Priests: The priests and the dead).

Any priest who has had a seminal emission would be unclean (22:4b). The reference to the emission of semen recalls the earlier description (see Cm – Male Chronic Uncleanness: Normal male discharges). And touching a detestable reptile or insect could also make him unclean recalls Leviticus 11. Not only are detestable creatures unclean to eat (11:10, 20-23, 29, 31, and 41-44), they are also unclean for priests to touch. Or a man who is unclean for any reason and who can transmit to him his uncleanness (22:5).³⁹⁰ The person who touches any of these will be unclean until evening and is not to eat the holy food of God unless he bathes his body in water (22:6). Sacrificial offerings are often called lehem, translated bread or food, and, at least in a symbolic sense, are considered bread for YHVH. The priests needed to observe strict codes of purity for they were the mediators between the worshiper and ADONAI.³⁹¹ Therefore, they were expressly warned not to serve or offer sacrifices at the bronze altar while in a state of ritual impurity (see Ah – The Offerings from the People’s Perspective).

After sunset he will be clean (22:7a). After sunset on the day of his immersion, a person was regarded as clean and able to enter into the Tabernacle/Temple and partake of the sacrificial service. In the way the Bible calculates time, sunset marks the beginning of the new day. This principle is reiterated here for the benefit of the priesthood.

And afterwards, the priest could eat the holy things; because they were his food (22:7b). Sacrificial offerings are often called lehem, translated bread or food, and, at least in a symbolic sense, are considered bread for YHVH. The priests needed to observe strict codes of purity for they were the mediators between the worshiper and ADONAI.³⁹² It seems that what gave God great joy was the fact that He was obeyed by worshipful people who offered the prescribed sacrifices just as He had commanded. This is what pleased Ha’Shem and the offering became a sweet aroma to Him. In other words, God’s bread was mankind’s seeking to draw near to Him.³⁹³

But he was not to eat anything that died naturally or was torn to death by wild animals and thereby making himself unclean; I am ADONAI. A similar statement occurs in Ezeki’el 44:31. In Leviticus 17:15 this same prohibition is addressed to all Israelites, and similar commandments are addressed to the Israelite people in Exodus 22:30 and Deuteronomy 14:21. It is likely, therefore, that this very ancient prohibition was repeated here for emphasis in the mitzvot specifically addressed to priests.³⁹⁴

Just as the common Israelite was forbidden from eating of the peace offerings (see Ak – The Peace Offerings: At Peace with God) while in a state of ritual impurity, the priests were forbidden from eating of the priestly portions of the sacrifices while in a state of ritual impurity. A priest who flaunted these prohibitions and intentionally ate the priestly portions while in a state of ritual impurity risked an untimely end. The priest must observe this charge of mind; otherwise, if they profane it, they will bear the consequences of their sin for doing so and die in it. In all but the most serious cases of ritual contamination, a person need only immerse himself (and often his clothes) and then wait until sunset before being deemed clean again. And to provide the motivation for following these mitzvot, YHVH declared: I am ADONAI, who makes them holy (22:9).

The priests needed to be particularly diligent about these matters. By handling the sacrifices in a state of ritual impurity, they could invalidate the sacrifice, defile the bronze altar, and defile the priestly portions of the sacrifices. The warning about waiting until sunset after immersion before eating the sacrifices counted as one of the 613 commands of the Torah.³⁹⁵ Priests had the privilege of handling the LORD’s holy items. But with such privilege came great responsibility, for now they risked disrespecting those items – and ADONAI who owned them – if they mishandled them. Those with special privileges in the affairs of YHVH must treat their responsibilities with absolute seriousness: Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, since you know that we will be judged more severely (James 3:1).³⁹⁶

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that You are such a holy and pure God (Isaiah 6:3)! I love being Your child (John 1:12). But with the privilege of being in Your family, comes the responsibility to act holy, for You are holy. Salvation is a wonderful gift but not something that can be taken for granted (Romans 5:17). Being joined with You unites us together, both in Your death to sin and in Your resurrection to life. For if we have become joined together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also will be joined together in His resurrection (Romans 6:5). Your purpose, set forth in Messiah, has always been a wonderful union with You. You planned from before creation (Ephesians 1:4) to make those who love You holy, by adoption into Your family -uniting them in Messiah. Making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Messiah as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:9-10). It is such a joy to be united with You and so with great pleasure we seek to live holy lives to please You. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Priests with Defects
21: 16-24

Priests with defects DIG: Why do you think there’s such an emphasis on physical perfection and ritual cleanliness for the priests? How does this relate to God’s holiness? Do you think this indicated that priests with deformities were of less value to God? Why? Why not?

REFLECT: How do you view people with spiritual defects? Do you avoid them? Feel sorry for them? Try to help them? What does ADONAI know about your defects, physical or spiritual? Why are you able to approach a holy God with these defects? Who can you tell?

Since the animal which was offered was required to be free from defects,
the priest who offered it on behalf of the sinner, had to be just as free from defects.

The priesthood was not an equal opportunity employer. Priests with a physical defect or blemish were disqualified from serving at the bronze altar of sacrifice and entering into the holy place. Standards of holiness increased as those around YHVH moved closer to Him. It was like a pyramid with the common people of Isra’el at its base, then, as you move up were the Levites, then priests with defects, then priests without defects, and finally at the top of the pyramid was the high priest himself who went into the Most Holy Place once a year.

ADONAI said to Moshe, “Tell Aaron, ‘None of your descendants who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God’ (21:16-17).” Four times in Chapter 21 (verses 6, 8, 17 and 21) we are informed the reason why the priests were to remain ritually clean, having no blemish, physical handicap, or any bodily defect. Since the animal which was offered was required to be free from defect, the priest who offered it on behalf of the sinner, had, therefore, to be just as free from defects. They were to be holy for their God and not defile the name of their God. For they are the ones who present ADONAI with offerings made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore, they must be holy (21:6). Sacrificial offerings are often called lehem, translated bread or food, and, at least in a symbolic sense, are considered bread for YHVH. The priests needed to observe strict codes of purity for they were the mediators between the worshiper and ADONAI.³⁸³ It seems that what gave God great joy was the fact that He was obeyed by worshipful people who offered the prescribed sacrifices just as He had commanded (to see link lick Ah – The Offerings from the People’s Perspective). This is what pleased Ha’Shem and the offering became a sweet aroma to Him. In other words, God’s bread was mankind’s seeking to draw near to Him.³⁸⁴

Dear Heavenly Father, What a joy it is that You actually enjoy mankind’s seeking to draw near to You! You are so Almighty, All-Wise and absolutely wonderful! We know that Messiah made it possible for us to draw near to You, our Father God. In Him we have redemption through His blood . . . He did this in order to create within Himself one new man from the two groups, making shalom, and to reconcile both to God in one body through the cross – by which He put the hostility to death.  And He came and proclaimed shalom to you who were far away and shalom to those who were near – for through Him we both have access to the Father by the same Ruach. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household (Ephesians 1:7a, 2:15-18).

Thank You for Messiah’s one-time perfect sacrifice so no more sacrifices are needed. The One who does remain forever has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is also able to completely save those who draw near to God through Him, always living to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:24b-25). We seek to draw near to You by abiding in Your Word that became flesh (John 1:14). We love You! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Physically defective or deformed priests were not allowed to function as priests by offering sacrifices. Kefa cutting off the right ear of the high priest’s servant is an extreme example of this (see The Life of Christ Le – Jesus Betrayed, Arrested and Deserted). The abnormalities listed here are probably examples rather than a complete list (a complete list of animal defects listed in 22:20-25), although this passage comprises the most comprehensive discussion on the subject of defects in the Bible. The ritual wholeness of the Levitical sacrificial system found physical expression in wholeness and normality.³⁸⁵ These defects include only those observable on the surface of the body. Nothing is mentioned of internal ailments. No one with a defect may approach – no one blind, lame, with a mutilated face or a limb too long, a broken foot or a broken arm (such injuries would be permanent because broken limbs were not set properly in ancient times), a hunched back, stunted growth, a cataract in his eye, festering or running sores, or damaged testicles – no one descended from Aaron the priest who has such a defect may approach to present the offerings for ADONAI made by fire; he has a defect and is not to approach to offer the bread of his God (21:18-21).

In the intertestamental days of Antigonus, he had the ears of the high priest Hyrcanus II (40 BC) cut off so that (as a result of this mitzvah) he would forever be disqualified from being high priest again. Also, Deuteronomy refers to a physical defect that if it existed among the congregation at large would prohibit a man from worshiping in the covenant community (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Eb – Purity in Public Worship: Eunuchs). Such a priest was not disqualified from the priesthood. He still enjoyed the privileges and rights of being a priest. He was not banned from the outer court of the Tabernacle (see the commentary on Exodus Ex – The Courtyard and Gate of the Tabernacle). He was able to participate in the services and eat the sacred offerings. While the priest’s family could partake of the holy offerings, the most holy offerings could be eaten only by the priests and had to be eaten in the Tabernacle courtyard. However, he was not to go into the Holy Place through the outer veil (see Exodus Fj – The Outer Veil of the Sanctuary) or approach the bronze altar of sacrifice, because he has a defect – so that he will not profane my holy places, because I am ADONAI, who makes them holy. Moshe said these things to Aaron, his sons and all the people of Isra’el (21:22:24).

Isn’t it unfair to discriminate against the priest with a blemish or defect? It may well be, but it is also unfair to exclude all but the sons of Aaron from the priesthood, and it is unfair to tell the priests that they could not mourn while on duty (see Do – Prohibited Practices for the Priests: The priests and the dead). It may not have been fair, but it was purposeful.

You may recall that the priesthood played an intermediary role between God and mankind. The officiating priest could not be blemished or less than whole because he represented the invisible God. He represented the Kingdom of YHVH. For the same reason that they were not to mourn while on duty, the priests were to be without defects. Since the animal which was offered was required to be free from defects, the priest who offered it on behalf of the sinner, had, therefore, to be just as free from defects. Thus, God’s perfection demanded the highest degree of perfection possible among those who minister and among the offerings that were presented to Him. This demand for perfection of both the priest and the offering was ultimately and uniquely fulfilled in the Person of Yeshua Messiah, who, as our High Priest, was not only holy, blameless, and pure (Hebrews 7:26), but as the sacrificial Lamb of God, was a sacrifice without defect. You should be aware that the ransom paid to free you from the worthless way of life which your fathers passed on to you did not consist of anything perishable like silver or gold; on the contrary, it was the costly bloody sacrificial death of the Messiah, as of a lamb without defect or spot (First Peter 1:18-19).³⁸⁶

Through the ministry of the Master, we learn that physical defects, infirmities and diseases are ultimately not in agreement with God’s Kingdom. When His Kingdom comes and His full and perfect will is accomplished on the earth, disease, defect and human suffering will be eradicated for believers because they will have their resurrected bodies. The Messianic Temple represents that ideal state of the Kingdom, where Yeshua Messiah will reign and rule for a thousand years from the Most Holy Place (see the commentary on Isaiah Db – The Nine Missing Articles in the Messiah’s Coming Temple). Therefore, the priests who served on duty inside the Sanctuary were to be representative of that not-yet realized state of renewal.³⁸⁷

Prohibited Practices for the Priests
21: 1-15

Prohibited practices for the priests DIG: Who was a priest allowed to mourn for and why? Why wasn’t a priest allowed to attend the burial of his wife? In what sense are the Levitical sacrifices “God’s bread?” Why did the priests need to have no blemishes to offer sacrifices?

REFLECT: Do you celebrate God’s appointed times? Why? Why not? Do you feel that the prohibited practices for the priests were excessive? Why or why not? What standards do you have for your spiritual leaders? What does it mean to sanctify the Name of God?

Parashah 31: Emor (Say) 21:1 to 24:23
(See my commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah)

The Key People are Moshe, the sons of Aaron, and Aaron.

The Scene is the Tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai.

The Main Events include ADONAI giving Moshe mitzvot for priests to stay holy, with special mitzvot for the high priest; guidelines for treating the sacred offerings with respect, including what may be eaten by whom and which animals were acceptable as sacrifices; descriptions of the appointed feasts to proclaim as sacred assemblies, including Shabbat, Pesach and Hag ha’Matzah, Resheet, Shavu’ot, Rosh ha’Shanah, Yom Kippur, and Shukkot; instructions for the priests to tend the lamps and bake bread to set before the LORD; and the story of a blasphemer stoned as Ha’Shem commanded; guidelines for restitution – life for life.

We now come to a parashah that is filled to the brim with teachings about the Person and ministry of the Messiah. The main feature of this parashah is the revelation of God’s calendar, or God’s appointed times for His people. ADONAI instructed Isra’el to set aside certain days and years that would serve as special times of worship, celebration, and rest. In Leviticus 23:2 God said to Moshe, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, “These are the LORD’s sacred assemblies, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.” The Hebrew word translated sacred assemblies is from the word mo’ed. This word actually means appointed times (to see link click Dw – God’s Appointed Times). It can be likened to YHVH telling Isra’el to get out her personal and national planning calendars and write in certain appointments for Ha’Shem. He already has her in His calendar and He, therefore, instructed Isra’el to give time to Him accordingly. For, on those particular days ADONAI desires to meet with His people in very special ways.³⁷³

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You so much that You desire a relationship of love with me. You are the Almighty King of Kings, yet You also walk in chesed, steadfast love, with me! We so love to walk, talk and to listen to You. A smile comes to my face and my heart skips a beat when I think of having an eternal relationship with my loving Father. Your steadfast love frames all that You do and say. When there are rules that I don’t understand, I remember that You, in Your infinite kindness, love me and want the best for me. Yeshua says: I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10c)!

Trials are often used by you to purify my soul. When I am in the midst of trials that I don’t understand, just like David when he was being pursued by Sha’ul, I remember the eternal reality of your steadfast love which satisfies me like a wonderful meal. Since Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips will praise You . . . My soul is satisfied as with fat and oil, so my mouth praises You with joyful lips (Psalms 63:3,5).

Never have You forgotten Your child, but with your eye carefully checking the heat of the fire that I feel myself in, You are seeking to purify me like gold purified in the fire. These trials are so that the true metal of your faith (far more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire) may come to light in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua. (1 Peter 1:7). These trials and rules are momentary, but the joy that comes from trusting and obeying You will last forever. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). You are a joy to obey! In Your holy name and power of Your Son’s resurrection. Amen

The appointed times all point to the ministry of Yeshua Messiah. Pesach points to His death, Hag ha’Matzah points to the sinlessness of His sacrifice, Resheet points to His resurrection, Shavu’ot points to the birth of His Church, Rosh ha’Shanah points to the rapture, Yom Kippur points to the Great Tribulation, and Shukkot points to the Messianic Kingdom.

The priests and the dead (21:1-6): More than a double standard for leadership, standards of holiness increase as those around YHVH move closer to Him. Being sanctified (being made holy for the purposes of God) means becoming kosher, or acceptable, to draw near to the LORD. In the case of the priests, failure to observe priestly commands seen in these verses could defile the Tabernacle. The priests could only mourn the loss of close family members. ADONAI said to Moshe, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron; tell them: ‘No priest is to make himself ritually unclean for any of his people who dies, dies, except for his close family members – defined as his mother, father, son, daughter and brother or an unmarried sister’ (21:1-3).” These same six relatives are mentioned in Ezeki’el 44:25. Anything dead is laden with the power of death, and for that reason it does, in a special way, render that person ritually unclean, incapable of dealing with the holy, the power of life itself.³⁷⁴ The priest, in the role of husband, was not even permitted to attend the burial of his wife, who is related to him through marriage. The six relatives at whose death a priest could mourn (being near the dead body) rendered him impure. But other than this one exception, he could not make himself unclean, because he was a leader among his people; doing so would defile him (21:4). The mitzvot regarding contact with a corpse by the Israelites is addressed in Numbers 19:10-22. Touching a dead body rendered one unclean for seven days (Numbers 19:11).

Priests are not to make bald spots on their heads, shave the edges of their beards or cut their flesh (21:5). A similar prohibition is stated in Ezeki’el 44:20. Deuteronomy 14:1 prohibits all Israelites from doing this, but it is understandable that this code should emphasize this prohibition with respect to the priests. Like cutting, shaving the hair or pulling it out were rites of mourning in ancient Canaan that Israelite religious leaders sought to prevent.³⁷⁵ Holy behaviors like these may sound discriminatory to western ears. But what is kosher to God does not carry good or bad connotations in the Semitic world. As in constructing a puzzle, each piece of the puzzle fits together and helps to complete the whole!³⁷⁶

There is a fascinating teaching contained in this section which deserves some attention. Four times in Chapter 21 (verses 6, 8, 17 and 21) we are informed the reason why the priests were to remain ritually clean, having no blemish, physical handicap, or any bodily imperfection. Since the animal which was offered was required to be free from imperfections, the priest who offered it on behalf of the sinner, had, therefore, to be just as free from imperfections. They were to be holy for their God and not defile the name of their God. For they are the ones who present ADONAI with offerings made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore, they must be holy (21:6). Sacrificial offerings are often called lehem, translated bread or food, and, at least in a symbolic sense, are considered bread for YHVH. The priests needed to observe strict codes of purity for they were the mediators between the worshiper and ADONAI.³⁷⁷ It seems that what gave God great joy was the fact that He was obeyed by worshipful people who offered the prescribed sacrifices just as He had said (see Ah – The Offerings from the People’s Perspective). This is what pleased Ha’Shem and the offering became a sweet aroma to Him. In other words, God’s bread was mankind’s seeking to draw near to Him.³⁷⁸

The priests and women (21:7-9): The Torah explains that the priest must exercise a higher standard in the choice of a bride. A priest is not to marry a woman who is a prostitute, who has been defiled or who has been divorced; because he is holy for his God (21:7). A woman defiled by prostitution has traditionally been understood as any woman who has lived a promiscuous lifestyle, whether for pay or not. The same woman was permitted to marry any other Israelite as illustrated in the book of Hosea. Conversely, it was clearly implied that the priest himself was forbidden to live promiscuously. If the exalted sanctity of the priesthood forbade him to marry a woman who lived a worldly lifestyle, how much more so was he himself forbidden from living such a lifestyle. Rather, you are to set him apart as holy, because he offers the bread of your God. Consider them holy, because I ADONAI am holy – who made them holy (21:8). From the command to sanctify the priesthood we learn the importance of giving Messiah, our spiritual High Priest, the sanctity and honor due Him. Sanctifying the Master requires reverence of His Name and Person.

The daughter of a priest who defiled herself by a promiscuous lifestyle defiled her father. It became a capital offense and she was to be put to death by fire (see 21:9 for further details). A priest who would allow a prostitute to reside under his roof, even if it was his own daughter, would not be qualified to render decisions on behalf of the covenant community. The priest was not in any way to be associated with evil practices because he was the designated vessel in the service of God. These mitzvot teach us about the very nature of YHVH and His relationship to His people. Throughout the Scriptures, God compares His people to a bride. What kind of bride are we to be? We are to be a people without a spot, wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without defect (Ephesians 5:27b). Whenever the people of God slide into idolatry, He compares us to a prostitute and an unfaithful bride. Such a bride is unfit for the holiness of God.³⁷⁹

The high priest’s family (21:10-15): The high priest was held to an even higher (no pun intended) standard than an ordinary priest. This is the first occurrence of the term high priest in the Bible and its only occurrence in Leviticus. The one who is ranked highest among his brothers, the one on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who is consecrated to put on the garments, is not to shave his head, tear his clothes, go in to where any dead body is or make himself unclean, even when his father or mother dies (21:10-11). The high priest was not to shave his head or beard or cut his body (21:5). The practice of shaving the head, or making oneself bald, is also prohibited in Deuteronomy 14:1, and appears to be associated with pagan mourning rites (Isaiah 3:24 and 15:2; Jeremiah 47:5 and 48:37; Ezeki’el 7:18 and 27:31; Amos 8:10; Micah 1:16). He could not go anywhere near a dead body, not even when his father or mother died.

Aaron and his sons could not leave the Sanctuary (21:12a) during their seven-day ordination ceremony (see Av – The Ordination Ceremony of the Priesthood). Obviously, this couldn’t mean that he could never leave the Sanctuary at all, otherwise, it would be impossible for him to live with his family, or to have physical relations with his wife. Note also that Aaron, the high priest, did not remain in the Sanctuary all the time (Numbers 12:1-4 and 16:47). The context therefore suggests that the high priest could not leave the Sanctuary to mourn or become impure.³⁸⁰

Additionally, he could not defile the Sanctuary of his God because the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am ADONAI (21:12b). Child sacrifice to Molech defiled the Sanctuary in 20:3 (also see 21:23). Along with verse 12 here, these three verses are the only times that the Torah describes the Sanctuary being defiled. General concerns for defilement occur in verses 7 and 9. Between them, verse 8 declares: because I ADONAI am holy – who made them holy, just as verse 15 does. Thus, the text twice relates the holiness of God to the avoidance of defilement. Just as verses 7-9 deal with sexual matters, so does verse 13. The reaffirmation of God’s holiness explains why the Sanctuary should not be defiled. The holiness of ADONAI demands that those who draw near to Him, must worship Him in holiness.³⁸¹ For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

Unlike the other priests, the high priest could only marry a virgin daughter of Isra’el, meaning a native-born woman, neither a Gentile or proselyte. He may not marry a widow, divorcee, or a defiled woman who has lived a promiscuous lifestyle; but he must marry a virgin from among his own people and not disqualify his descendants among his people; because I am ADONAI, who makes him holy (21:13-15). Abstinence from premarital sex on the part of the wife of the high priest would certainly say something about her character, although the legitimacy of the offspring to inherit the high priesthood would certainly have been the greater concern.³⁸²

Holiness for the Priests
21:1 to 22:33

All Isra’el was called to live by the mitzvot of holiness, but the priesthood, the cohenim, were called to an even higher standard of holiness than the average Israelite. In order to serve at the bronze altar for the sacrifices of the people, or in the Holy Place as mediators between YHVH and mankind, the priesthood, themselves, were required to live at a higher standard of holiness. They are the ones who present ADONAI with offerings made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore, they must be holy (Leviticus 21:6).³⁷¹

This parashah (see the commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah) follows a section on holiness which began in Leviticus 17 (see Cy – The Holiness Code), where three levels of sanctification can be seen. First, the broad base of the nation (see Cz – Holiness for the People), then the level of Levites, who assisted the priests (see the commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah An – Priests, Levites and Temple Servants), and finally to the highest level, the priests (the kohanim), with the high priest himself who was the very summit of human holiness in Chapters 21 and 22.

The basic concept in these chapters is a basic review of the need for the priests to be ritually clean (see Bk – Ritually Clean and Unclean Animals) in order to perform their duties. But the teaching found here is more specific than what has previously been taught. For example, we are now informed that even if there is a small physical blemish such as a hunched back, or a broken arm (21:16-21), the man was disqualified from becoming the high priest. Thus, because these two chapters stress the need for the kohanim to be different from the rest of the Israelites, we find that most of the teaching is designed to give specific examples which would serve to remind the priests to be ritually clean. These examples cover every area of life; from what kind of woman to marry to skin blotches.³⁷²

Family Sins Deserving of Capital Punishment
20: 9-26

Family sins deserving of capital punishment DIG: Why doesn’t YHVH see the death penalty as “cruel and unusual punishment?” What is the meaning of being cut off? Has the death penalty been eliminated because of Romans 8:1? Why is living in the world so dangerous?

REFLECT: Since the Torah is our blueprint for daily living, why do you think ADONAI went into such detail regarding these disgusting sins within the family? Are these sins forgivable? Why or why not? What do you think about the different levels of punishment?

ADONAI separated His people from other pagan nations. Now that they were ready to move into the world of the Canaanites, they had to maintain significant distinctions in every aspect of their lives. Is it any different for us today? Who are the Canaanites for you?

The transgression of certain commandments carried the death penalty. For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Virtually all these sins have been described before. The new aspect is the punishment. Though capital crimes have previously appeared, here, the Bible introduces the punishment of stoning for the first time. The whole community participated, and therefore, symbolically made a statement that it had removed the uncleanness from its midst.³⁵⁶ The methods of execution are described in the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ei – The Oral Law). None of them are pleasant. Only the Great Sanhedrin (see The Life of Christ Lg – The Great Sanhedrin), the Jewish Supreme Court, had the authority to issue the death sentence.³⁵⁷

The punishment for serious offenses was death (20:9-16): Leviticus next condemns the kinds of sins that were common in the pagan world and threatened to invade the lives of the people of God. It called for the covenant community to obey his commands. Thus, the argument of the whole chapter is, “Do not worship falsely, but obey ADONAI; do not live like the pagans, but obey Ha’Shem.” A natural connection is made between the two. Those who might give way to false worship, eventually found themselves in the spiritual gutter.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your perfect love and complete holiness. It is Your love that leads me to live a holy life that You want me to have. I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10c)! Thank You for Your Holy Ruach’s abiding presence within me. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Ruach – if indeed the Ruach Elohim dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Ruach of Messiah, he does not belong to Him (Romans 8:9). He helps me to be victorious over temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Cursing parents: The first violation of the divine order is cursing parents. Honoring parents is commanded in the Ten Words (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bp – Honor Your Parents). Thus, a person who curses his father or mother must be put to death; having cursed his father or his mother. The word cursing (Hebrew: qalal) can refer to treating parents as if they are of little importance, or stronger cursing, wishing the deity to do them harm (see the commentary on the Life of David Ds – Shim’i Curses David). The stronger meaning must apply here since the sin brought the death penalty. Moreover, cursing is more serious if it invokes God (or gods) to bring evil upon the parents. This is a serious attempt by some people to discredit or destroy their parents. In explaining the punishment YHVH says: his blood is on him (20:9). As a justification for the death penalty, this means that whoever committed the crime knew the consequences and therefore bore the sole responsibility (Ezeki’el 18:20). It also meant that the blood could not be avenged by a relative (see Deuteronomy Dm – Six Cities of Refuge).³⁵⁸

Adultery: The second major disruption of God’s blueprint for living is the destruction of the family through adultery. It is forbidden in the Ten Words (see Deuteronomy Br – Do Not Commit Adultery). As its punishment makes clear, it was a very serious wrong, being an act of treachery against one’s spouse (Jeremiah 3:20; Malachi 2:14), as well as a sin against ADONAI (Genesis 20:6 and 30:9), who created marriage between a man and woman as the cornerstone of a stable human society (Genesis 2:18-24). If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife, that is, with the wife of a fellow countryman, both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death (20:10). As its punishment makes clear, this mitzvah addresses cases of mutual, consensual, sex. In cases of rape, the woman is not held liable (Deuteronomy 22:25-27).³⁵⁹ Significantly, the B’rit Chadashah focuses on the intent of the sin and not just the act. Yeshua said that a man who even looks at a woman with the purpose of lusting after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). That adulterer may not have ruined a family by carrying out his desire, but as far as Messiah is concerned, he is guilty of the same sin.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for making guidelines that help me find joy in my life. You desire to fill my life with so many good things; though sometimes the forbidden apple does look so very good, but one bite is poison to the soul. Everyone sins sometimes, but praise You that when I repent – You so graciously forgive (First John 1:9-10). Even though I sin, Your Spirit lives within me to convict me and counsel me to avoid sin and embrace righteousness. I love You and desire to obey You; I want to please You by my thoughts and actions. In the Name of the One who sits on Your right hand. Amen

Incest: The man who goes to bed (Hebrew: shakab, indicating mutual consent, that is why both people received the death penalty) with his father’s wife (another wife, not his own mother) has disgraced his father sexually (literally “uncovered the nakedness of the father”), and both of them must be put to death. Because the father and his wife were one flesh, violating his wife violated him. their blood is on them. In the other case, to sleep with a daughter-in-law was a perversion because it introduced confusion into God’s order. YHVH set up boundaries for marital relationships, and violating them for any reason, whether for power or lust, is wrong. More than that it is sinful. Therefore, if a man goes to bed with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death; they have committed a perversion, and their blood is on them (20:11-12). The B’rit Chadashah records the case where Paul found a man guilty of having such a relationship with his father’s wife and delivered him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh (First Corinthians 5:1-5). Pagan societies like ancient Corinth might have allowed such practices, but in the eyes of Ha’Shem, they were sinful.³⁶⁰

Homosexuality: The Torah clearly prohibited homosexual acts as violations of the divine order for life (see Ae – The Bible and Homosexual Practice). If a man goes to bed with a man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. These are other words and phrases that God uses to describe this deviant practice: cut off, detestable, wicked, vile, an outrageous thing, godlessness, without excuse, fools, sinful desires, impurity, degrading their bodies, shameful lusts, unnatural relations, penalty, deceived, sexually immoral, sinful, the unholy, irreligious, perversions, a lie exposed as a warning of the everlasting fire awaiting those who must undergo punishment. And the B’rit Chadashah confirms that it is an abomination (see the commentary on Romans An – The Depraved Mind of the Pagan Gentile). Thus, they must be put to death; their blood is on them (20:13). In an effort to justify the homosexual lifestyle, various modern writers try to revise the interpretation of passages regarding this abomination in Leviticus. However, we must remember that Homosexuality, like all the sins listed here, is not the unforgivable sin (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Em – Whoever Blasphemes Against the Holy Spirit Will Never Be Forgiven).

Sexual relations with a woman and her daughter: This mitzvah next addresses a man who took two women to live with, a mother and her daughter together. If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is depravity (Hebrew: zimmah, or wickedness), and all three are to be put to death by fire, so that there will not be wickedness among you (20:14). Death by fire bore a special relationship to forbidden sexual behavior. According to 21:9, if the daughter of a priest defiled herself by becoming a prostitute, she must be burned in the fire. In the account of Genesis 38:24, Judah threatened his daughter-in-law Tamar with death by fire when he learned that she had become pregnant with awaiting levirate marriage, an offense synonymous to adultery.³⁶¹ The burning of the corpse would represent complete removal from the LORD’s people: not even the bones are left (Second Kings 9:36-37). In today’s language, they have no tombstone and are not even in an unmarked grave. The method of punishment suggests that this type of incestuous relationship was particularly vile.³⁶² It was used so infrequently that the specifics of how it was carried out seems to have been forgotten by the time the Oral Law was written (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law).

Bestiality: In the case of the sin of bestiality, it is a clear case of violating the divine order of creation. It brought about confusion because it was contrary to the laws of nature. The one who committed the crime and the animal involved were both put to death. If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you are to kill the animal. If a woman approaches an animal and has sexual relations with it, you are to kill the woman and the animal; their blood will be on them (20:15-16). According to Jewish tradition, the reason the animal was to be put to death was because the sight of the animal would have been a constant reminder of the heinous union. Although the manner in which the death penalty was to be carried out for both is not stated, it was most likely stoning, the common method of execution.³⁶³

The Torah’s demands of capital punishment for certain sins seems objectionable to many today because they are not willing to admit the seriousness of sin. Though believers are typically willing to theologically accept the idea that sin merits eternal punishment, they are frequently unwilling to accept the idea that it might merit a death penalty. Yet, if we apply the standard of equal weights and measures, we will have to acknowledge that the death penalty in this life is far more lenient than an eternity in hell separated from the love of God. If we can stomach eternal damnation, then who are we to object to a simple death sentence which, at the most, merely shortens one’s life on this earth.

Often it is inferred by many that the death penalties have all been removed because: There is now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Yeshua (Romans 8:1). Undoubtedly, the condemnation Paul speaks of is not condemnation in this world, but in the world to come. Otherwise, how could justice be served? The idea that justice would be overturned or death penalties revoked because a guilty person is a believer is indefensible. Justice must be served. If a believer is found guilty of murder, although saved (see The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer), he must face the punishment for his crime like any other man. However, if he has repented and clung to the hem of Messiah, he may go to his punishment with the certainty that the punishment in this world is adequate. He will only face the loss of rewards in heaven (see the commentary on Revelation Cc – We Must All Appear Before the Bema Seat of Christ).³⁶⁴

The punishment for some violations was to be cut off (20:17-19): With the next section comes a change in the way the mitzvot were enforced, which may indicate a different kind of sin or level of seriousness. Up to this point, for each violation of Torah the guilty were put to death by the community after a proper trail from the Great Sanhedrin. For the next few violations, the Bible simply says that the guilty are to be cut off publicly (see the commentary on Jeremiah Fb – The Destruction of Babylon and the Restoration of Isra’el: three degrees of excommunication).

Sexual relations with a sister (20:17): If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter. Here, the expression probably means that the man married his sister, or at least that they lived together as husband and wife. This is confirmed by the fact that he had sexual relations with her, and she consented. ADONAI declares that it is a shameful thing. They are to be cut off publicly – he has had sexual relations with his sister, and he will bear the consequences of their wrongdoing. The act is a violation of the boundary of the family.³⁶⁵

In rabbinic literature the penalty is called karet, or “cutting off.” In priestly literature, the penalty of karet was understood to include a series of related punishments at the hand of God, ranging from the immediate death of an offender, as in 20:17, to his premature death at a later time, and even to the death of his descendants. In Mishnah Sanhedrin 9:6 and Mishnah Keritot 1:2, this penalty was characterized as mitah biydei shamayim, or “death at the hands of heaven.” Since in 7:20-21 karet is mentioned in the context as childlessness, there is the implication that it took that course as well.³⁶⁶

Sexual relations with a menstruating woman (20:18): Having sexual relations with a woman during her period is also included here was a serious violation of God’s order of marital relations. Sexual relations during menstruation was ruled out in Leviticus 15:19 and 24, where the punishment was only a period of uncleanness for the couple followed by the ritual cleansing in a mikvah. Here, the punishment was more severe. They would be cut off. If a man goes to bed with a woman in her menstrual period and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her blood, and she has exposed the source of her blood; both of them are to be cut off from their people. Ha’Shem dealt with the couple because it was impossible to take them to court. Leviticus 15 dealt with all kinds of incidental contact with things unclean, but Leviticus 20 deals with the deliberate violations of the Torah. If the violation was due to merely an accident of timing, then uncleanness and ritual impurity were in order. But if it was done intentionally, that meant those involved knowingly violated the holiness code of God (see Cy – The Holiness Code).

Sexual relations with a close relative (20:19): In the final violation in this section, ADONAI said: You are not to have sexual relations with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister; a person who does this has had sexual relations with his close relative; they will bear the consequences of their wrongdoing. God would deal with them in His own time and way. Like the other two violations in this section, they too would be cut off.

Lesser violations were punished with childlessness (20:20-21). In the next cases, the punishment changes to childlessness, a form of divine punishment that was not as strong as death by stoning or being cut off from the covenant community, but indicated God’s disapproval just the same. The word for childless (Hebrew: ariri, means stripped). It is used in the sense of posterity, like in Genesis 15:2, where Abraham says: What will You give me since I remain childless. The word is also used in a curse on King Jehoiachin (Hebrew Coniah, a shortened form of Jeconiah, also called Jehoiachin) in Jeremiah 22:30: Record this man as if childless . . . for none of his offspring will prosper, nor sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah. From these we see that the curse of childlessness did not mean someone had no children. Indeed, Jehoiachin had children (First Chronicles 3:17-18). For him, a king, it was as if he had no child, no true son (of a full wife) to keep his memory alive or provide a legitimate place in the genealogy. He was “struck off the list,” as it were. In this chapter, then, illegitimate marriage relationships might have produced children, but in ADONAI’s sight they were not legitimate and would not benefit the family. In the ancient world, this was a great calamity.³⁶⁷

Sexual relations with an aunt (20:20): If a man had sexual relations with an aunt, the punishment was childlessness. If a man goes to bed with his uncle’s wife, he has disgraced his uncle sexually. Because a woman’s nakedness is her husbands – they are one flesh – he dishonored his uncle. They will bear the consequences of their sin and die childless. The sin violated her relationship to him as well.

Sexual relations with a sister-in-law (20:21): If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is uncleanness. Here, the expression probably means that the man married his sister-in-law, or at least that they lived together as husband and wife. He has disgraced his brother sexually, and as a result, they will be childless (20:21). The couple would face the punishment for adultery (death at the hands of the Earthly Court) in addition to the added punishment of childlessness. In other words, they would not only face the death penalty, but they would leave no heir to carry on their family line (divine justice administered by the Heavenly Court). Rashi suggests that if they already had children, their children would die childless.³⁶⁸ People who choose to violate God’s boundaries of marriage cannot expect God’s blessing on their union.

God’s people are called to holy living (20:22-26): You are to observe all my regulations and rulings and act on them, so that the Land to which I am bringing you will not vomit you out. Do not live by the regulations of the nation which I am expelling ahead of you; because they did all these things, which is why I detested them. But to you I have said, “You will inherit their land; I will give it to you as a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am ADONAI your God, who has set you apart from other peoples. Therefore, you are to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and between clean and unclean birds; do not make yourselves detestable with an animal, bird or reptile that I have set apart for you to regard as unclean. Rather, you people are to be holy for me; because I, ADONAI, am holy; and I have set you apart from the other peoples, so that you can belong to me.

The instruction for the people of Isra’el was that they sanctify themselves and be holy. Leviticus 20:22 states the message very graphically, they must keep all the mitzvot or the Land would vomit them out. Put negatively (20:23), they had to avoid the customs of the Gentile nations, for it was because of those corrupt practices that YHVH expelled the Canaanites from the land. Stated positively, the motivation for loyalty was that Isra’el was God’s elected nation. She existed because of the covenant, and lived in anticipation of the fulfillment of the divine purposes (20:24). ADONAI separated His people from other pagan nations. Now that they were ready to move into the world of the Canaanites, they had to maintain significant distinctions in every aspect of their lives. They were holy, because the LORD who set them apart is holy.

This message is important for both Jewish and Gentile believers. The Jew must remember that he is a Jew, and not one the nations. He must not seek to emulate the ways of the Gentiles. In addition, he must not seek to hide his identity. The Gentile must no longer consider himself as a child of a pagan nation, but one as born again and grafted into the cultivated olive tree, or Isra’el (see the commentary on Romans Cz – The Illustration of Isra’el’s Future), set apart from the Gentile world. Thus, Peter tells the Gentile believers of today to be holy, regarding themselves as part of Isra’el, no longer a part of the Gentile world. Instead, they are to regard themselves as aliens and strangers among the nations, “Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and temporary residents not to give in to the desires of your old nature, which keep warring against you; but to live such good lives among the pagans that even though they now speak against you as evil-doers, they will, as a result of seeing your good actions, give glory to God on the Day of His coming” (First Peter 2:11-12).³⁶⁹

Haftarah K’doshim reading (Amos 9:7-15 (A); Ezeki’el 20:19-20 (S):
(see the commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah)

Zadokites ruled as High Priests from the time of David to the Hasmoneans, who threw off Seleucid rule (First and Second Maccabees). Zadok sided with David when Absalom rebelled against his father and king (Second Samuel 19:11), and he sided with David when Adonijah tried to seize Solomon’s crown (First Kings 1:8). Now, yet another Zadokite preaches to those facing exile from Jerusalem. Ezeki’el warned his generation not to live by the rules and customs of their parents, but rather to shed their idolatries (Ezeki’el 20:18). According to a standard of strict justice, the nation should have perished for worshiping the idols of Egypt (Ezeki’el 20:7-8; Joshua 24:14). A pattern develops. Isra’el rejected ADONAI’s mitzvot and profaned His Shabbats (Ezeki’el 20:13). Isra’el’s disobedience defamed God’s Name and hindered His efforts to redeem the Gentile nations (Ezeki’el 20:9 and 14). Yet, in His grace, YHVH continued to extend compassion (Ezeki’el 20:17) and resisted finishing them off in the desert. What began during the exodus continued during the exile.

B’rit Hadashah reading (Matthew 5:48):

Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). Holiness includes being loving in godly ways. Yeshua set the standards for His disciples when He said: Unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and Pharisees, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20 CJB)! Messiah extended the standard of love for one’s neighbor and the stranger in the Land to one’s enemies. Application of a principle of strict justice (apart from mercy) would have destroyed Isra’el for practicing idolatry in the wilderness (Ezeki’el 20:18). God used Jewish disobedience for His own purposes. But, in contrast with that, Gentiles now have the opportunity to be the conscious and intentional means of blessing to Isra’el. ADONAI has blessed the Gentiles by choosing them as His instrument for willingly blessing Isra’el and the Jews (see the commentary on Romans Da – The Redemption of Isra’el). YHVH calls Gentiles to imitate His holy love for Isra’el and to perfect that love.³⁷⁰

Religious Sins Deserving of Capital Punishment
20:1-8 and 27

Religious sins deserving of capital punishment DIG: What was the Jewish form of capital punishment? When was it taken away and by whom? Why was the punishment against those who worshiped Molech so severe? What did it mean for someone to be cut off?

REFLECT: How do you feel about capital punishment? Do you think it is unfair or justified? When you read that “The wages of sin is death,” do you think of it in terms of spiritual death or physical death? Is the death penalty a deterrent to wrong behavior or punishment?

God’s people must shun pagan beliefs and develop lives of holiness to the LORD.

The transgression of certain commandments carried the death penalty. For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Virtually all these sins have been described before. The new aspect is the punishment. Though capital crimes have previously appeared, here, the Bible introduces the punishment of stoning for the first time. The whole community participated, and therefore, symbolically made a statement that it had removed the uncleanness from its midst.³⁴⁵ The methods of execution are described in the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ei – The Oral Law). None of them are pleasant. Only the Great Sanhedrin (see The Life of Christ Lg – The Great Sanhedrin), the Jewish Supreme Court, had the authority to issue the death sentence.³⁴⁶

God’s people must avoid false religion (20:1-6): ADONAI said to Moshe, “Say to the people of Isra’el, ‘If someone from the people of Isra’el or one of the foreigners living in Isra’el sacrifices one of his children to Molech, he must be put to death (20:1-2a). The offering of children to Molech was previously mentioned (see Dd – Incest and Other Uncleanness: Molech). There, the offense was equated with profaning God’s name. Here, the punishment for this crime is given. Any Israelite or stranger living in the Land who offered his child up to Molech, trying to gain favor with the deity, was to be put to death. Offering children to Molech not only involved horrendous treatment of one’s offspring but also constituted idolatry in that the offering was a sacrifice being made to a pagan god (Deuteronomy 18:21; Second kings 23:10).³⁴⁷

The people of the Land are to stone him to death (20:2b). The hofal form of the verb yummat, meaning he shall be put to death, points to execution by human hand (Exodus 21:15-17 and 29). The Hebrew verb r-g-m is used specifically to describe what is done with stones. They are to be thrown or hurled (Leviticus 24:14; Numbers 15:35-36 and 21:21). The question arises as to how the sentence was to be carried out (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Dg – Judges: Crime against the covenant). Witnesses for the prosecution threw the first stones, then they were followed by others of the covenant community.³⁴⁸ In most circumstances the stoning would be performed outside the camp (Leviticus 24:14; Deuteronomy 22:24; First Kings 21:13). Stoning was still carried out during New Covenant times (John 10:31; Acts 7:59-60, 14:5).³⁴⁹

There are those today to say that capital punishment should be abolished because it has been proven that it does not discourage people from committing horrific crimes. But that is a worldly view because the Bible teaches just the opposite. Capital punishment is not meant to be a deterrent for other crimes, it is meant to be a punishment for the crime committed.

Additionally, Ha’Shem said: I too will set myself against him and cut him off from his people, because he has sacrificed his child to Molech, defiling my Sanctuary and profaning My holy name (20:3). Impurities pollute. The holy and the impure are contagious states that don’t mix.³⁵⁰ Being cut off was the punishment for mixing unclean and common (see Bj – The Mitzvot of Purification) with that which is holy. In rabbinic literature the penalty is called karet, or “cutting off.” In priestly literature, the penalty of karet was understood to include a series of related punishments at the hand of God, ranging from the immediate death of an offender, as in 20:17, to his premature death at a later time, and even to the death of his descendants. In Mishnah Sanhedrin 9:6 and Mishnah Keritot 1:2, this penalty was characterized as mitah biydei shamayim, or “death at the hands of heaven.” Since in 7:20-21 karet is mentioned in the context as childlessness, there is the implication that it took that course as well.³⁵¹

The death penalty of Torah functions on two levels. When a sin was charged against someone, the Great Sanhedrin was to investigate the matter, hold a trial, examine the witnesses and arrive at a verdict. If the person accused was found guilty, the Human Court was to carry out the verdict. If, however, there were no witnesses or there was not adequate evidence to convict, then the sentence was thought to be administered by the Heavenly Court.³⁵² In other words, Ha’Shem had to punish those who were truly guilty.

Ha’Shem held the community responsible if they did not punish the offender. This theme of corporate responsibility came from the nature of the community as the holy people of God. When there was sin, the community no longer enjoyed the fellowship with YHVH because its holiness had been compromised. In the B’rit Chadashah, the people of God are the sanctuary and its holiness. The uncleanness of idolatry receives mention by the apostle Paul because he advocated faithfulness and resistance to sin (see the commentary on Second Corinthians Bi – Do Not be Unequally Yoked with Unbelievers).³⁵³

They too faced the sentence of being cut off from YHVH (see the commentary on Jeremiah Fb – The Destruction of Babylon and the Restoration of Isra’el: three degrees of excommunication). If the people of the land look the other way in negligence when that man sacrifices his child to Molech, and fail to put him to death, then God Himself will set myself against him, his family members who are equally to blame should they hide their eyes, and everyone who follows him to go fornicating after Molech, and cut them off from their people (20:4-5). If the people would turn a blind eye toward the sin, so to speak, and look the other way, and allowing it to go unchecked, God warns that He Himself would intervene and administer justice.

When the Bible talks about fornicating after Molech, it is speaking of spiritual adultery. Isra’el is pictured as the wife of ADONAI. For your husband is your Maker, ADONAI-Tzva’ot is His name. The Holy One of Isra’el is your Redeemer. He will be called the God of all the earth (Isaiah 54:5). Isra’el would constantly go lusting after idols, as if committing spiritual adultery (Ezeki’el 23:1-21). YHVH said: I supplied all their needs, yet they ran to the houses of prostitutes, or the shrines of other gods (Isaiah 5:7).

The death penalty was also punishment for consulting spirit-mediums and sorcerers. By seeking them out, the Israelites would be committing spiritual adultery and violating her covenant with her husband, ADONAI. The person who turns to spirit-mediums and sorcerers to go fornicating after them – I will set Myself against him and cut him off from his people. A man or woman who is a spirit-medium or sorcerer must be put to death; they are to be stoned to death; their blood will be on them (20:6 and 27). The phrase blood will be on them draws attention to the seriousness of the offense and is to be equated with the death penalty, which is the stated punishment for these offenses.

God’s people are called to holiness (20:7-8): Safeguarding the holiness of the Tabernacle, God’s house, dominates the world of Leviticus. Isra’el needed to purify its House, because a holy God demands a holy House.³⁵⁴ Therefore consecrate yourselves – you people must be holy, because I am ADONAI your God. Observe my mitzvot, and obey them; I am ADONAI, who sets you apart to be holy (20:7-8). ADONAI commands the Israelites to make themselves holy. The only other place in the book where YHVH commands Isra’el, “consecrate yourselves,” is 11:44, which concerns eating kosher. Leviticus 20:7 repeats this because, as with the clean and unclean animals, Isra’el’s holiness required distinction from the practices of the Gentile nations and adherence to a separate way of life, whether in diet, worship, or sexual practices. By avoiding activities that would tie Isra’el with the deities of other peoples, they would be recognizing that ADONAI was their God alone.³⁵⁵

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that in Your great wisdom You are completely holy and completely loving. We so enjoy thinking about Your love, but the truth is that in order to be loving, You must also hate evil. It is such a comfort that when You discipline, because God disciplines the one He loves (Hebrews 12:5-6). Your holiness demands discipline for wayward believers; but You keep calling them so tenderly to repent and to come back to You.

How it grieves my heart and your heart that some people think they do not need You. They think they can live life for themselves, but what a lie it is to think that eternal happiness can be found anywhere other than in trusting Your grace and loving You with our whole heart (Matthew 22:37-40).

Some of my friends and family know in their heads that You are the one true God; but they have no fear of You and no love for You. Dear heavenly Father, praise You for being the Awesome Almighty King of the Universe! Please touch the hearts of my friends and family. Open the eyes of their hearts to see that they will get the death penalty of eternity in hell if they do not choose to love you. He who trusts in the Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36). In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Capital Punishment and Other Grave Crimes
20: 1-27

Chapter 20 supplements and reinforces Chapter 18, emphasizing the punishments for various offenses. Whereas the commandments in Chapters 18 and 19 are addressed to would-be offenders and prohibit specific actions. Those in Chapter 20 are addressed to the covenant community and explain the punishments for specific crimes. Except for verses 19-21, the crimes identified in this chapter receive the death penalty (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Ea – A Life for a Life, an Eye for an Eye). Though seemingly harsh, this was essential to prevent sin from infecting the community life of God’s people.

The gravest public sins against life, religion, and the family were those which carried the maximum penalty of death, such a premeditated murder (Exodus 21:12; Numbers 35 and Deuteronomy 19), kidnapping (Exodus 21:16 and Deuteronomy 24:7), adultery (Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22), homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13), blasphemy (Leviticus 24:13-16 and 23), idolatry (Deuteronomy 13:6-10) and persistent disobedience against authority (Deuteronomy 17:12 and 21:18-21). The method of inflicting capital punishment is given twice as stoning (Leviticus 20:2 and 27), and once as burning (Leviticus 20:14), understood by Jewish tradition as hot lead being poured down the throat! The most severe expression of the death penalty, however, is found in verses 3, 5-6, and 17-18, the guilty person would be cut off from the covenant community.³⁴⁴

The basic principles of the Ten Commandments (see the commentary on the Deuteronomy Bk – The Ten Words) are incorporated into Chapters 18 through 20, though not in the same order and not always with the same emphasis.

The Ten Commandments              Leviticus

1-2 No other gods                             18:2 and 19:4

3 Misuse the Name                           19:12

4 Observe Shabbat                           19:3b

5 Honor father/mother                  19:3a

6 Do not murder                                 19:16b

7 No adultery                                       18:20 and 20:20

8 Do not steal                                       19:11a

9 No false witness                             19:16a

10 Do not covet                                  19:18

Conforming to God’s Holiness
19: 19-37

Conforming to God’s holiness DIG: Of all these mitzvot, which seem to apply universally, to all people, and which seem to have their application limited to the ancient Israelites? How do you make the distinction? Who is your neighbor and how should you act towards him or her?

REFLECT: In your own life, how has God delivered you from some sin mentioned here? How does deliverance help you live better with your God? Do you see tattoos today as being reflective of a pagan culture? Why? Why not? How do you honor your body as a temple?

We follow these commandments not to gain our salvation, but as our blueprint for living.

The emphasis now shifts to focus on the proper distinctions that the covenant people should make. They had to follow YHVH, the God of creation (Genesis 1:1). And because He made divisions in all of creation – light from dark, land from sea, day from night, animals from humans, men from women – they had to follow the same principles in their lives.

Observe my statutes (19:19a). Of the many occurrences of the word statutes (Hebrew: hachukkim, meaning to write into law permanently) in Leviticus, there is a constant pattern of applying it specifically to mitzvot that concern religious matters. For this reason, the term refers only to the three indented statutes below.

Crossbreeding: The Israelites learned from these statutes to keep separate what YHVH had divided. Don’t let your livestock mate with those of another kind, don’t sow your field with two different kinds of grain (Genesis 1:11-12), and don’t wear a garment of cloth made with two different kinds of thread (19:19b). These statutes are parallel with the ones in Deuteronomy 22:9-11, which forbid sowing of different seeds together and wearing cloth made out of wool and linen. These statutes for Isra’el’s daily life were not retained in the B’rit Chadashah. Like the regulations for diet and ritual purification, these statutes were temporary, but they reveal eternal truths. The principles of separation, order in creation, and purity in life all emerge in the New Covenant to guide the believer in the way to live.³³³

The betrothed maidservant: In another improper mixture: If a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a slave betrothed to another man, and she has neither been redeemed nor given her freedom, there is to be an investigation. Since betrothal carries the status of full marriage in the Torah, this would ordinarily be construed to be adultery. And adultery meant the death sentence for both the adulterer and the adulteress. However, in this case, the betrothed woman was not a free agent, she was a slave, not yet redeemed, or set free to be married. In that case, the act was not considered tantamount to adultery, but simply a violation of her would be to her husband’s rights. They are not to be put to death, because she was not free.

It would appear that the Torah intends to protect the enslaved woman. In all likelihood, a slave woman be betrothed to be married without her consent. No one consulted her about the decision. Therefore, she would not be treated as an adulteress if she violated her marriage prior to its consummation. Were she to do so after the marriage was consummated, then it would certainly be considered adultery. So, too, if she had freely willingly consented to the marriage. This was the problem Mary faced when she found out that she was pregnant (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Al – The Birth of Jesus Foretold to Mary).

Instead of a death sentence, the couple was to be punished and the man was required to bring a guilt offering (see Am – The Guilt Offering: Evidence of Repentance) for the offense of misusing that which lawfully belonged to another. The exact nature of the punishment is not specified. In reparation he is to bring a ram as a guilt offering for himself to the entrance of the tent of meeting. The priest will make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before ADONAI for the sin he committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed (19:20-22). The point of the mitzvah is that the couple was not to be put to death for an indiscretion that happened outside of marriage and proper betrothal. This mitzvah doesn’t tell us how the story ends. Hopefully, the offending couple went on to be married and lived happily ever after.

The mitzvah of the fruit trees: Holy people, called to sanctify and redeem the Land, must obey YHVH by not eating fruit from a forbidden tree. Firstfruits of a newly planted tree are considered unfit and must not be eaten for the first three years. This fruit is referred to as orlah, literally, uncircumcised, unfit like a foreskin. When you enter the land and plant various kinds of fruit trees, you are to regard its fruit is forbidden – for three years it will be forbidden to you and not eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, for praising ADONAI. Considered a second tithe, all the fruit is picked and carried up to Jerusalem, and eaten before God amidst praise and thanksgiving. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, so that it will produce even more for you. Practicing the mitzvah of orlah weans people away from selfishness. By devoting the fruit exclusively to God’s praise and service, one learns the lessons of prosperity. In this way, the creation is redeemed. Obeying Torah redeems eating fruit from the forbidden tree! The motivation for keeping this mitzvah is expressed by: I am ADONAI your God (19:23-25).³³⁴ The holiness of the Israelites needed to stand in stark contrast to the lifestyle of the idolatrous Gentile nations which would surround their nation. Leviticus 19:26-28, therefore, gave specific instructions which had to do with certain Canaanite practices.

Blood: Do not eat anything with blood (19:26a). This is the fourth time Leviticus commands not to eat meat with the blood still in it (3:17, 7:26-27, and 17:10-14). This basic prohibition of eating blood is found in the Noahic Covenant (see the commentary on Genesis Cz – Whoever Sheds Human Blood, by Humans Shall Their Blood Be Shed), but the expression here is literally, to eat upon the blood. The verb to eat with this idiom occurs only in three other places: First Samuel 14:32-33 and Ezeki’el 33:25. The first two describe a condemned practice by Sha’ul’s warriors, who were famished after a successful battle and ate the enemy’s livestock after butchering them on the ground without a stone or platform that could drain the blood. The Ezeki’el context, however, associate’s idolatry with this practice; therefore, there is more involved than the prohibition of eating meat with blood in it.³³⁵ The Jerusalem Counsel’s letter to Gentile believers said that they should abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. By keeping away from these things, you will do well. Shalom (15:27-29)!

Witchcraft: Do not practice divination or fortune-telling (19:26b). We know ADONAI’s feelings about this (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Dj – God Hates Sorcery), but humans have always been naturally curious about the future, wondering whether blessings or dangers possibly await them. In the pagan world of the ancient Near East many believed that insight into the future was possible through divination and sorcery. This was especially true in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Techniques involved inspection of water in a goblet or water basin (Genesis 44:4), the use of arrows (Ezeki’el 21:26; Hosea 4:12), or dreams (First Samuel 28:6; Genesis 37:5-11 and 41:1-36). The Israelites had access to information about future events only if God chose to reveal it to them. Thus, revelation was diametrically opposed to divination.³³⁶

Haircuts and beards: Don’t round your hair at the temples or mar the edges of your beard (19:27). Among the ancients the hair was often used in divination. The worshipers of the stars and planets cut their hair evenly round, trimming the extremities.³³⁷ Today, observant Jews follow this mitzvah. However, Ha’Shem still wants us, as His representatives today, to look different. If we appear modest in our skin, hair and clothing, we will certainly be different, set apart for holiness.

Tattoos: The Torah expressly forbids cutting one’s flesh or getting tattoos. The text from Leviticus 21:5 is specifically speaking to the priests who served ADONAI in the Tabernacle. Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies. However, here, the text from Leviticus 19:28 is speaking for all the people of Isra’el, “Don’t cut gashes in your flesh for the dead (Hebrew: nephesh).” In Elijah’s contest with the cult prophets of Ba’al (First Kings 18), the pagan priests gashed themselves as they called upon Ba’al to answer their prayers. The Hebrew word nephesh may connote a dead body as well as a living person. “Or tattoo yourselves; I am ADONAI” (19:28). The custom of cutting the arms, hands, and face as tokens of mourning for the dead is said to have existed among the Babylonians, Syrians, Romans, and practiced by the Arabs of the present day. It was sometimes accompanied by shaving off the hair from the head.

The Orientals were very fond of tattooing. Figures of birds, trees, flowers, temples, and gods were carefully and painfully marked in their flesh with colors by the puncturing of sharp needles. This is still done in India for idolatrous purposes, and, in Moshe’s day, probably had some connection with idolatry.³³⁸ Though tattoos have become enormously popular, they are not for God’s holy people. We are different from the rest of the world (James 1:27; First John 2:15-17). We are to act differently; we are married differently; we are to work differently; live differently, and look differently. This prohibition against tattoos is not a matter of legalism, but a matter of holiness.

Temple Prostitution: These verses contain contrasting commands. Verse 29 prohibited the Israelites from a temptation they faced because of poverty or greed: Do not debase (Hebrew: chol, meaning profaneness or commonness) your daughter by making her a prostitute. To do so was to debase her, the same word used in 19:8 to describe profaning that which is holy. Like every Israelite, daughters were part of ADONAI’s holy people, and needed to be treated as such. They were not to be treated like a common thing that anyone could use. To do so was not only to disregard their holy status but also to set a pattern many others would follow. The entire Land would quickly be infected with that degrading and wicked behavior. So that the Land will not fall into prostitution and become full of shame. The obvious result would be the LORD’s judgment.³³⁹

Pornography is a modern-day form of prostitution. As a holy people we are to be different from the culture around us. We are not to be feasting our eyes on the unclean lewdness of the pagan world or tantalizing our flesh with their lewdness. What has light to do with darkness (see the commentary on Second Corinthians Bi – Do Not be Unequally Yoked with Unbelievers)? David counsels us: I will not allow before my eyes any shameful thing. I hate those who act crookedly; what they do does not attract me (Psalm 101:3).

Instead, the Land was to be filled with those who embraced the covenant from the heart. Keep my Shabbats, and revere my Sanctuary; I am ADONAI (19:29-30). The Sabbath’s are God’s appointed times (see Dw – God’s Appointed Times), and the Temple is God’s appointed place. A proper reverence for God’s Holy House – the Temple – will help us attain a proper reverence for the people of God, the body of Messiah and the eternal, heavenly Sanctuary – all of which are represented by the earthly temple. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies (First Cor 6:19-20).³⁴⁰

The occult: The Israelites were prohibited from consulting with the dead. Do not turn to spirit-mediums or sorcerers; don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them. Isaiah 19:3 and Deuteronomy 18:11 explicitly associate these terms with consultation with dead spirits. The terms for spirit-mediums and sorcerers occur together in similar prohibitions in Leviticus. And Leviticus 20:27 demands the death penalty for any who practice the occult. Manasseh is condemned for his consultation with them (Second Kings 21:6; Second Chronicles 33:6), and King Sha’ul had Samuel brought up (see the commentary on The Life of David Bv – Sha’ul and the Medium at Endor). Josiah, on the other hand, attempted to rid the Land of them (Second Kings 23:24). Again, the expression I am ADONAI your God is nestled in among these verses (19:31).³⁴¹

Rising before the elderly: The commandment to stand up in the presence of a person with gray hair, and to show respect for the old is tied to the fear of ADONAI, which is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10a). When we respect the elderly, it is credited to us as reverence for YHVH. If we are unable to honor our seniors, neither will we find reverence for God within us. Imagine a culture where the young people stood up from their chairs when the elderly entered the room. Imagine a culture where, rather than brazen disrespect for seniors, honor and admiration were accorded them on account of their years of wisdom. Such is the Torah culture. We are to be a holy people. We are to be different. Again, the motivation for obeying this mitzvah is stated: I am ADONAI (19:32).

Love the foreigner: It is not only a mitzvah to love your neighbor as yourself (see Di – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself), it was a mitzvah to love the foreigner as yourself. If a foreigner/stranger stays with you in your Land, do not do him wrong. Rather, treat the foreigner staying with you like the native-born among you – you are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. The Israelites were strangers in Egypt, so they were to be sensitive and compassionate to the foreigners who lived among them. Thus, the Jews were commanded to love the Gentiles among them. These are the brothers and sisters from the nations that have chosen the Messiah of Isra’el and the Torah of Isra’el as a matter of choice rather than family heritage. God has a special love for such foreigners who have sacrificed their former ways of life in order to follow His Son and keep His commandments (see the commentary on Ruth An – Your People Will Be My People and Your God My God). Therefore, He tells the Israelites to love the foreigner. Once again, God forcefully states: I am ADONAI your God (19:33-34).

On the other hand, the foreigner could be anyone. This explains the Master’s broadening of Leviticus 19:18, love your neighbor as yourself. When asked: Who is my neighbor, Yeshua pointed to “the stranger” in a parable (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Gw – The Parable of the Good Samaritan). It was not just one’s fellow Jew to whom love must be shown, but also to the strangers. We are therefore responsible to demonstrate an attitude of love to all mankind.

This is an important mitzvah of holiness, perhaps one of the most important. We are markedly different from the rest of the world by our attitudes of love. As Torah-faithful disciples of Messiah, we must excel in this area. We will constantly encounter situations that demand a demonstration of love for strangers, for we have been estranged from the entire world. As we share the gospel of Messiah and goodness of His grace, we must do so with love. As we communicate the Torah as our blueprint for living, we must do so with love. We must hold tightly to our high standards of holiness without passing judgment upon those who do not. We must show acceptance while demonstrating righteousness. For the mitzvah, “Don’t commit adultery,” “Don’t murder,” “Don’t steal,” “Don’t covet,” and any others are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not do harm to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fullness of Torah (Romans 13:9-10).

Love does no harm to the stranger, but we must also remember that the stranger shouldn’t do any harm to us. When people travel to a foreign land for better financial opportunities or to flee oppression that is one thing. But today, many strangers are coming into your country to sell drugs to your children, to rape your daughters and to murder you and your neighbors. In that case, to protect your country, your neighborhood, your family and yourself, you must not allow them to stay. It is not loving to fail to protect the vulnerable.

Righteous weights and measures: The mitzvot of the Torah are very much concerned with righteous weights and measures. Don’t be dishonest when measuring length, weight or capacity. Rather, use an honest balance-scale, honest weights, an honest bushel dry-measure and an honest gallon liquid-measure; I am ADONAI your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt (19:35-36). Jewish observance of these mitzvot is demanding. The surface of scales are frequently cleansed off less an accumulation of dust or grime tip the scale. Scales and measures are checked and double-checked against a common standard.

In terms of modern application, the commandment is considerably more complicated. We must be scrupulously honest in our business affairs. Prices, discounts, sales, advertising claims and so on must be carefully measured and accurately represented. Holiness demands integrity, and the high level of integrity mandated by the Torah will make you holy. A person who figuratively wipes the dust from his scale will stand out as different from the rest of the world. Everyone else in the world is trying to cheat you. Their main concern in business is to make as much money as possible. A disciple of Messiah’s main concern is that he is not cheating you. He is happier taking a loss than wondering if he might have inadvertently cheated a person.

The demand for righteous weights and measures is a demand for a fair and equitable standard of measure. This is a principle which must be extended into every area of our life. Whether in work, academics, sports, conversation, bible study, politics, or any area of life, we must strive to judge ourselves and others with an equal standard. This is a very difficult task. Our fallen human nature tends to give ourselves a lot of slack while viewing others with a very critical eye. We favor those who are kind to us, and disfavor those we don’t like. We are quick to speak in negative terms or people who have offended us, while letting the same sorts of behaviors slide among others. In our marriages we consider our own blunders to be temporary lapses in judgment and unfortunate mistakes, while we perceive our spouses blunders as serious character flaws and moral failures. Ha’Shem requires us, as a holy people, to rise above the subjective, relativism of the human perspective, and deal with life objectively. We are to be fair and careful, because the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure you (Matthew 7:2b).³⁴²

Then Chapter 19 closes with a general reminder for the people of God to observe all of His statutes and ordinances, and do them; I am ADONAI (19:37). The message of Leviticus 19 is clear and practical. A summary could be worded this way: God’s people must conform to His holiness by keeping His mitzvot (the letter of the Torah), by dealing with others in love (the spirit of the Torah), by living according to His standards of separation in the world, and by demonstrating kindness and justice to others.³⁴³

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that Your holiness extends to everything that You do. There has never been, nor ever will there ever be, even the tiniest thought or action of Yours that is not totally holy. That means that when You guide me, all that You tell me to do, is for their best! Your holy standards are meant to bring overflowing joy and complete fullness to life!  I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10c)!

It is such a comfort to trust You with my life. You know exactly what will happen in the future. You may allow a trial so that I will grow stronger in You. Trials have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honor when Yeshua Messiah is revealed (First Peter 1:7).

As Your child, I love You and want to follow You in everything that I do. Loving You means that I want to obey all You say in Your Word. You are the One I long to please. So obeying You is not hard; rather obeying you is like doing what our new Bridegroom asks us to do. May my life be filled with holy thoughts, holy actions and holy plans that bring You much joy and pleasure. In Your holy Yeshua’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
19: 11-18

Love your neighbor as yourself DIG: Which mitzvah detailed here was quoted by Jesus, Paul, and James? In this context, who is one’s “brother” and “neighbor?” How do you guard against slandering or gossiping against another person? How does keeping this commandment constitute holiness? Under what circumstances is it permissible to speak badly of another?

REFLECT: In your own life, how has God delivered you from some sin mentioned here? How does deliverance help you live better with your God? With your family? Your neighbors? The disadvantaged? How can you avoid carrying the sins of your neighbor? Is 19:18 a mitzvah to forgive? According to the apostle Paul, which commandment is a summary of the Torah?

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself.

The Torah is not a superficial guide to life, it is our blue-print for living. This section of mitzvot deals further with how people are to treat other members of the covenant community and corresponds to the second half of the Ten Words (see the commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Bk – The Ten Words). Here the demands for holiness are directed to one’s neighbor, implied throughout 19:11-18: associate, brother, citizen, countryman, friend, neighbor, and person. The pattern builds in the section so that all relationships within the covenant community are drawn into the focus of the mitzvot. This idea of the neighbor/friend stresses community responsibilities. The mitzvot may have specific reference to those close at hand in society, those with whom one lives and works, but ultimately, they apply to anyone with whom one comes into contact or with whom one has dealings. It was always considered righteous to be a good neighbor, not merely to have good neighbors. We follow these commandments not to gain our salvation, but as our blueprint for living.

Integrity (19:11-12): Do not steal from, defraud or lie to each other. If people are going to get along with each other in the redeemed community in a God-honoring way, they need to live honestly with each other. Moreover, they need to be able to trust each other. Stealing is a crime where the breach of trust is most evident. Ha’Shem has chosen you from among the nations to be the representative of His Name. You must, therefore, set the example of a people who are held to a higher standard by God. One of justice, truth, and loyalty. If you tarnish yourselves through dishonesty and lies, you are profaning the name that you bear, and you are undermining the love of ADONAI for whom you must be the messenger.³²⁶ This can be seen in the eighth commandment: Do not steal (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bs – Do Not Steal). God’s reputation is at stake in our dealings.

Do not swear by my name falsely. This is an idiomatic Hebrew phrase meaning that no one should take or vow a legal oath. Such an oath was often made in a business agreement, as in, “In God’s name, I vow that I will do such-and-such.” If the oath taker broke his promise, it would reflect back badly on the reputation of God. Which would be profaning the name of your God. This can be seen in the third commandment: Do not steal (see Deuteronomy Bn – Do Not Misuse God’s Name). Thus, this practice was forbidden in the Torah.³²⁷ The motivation for avoiding these sins is expressed by: I am ADONAI. This reminds us that our duty is to be like God. And what is God like? He is the God of truth – so we need to deal honestly and faithfully with others.³²⁸

Fraud (19:13): While verses 11 and 12 deal with unjust acts between those who are more or less equals, verses 13 and 14 deal with unjust acts committed by the powerful against those unable to defend themselves. The mitzvot of holiness (see Cy – The Holiness Code) contains this prohibition: Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Defrauding refers to withholding that which belongs to another (Hosea 12:7), while robbing refers to taking someone’s property by force (Job 20:19). Specifically, you are not to keep back the wages of a hired worker all night until morning. This commandment is reiterated and expanded upon in the Fifth Book of Moshe (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Eo – Protection for Hired Workers). Again, the Torah’s standards of integrity are revelations of God’s nature and person. He is truth. He is honesty. When we violate those standards, we damage His reputation because His Name is upon us. But when we keep these standards, we protect His reputation and we are set apart from the world by His commandments.³²⁹

Concern for the less able (19:14): God’s grace is always toward the helpless. Long before legislation regarding accessibility for the disabled and physically challenged, there was Torah! It is a matter of holiness to treat every person with dignity and respect. The Torah gives us two examples of human cruelty. Do not speak a curse against a deaf person or place an obstacle in the way of a blind person. These mitzvot should be taken as general principles; it is fairly obvious that such commandments are not exhaustive. The deaf and the blind are merely selected examples of everyone whose weaknesses demand that they be respected rather than despised.³³⁰

Cursing a deaf man may be amusing for a wicked person because he can laugh that the deaf man does not hear the curse. To such an evil person, placing a stumbling block before a blind person would be similarly amusing. The issue is taking advantage of another’s weakness. Going out of one’s way to accommodate the needs of the handicapped is part of holiness. From God’s perspective, we are all handicapped in one way or another, yet He delights in assisting us and removing obstacles from before us. Once again, the motivation for obeying these mitzvot is stated: Fear your God; I am ADONAI, for the fear of ADONAI is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of holy ones is understanding (Proverbs 9:10).

Justice (19:15): Verses 15 and 16 prohibit unjust legal acts. Do not be unjust in judging – show neither partiality to the poor nor deference to the mighty, but with justice judge your neighbor. The demand for justice and fair jurisprudence is an ever-present concern in the Torah. Fair and equitable courts are an essential component of the Torah. It is part of being a holy people. The mitzvot of fair and equitable trials actually extend to every human relationship. In a very real sense, we are constantly like judges on a jury, having to weigh motives, decide between opinions, settle disputes and determine fairness. Whether at home or at work, in marriage or in child rearing, in the congregation or out of it, with friends, neighbors, family, employers, employees – regardless of the situation – we find ourselves having to make decisions and judgments. A holy person will take this responsibility very seriously. A wise person will know when to make judgment and when to withhold it.

Gossip and Slander (19:16a): Do not go around gossiping or spreading slander among your people. These sins are most difficult to eliminate. James says that the tongue is unstable and an evil thing, full of death-dealing poison (James 3:5-8). A person who refuses to speak disparagingly of others is certainly unusual. Such a one is set apart indeed. Even if the negative information is true, it is not permissible to speak ill of another person except under certain circumstances, such as protecting another from harm. This can be seen in the ninth commandment (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bt – Do Not Give False Testimony).

Peter adds his voice to the warning of reigning in our tongues. To sum up, all of you, be one in mind and feeling; love as brothers; and be compassionate and humble-minded, not repaying evil with evil or insult with insult, but, on the contrary, with blessing. For it is to this that you have been called, so that you may receive a blessing. For “Whoever wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit” (First Peter 3:8-10 quoting Psalm 34:12). Yeshua sternly warns us: Moreover, I tell you this: on the Day of Judgment people will have to give an account for every careless word they have spoken; for by your own words, you will be acquitted, and by your own words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:36-37). We are obligated to protect one another from such harm by using our tongue for godly ends. Because of the seriousness of this sin, we are reminded when we pray the Amidah: My God, guard my tongue from evil, and my lips from speaking falsehood.

Rescue (19:16b): But also, don’t stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. The Hebrew of verse 16 literally says, “Don’t stand upon the blood of your neighbor.” Some rabbis take the Hebrew to mean “to conspire against, or act against.” Thus, Targum Onkelos reads, “Do not rise up against the life of your comrade.” This is similar to the interpretation of rabbis Ibn Ezra, “One ought not to join forces with murderers. This can be seen in the sixth commandment (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bq – Do Not Murder). When someone’s life is in danger, and it is possible that you may be able to rescue him or her, you are required to make the attempt. One is reminded of the devout believers who sheltered Jews in Nazi Germany, placing themselves and their families at great risk. One is also reminded of the vast majority of European Christendom who silently consented to the mass extermination of the Jewish people. This commandment is paired with the prohibition on spreading slander to teach us that just as it is forbidden to speak evil against another, so too it is forbidden to listen to evil being spoken. To listen to slander or gossip about another person is to “stand upon the blood of your neighbor.” To refuse to listen to gossip is to rescue your neighbor. All of the mitzvot are revelations of the character of ADONAI. The mitzvah of rescuing one’s neighbor is a revelation of the heart of YHVH. He is the God who redeems and rescues, saying: I am ADONAI.³³¹

Hatred (19:17a): Verses 17 and 18 constitute a unit and teach Israelites how to respond when wronged by a fellow believer and/or a fellow Israelite. The context suggests the interpretation that an individual should not allow ill feelings to fester; rather, he should confront his kinsman and admonish him directly, in this way avoiding grudges and vengeance that breed hatred. Do not hate your brother in your heart. Moreover, a proper attitude promotes love for one’s neighbor. The opening statement in verse 17 about hate, contrasts with the conclusion in verse 18 regarding love. This is a matter of holiness. A people that does not nurture hatred is a people set apart.

Rebuking one’s neighbor (19:17b): But rebuke your neighbor frankly, so that you won’t carry sin because of him. As the sages put it, “Woe unto the wicked person, and woe unto his neighbor.” One may eventually suffer by being closely involved with wrongdoers, and it becomes necessary to protect oneself when people go astray. There is also the suggestion that, beyond self-interest, civic responsibility requires a person to rebuke others out of concern for others and for the community as a whole.³³² The Master teaches us the proper method of bringing rebuke when necessary (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Gi – If Brother or Sister Sins, Go and Point Out Their Fault).

Revenge, forgiveness and love (19:18): It is forbidden to avenge oneself, and it is forbidden to carry a grudge. Don’t take vengeance on or carry a grudge against any of your people; and for good measure, declared once again: I am ADONAI. On the contrary we are to love one another. Rather, love your neighbor as yourself. These are among the most difficult of commandments, weighty matters in the Torah, because they are contrary to human nature. And to clarify the mitzvah, Yeshua told the story of the good Samaritan to make His point (see The Life of Christ Gw – The Parable of the Good Samaritan). Additionally, the Master took this prohibition and expanded it to include one’s enemies (see The Life of Christ Dm – You Have Heard it said: Love Your Neighbor). Finally, Paul said: For the whole Torah is summed up in this one sentence, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for Your great love! How wise it is of You to watch how people care for others to see if they really care for You. And He said to him, “You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The entire Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Mt 22:37-40).

Heaven will be so wonderful to live with You, praising and glorifying You forever! Mere mental knowledge about You is not enough to get one into heaven. You open heaven’s door to the person who’s relationship with You is one of trust and following You as their Lord and Savior. For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart it is believed for righteousness, and with the mouth it is confessed for salvation (Romans 10:9-10). Confessing You as Lord means to follow what You command: to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Be Holy because ADONAI is Holy
19: 1-10

Be holy because ADONAI is holy DIG: Which three of the Ten Commandments are listed here? What does God expect from us? What is the purpose for each of the mitzvot? What is the motive for doing them and what is the means to be holy? What is sanctification?

REFLECT: How do you view your own holiness? Knowing yourself and your sins as you do, how is it possible for you to be holy? Do any of these mitzvot seem harsh to you? What does the harshness tell you about ADONAI’s standard of holiness? What do you need to change?

Parashah 30: K’doshim (Holy Ones) 19:1 to 20:27
(See my commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah)
[In regular years read with Parashah 29, in leap years read separately]

The Key People are Moshe and the whole assembly.

The Scene is the Tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai.

The Main Events include ADONAI telling Moshe to say, “Be holy because I, ADONAI your God, am holy;” various mitzvot to keep the people holy; and a list of punishments for sin.

In his first epistle, the apostle Peter urges his readers to be holy, quoting from the book of Leviticus. Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You are to be holy because I am holy” (First Peter 1:13-16). The construction: be holy because I am holy is found in Leviticus 11:44, referencing the dietary mitzvot, here, in Leviticus 19:2, referencing the holiness codes, and in Leviticus 20:7, referencing the mitzvot of sexual immorality. If holiness is to be understood as separateness, and ADONAI is proclaimed as the Holy One three times, is it not absurd for Him to challenge human beings to be as holy as He is holy? It seems quite unfair to give mankind a commandment we cannot hope to keep.

What can we do to achieve holiness? One might suppose that a great quest was in order. Some personal feat of prowess or achievement should be necessary to reach holiness. One might suppose that total subjugation of the flesh would be necessary to achieve holiness. One might suppose that complete withdrawal from the mundane world of human beings, living the solitary life of a monk, is necessary to achieve holiness. So, how does one become holy?

Basically, there is only one avenue to holiness, and that is through sanctification. To be set apart, specifically, to the holy use and purposes of YHVH (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Kz – Your Word is Truth). We see the principle at work from the very beginning of Genesis where God sets the seventh day aside as holy (see the commentary on Genesis Aq – By the Seventh Day God Had Finished His Work). The seventh day itself possessed no intrinsic character of holiness. It was not more magnificent than the other six days, nor did it possess any exalted spiritual essence before God designated it as holy. It was made holy solely on the authority of ADONAI, and because He designated it as separate and holy, it is forever after holy and separate. In a similar way, we are set apart as holy unto the LORD.

But, here is the riddle. Normally, the thing to be made holy needs to be separated from its sanctifier. And ADONAI is the sanctifier. But God has chosen to have us participate in this process of sanctification, along with the Ruach Ha’Kodesh who works sanctification in the life of the believer. This continual transformation of our moral and spiritual character actually comes to mirror the standing we already have in God’s sight. While justification is instantaneous at the moment of salvation, sanctification is a lifelong process of making the person holy. However, the state of perfection is never reached in this life. It is a goal that is never reached. It is only when the Lord returns in glory, that He will unite us with our glorified bodies (see the commentary on First Corinthians Dv – Our Resurrection Bodies).

Holiness can be increased by obeying the commandments of ADONAI . . . and it can be decreased by disobeying those commandments. Picture the commandments to be like the walls of protecting the sheep pen. The shepherd places the sheep within the walls, thereby sanctifying them. They have clear boundaries, and they are set apart from the world outside. As long as the sheep stay within those walls, they remain set apart. Should they choose to cross the wall and stray outside, they have left the bounds of holiness. Should they choose to cross back over into the sheep pen, they return to the sanctified status that the shepherd designed for them. It is a commandment for us to be holy.³²¹ We follow these commandments not to gain our salvation, but as our blueprint for living (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bk – The Ten Words).

Be holy because ADONAI, your God, is holy (9:1-2): ADONAI said to Moshe, “Speak to the entire community of Isra’el; tell them, ‘You are to be holy because I, ADONAI your God, am holy’ (19:1-2).” This is the topic sentence for the whole parashah. It tells us what God expects from us. It tells us the purpose for each of the specific mitzvot in this parashah. It tells us the motive for doing them, and it also tells us the means to be able to do them.

1. What God expects from us: What does God expect from the individual believer? In one word: holiness. God’s definition of holiness is spelled out clearly in this parashah. It encompasses being totally set apart to the Lord in absolutely every area of our lives. Not even one aspect of our lives is held back from Him and uncovered. But I believe there is another dimension to the holiness spoken of in this Torah reading. In 20:32, God reminded Isra’el that He did not want them to live like the nations around them. When they occupied the Promised Land, Ha’Shem did not want Isra’el to live like, worship like, think like, or look like the Canaanites. The holiness of Isra’el was defined by being in complete contrast with the Canaanites. Isra’el was to be radically different.

2. The purpose for each of the specific mitzvah: In light of the statements above, we are to view each of the mitzvot or teaching in this parashah as aids, or helps for us to live a separate life from the idolatrous and immoral Canaanites of our day. The meaning or interpretation of each command is to be considered in light of what it would contribute to the holiness of Isra’el then, or of ourselves today. In other words, when we consider living out these mitzvot, we need to ask ourselves, “How can I do this in such a way as to visibly communicate to those around me that matchless perfection of the God who instructed me to do this to begin with?”

3. The motive for doing them: When we read that God wants us to be holy because He is holy, we also learn the motivation for being holy; in other words, living out the teachings in Leviticus. The only revealed motive is that we are to do so only because our God is holy. We are to seek to be imitators of Him alone (Ephesians 5:1), who called us out of the darkness into His marvelous light. We are not to do so to earn merit with Him. We are not to do so to earn His love. We already possess His love, and we rest totally on the merits of His Son, our Messiah Yeshua. We are to follow these mitzvot only because they reflect Who lives in us.

4. The means to being holy: There is a secret hidden in the words: Be holy because ADONAI your God is holy. If we understand the secret, we will be able to accomplish what these words are asking us to do. The first part of the secret is to understand that in and of ourselves we cannot be holy; we cannot live according to the standards set forth here.

The second part of the secret is to make sure that ADONAI is, in fact, the Lord our God. If Ha’Shem is not our personal God then it is impossible for us to be like Him. Yeshua said that if we receive Him it is the same as receiving the Father: If you have seen Me you have seen the Father (John 14:9b). In other words, how does a person have YHVH, the Creator of the universe, as their personal God? By receiving His Son. When that happens, the Bible tells us that we are made into a new creation (see the commentary on Second Corinthians Bd – A New Creation). Our whole identity is changed from being a slave to sin, to someone who wants to live what the Torah teaches because it is written on our hearts (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el)! It is naturally a part of our character making us who we are . . . mirrors of God’s righteousness on earth.

That, then, is the secret! We can only be holy if we have trusted in Yeshua. He, then, transforms us into being holy, blameless, righteous and upright – just like He is! For us who are believers, reading this list of holy actions in this parashah is not a checklist of do’s and don’ts (or you’ll be zapped). It’s like reading a description of what we really want to do from our innermost being to please our heavenly Father whom we love so much.³²²

Revering parents (19:3a): The fifth commandment in the Torah is: Every one of you is to revere their father and mother (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bp – Honor Your Parents). If we are a people who revere our fathers and mothers, we have already separated ourselves from the majority of the population, especially in Western culture. At first, we might think that this commandment is the same as the command in Exodus 10:12 where it says: Honor your father and mother. In that passage the word for honor is the Hebrew kabeid, the same word we sometimes translate as glorify. In this passage, however, the word translated as revere is the Hebrew yara, which means fear. We are to fear our father and mother.

Both these words are used regarding YHVH as well. We are to glorify Him and we are to fear Him. The way we treat our parents is not unrelated to our attitude about God. To understand the meaning of fearing our parents, we need only to consider the iconic, American rebellious teenager who speaks back to his parents, berating them, flaunting disobedience and throwing off their authority. The people of God are not like that. We are holy. We are different. Our teenagers are to be different, and we are to be different. This mitzvah is incumbent upon children and adults, and it refers to small behaviors as well as overall attitudes. Contradicting one’s parents in a disrespectful manner, interrupting their conversation, referring to them by their first names, speaking sarcastically or disrespectfully to them as if one were their peers are behaviors which demonstrate a lack of reverence.

Keeping the sabbaths (19:3b): The fourth commandment of holiness is to keep the LORD’s Shabbats; I am ADONAI your God (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bo – Observe Uom Shabbat). Notice that it does not say “Sabbath,” instead it says sabbaths. This refers not just to the weekly sabbath, but to all sabbaths of the biblical festivals. In just a few chapters (see Dw – God’s Appointed Times), ADONAI will list those sabbaths for us. For now, He simply says: keep My sabbaths. If we keep the Jewish biblical calendar with all of its festivals and sabbaths, we will certainly find ourselves set apart from others in our community. It is a mitzvah of holiness.

Notice how these first commandments of holiness are linked. Fearing one’s father and mother is tied to keeping the sabbaths of ADONAI. This is to teach us that we must find a way to do both. If one’s father and mother are not sabbath keepers, one must find a way to keep the sabbaths without disrespecting one’s parents. This also teaches us that keeping His sabbaths is one way that we show proper reverence for our Heavenly Father.

Idols (19:4): These are the mitzvot of holiness which can also be seen in the Fifth Book of Moses (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bl – Have No other Gods). Do not turn to idols, and do not cast metal gods for yourselves; I am ADONAI your God. This was to set Isra’el apart from the other Gentile nations. The absence of polytheism and idols within the worship system of the people of God made them unique. How sad that within only a century or so after Christianity split off from Judaism, that idolatry crept back into the worship system. These commandments reveal YHVH in that they teach us His oneness, and they teach us His indescribable, transcendent nature. He cannot be reduced to an idolatrous representation, and His absoluteness cannot tolerate competing gods.

The Lord’s Table (19:5-8a): When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to ADONAI, offer it in a way that will make you accept it. It is to be eaten the same day you offer it and the following day; but if any of it remains until the third day, it is to be burned up completely. Here we learn to put sanctity ahead of pragmatism. To do so will set us apart because common sense dictates that we shouldn’t waste the extra meat. If any of it is eaten on the third day, it will have become a disgusting thing and will not be accepted; moreover, everyone who eats it will bear the consequences of profaning something holy meant for ADONAI. The command to burn up leftover meats reveals God’s concern for life in His worship. His holy sacrifices are not to see decay, “For You will not abandon my soul to sh’ol; nor will you allow your Holy One to undergo decay” (Psalm 16:10).³²³

That person will be cut off from his people (19:8b). In rabbinic literature the penalty is called karet, or “cutting off.” In priestly literature, the penalty of karet was understood to include a series of related punishments at the hand of God, ranging from the immediate death of an offender, as in 20:17, to his premature death at a later time, and even to the death of his descendants. In Mishnah Sanhedrin 9:6 and Mishnah Keritot 1:2, this penalty was characterized as mitah biydei shamayim, or “death at the hands of heaven.” Since in 7:20-21 karet is mentioned in the context as childlessness, there is the implication that it took that course as well.³²⁴

The corners of the field (19:9-10): Caring for the needy is a mitzvah of holiness. When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don’t harvest all the way to corners of your field, and don’t gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters (see the commentary on Ruth Aq – Ruth Gleans in the Field of Bo’az). Likewise, don’t gather the grapes left on the vine or fallen on the ground after harvest; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am ADONAI your God. The Torah addresses specifically the industry of agriculture within the land of Isr’ael, but the application of the principle is certainly broader. When reaping the field, the corners are to be left unharvested, and the gleanings are to be left uncollected. In vineyards (and orchards by extension) the harvesters are to be careful to leave fruit for the poor; fallen grapes are not to be gathered. The concept is that the poor and the needy might come in and harvest the gleanings and the corners for themselves. It is charity with dignity. Today, not harvesting the four corners of the field could be giving extra offerings, in being hospitable, praying for others, or calling a brother or sister in distress.

Do these mitzvot apply to other business ventures? Certainly. As we rely on Ha’Shem to prosper our endeavors, we must not forget those that rely on us. Interestingly, the mitzvah the commandment of leaving the corners and gleanings is one of the commandments for which there is no measure. This mitzvah of leaving extra food is completely contrary to good business in a manner that does not try to squeeze every last drop of profitability out of its production is folly in the eyes of the world. One who does business in this manner will stand out as different. That’s holiness.³²⁵

Dear Heavenly Father, How awesome that You are a God of love and holiness! Praise You that Your Kingdom in Your wonderful holy heaven will be a place of complete peace and joy. Perfect holiness is the key to heaven, bought by Messiah’s blood (Ephesians 1:5-7) and received by our faith in Him (Ephesians 1:12-13). You are so gracious to have given Your Holy Ruach to those who love You (John 1:12) both as an inherited seal for heaven (Ephesians 1:13) and as an indwelling Helper (John 14:16-17) providing the strength we need to live holy lives and conquer temptations (First Corinthians 10:13).

Thank You that we have the great joy of Your Holy Ruach living within believers to help us and to guide us. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper so He may be with you forever –  the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him. You know Him, because He abides with you and will be in you (John 14:16-17). You gave so very much to become our sin bearer and give us Your righteousness (Second Corinthians 5:21). We delight in giving back to You a life full of loving thoughts and actions that please You. We cannot be completely holy till heaven, but we seek to live in holy ways because we keep our eyes fixed on You and eternity. Our trials will soon be over (Romans 8:18). We look with joy to bring You all the glory we can while we live on earth. Soon we will be coming home to be with You forever in heaven. We love You! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Practical Holiness
19: 1-37

When many people think of Torah, they think of it as “The Law!” Which, of course, has a negative connotation. “Don’t break the law!” It sounds strict and unyielding. One reason for this is that many mistakenly understand the Torah to be a long list of “do’s and don’ts.” But the Ruach Ha’Kodesh says: How blessed are those who reject the advice of the wicked, don’t stand in the way of sinners or sit where scoffers sit! Their delight is in ADONAI’s Torah; on His Torah they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams – they bear their fruit in season, their leaves never wither, everything they do succeeds (Psalm 1:1-3). The Torah (Hebrew: teaching) is our blueprint for living. However, the Torah portion before us is one which could certainly leave some with the impression that it is a boring manual of behavior, and a mere list of laws.

At first glance, this truly seems to be the case. I would remind you before we begin that the detailed instructions of Leviticus 19 and 20 are varied and tedious because they represent God’s important and specific instructions to the redeemed community. They concern how we are to walk and how we are to reflect the character of God in this world through His life. These teachings are not to be understood as a grocery list of human behaviors which, if obeyed, will earn one a place in heaven or a “better” standing with the LORD (the Torah was never meant as a means of salvation); or if disobeyed will result in one’s eternity in hell.³¹⁸

The diversity of material in this chapter reflects the diversity of life. All aspects of human affairs are subject to the commandments of YHVH. The holiness of ADONAI is the bedrock supporting the practical holiness promoted by these mitzvot. Though the specific rationale behind some of the commands may not be clear to the modern reader, the ethical commands of this chapter are not arbitrary but are based on the just, humane, and sensitive treatment of the aged, the handicapped, the poor, the resident alien, the laborer, and others. These mitzvot continually reach behind the outward behavior to inward motivation.³¹⁹

Chapter 19 may be characterized as a brief Torah (teaching or instruction). It states the duties incumbent on the Israelites as a people and includes a wide range of commandments that are representative of the basic teachings of the Torah. More specifically, it echoes the Ten Words (see the commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Bk – The Ten Words). These features were noted by the ancient sages. In Leviticus Rabba 24, we read the following: Speak to the entire Israelite people and say to them “You shall be holy . . .” Rabbi Hiyya taught, “These words inform us that this section is to be read before the people in an assembly. And why is it to be read before the people in an assembly? Because most of the essential mitzvot of the Torah can be derived from it. Rabbi Levi said, “Because the Ten Words are embodied in it.”³²⁰

The basic principles of the Ten Words are incorporated into Chapters 18 through 20,
though not in the same order and not always with the same emphasis.

The Ten Commandments              Leviticus

1-2 No other gods                             18:2 and 19:4

3 Misuse the Name                           19:12

4 Observe Shabbat                           19:3b

5 Honor father/mother                  19:3a

6 Do not murder                                 19:16b

7 No adultery                                       18:20 and 20:20

8 Do not steal                                       19:11a

9 No false witness                             19:16a

10 Do not covet                                  19:18

Covenant Loyalty to ADONAI
18: 24-30

Covenant loyalty to ADONAI DIG: We bear the inherent, mortal uncleanness with which we were born, but we also bear the uncleanness created by our own wayward affections and lusts (Romans 7:24). How has Yeshua Messiah set you free from your uncleanness?

REFLECT: What have you learned from Chapter 18 about maintaining a correct relationship with a holy and jealous God, who redeems you and calls you to a different life? Think about all the ways your life is different now than before you were saved? Who can you help?

One cannot simply legislate righteous acts, they must flow from loyalty to the covenant.

This concluding epilog warned Isra’el of the dangers of adopting Canaanite practices. If they do, they will pollute themselves and suffer the same punishment as those who occupied the Land before them (18:28). It was customary for ancient treaties (see the commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Ah – The Treaty of the Great King), to conclude with a series of curses on those who break them. This pattern is found in Scripture also (see Exodus 23:20-21; Leviticus 26:14ff; Deuteronomy 28:15ff).³¹² Finally, there was the call of witnesses. In the presence of the Gentile nations, the choice before Isra’el is declared, life or death, blessing or cursing. Therefore, these mitzvot (see Cy – The Holiness Code) forced the Israelites to choose between the covenant and sexual sin.

Not every form of sexual immorality is listed in Leviticus 18. Some are learned from other passages of Torah. Others are deduced rationally. A person should beware the rationalization of the flesh. When a person desires to sin, he will ask, “Is it really forbidden in the Torah?” Beware of this tendency. Such a person stops at the letter of the mitzvah, making sure he has not explicitly violated the mitzvah, but then goes on to violate the intention of the commandment. The Master listed several such examples in Matthew 5. We learn that immortality happens first in the heart. Long before the actual commandment is broken, sin is conceived in the heart. No one being tempted should say, “I am being tempted by God.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, and God himself tempts no one. Rather, each person is being tempted whenever he is being dragged off and enticed by the bait of his own desire. Then, having conceived, the desire gives birth to sin; and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death. Don’t delude yourselves, my dear brothers” (James 1:13-16).

Do not make yourselves unclean by means of sexual immorality, because all the Gentile nations which I am expelling ahead of you are defiled with them. The Land has become unclean, and this is why I am punishing it. How so? The Land itself will vomit out its inhabitants (18:24-25). That both the Land and the people can be made unclean through sin like sexual immorality explains the need for the Day of Atonement service (see Co – Yom Kippur: The Removal of All Sin). If the Land itself is rendered unclean, then the Tabernacle/Temple within the Land is polluted. So, once a year, an annual cleansing was necessary by which the Most Holy Place was cleansed and atoned. He will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleannesses of the people of Isra’el and because of their transgressions – all their sins; and he is to do the same for the tent of meeting which is there with them right in the middle of their uncleannesses (Leviticus 16:16).³¹³

Though there is not a literal repetition of the first five verses of this chapter, this conclusion reaffirms the same general points and reinforces them with arguments and warnings. While 18:2-3 compared the forbidden practices with customs in Egypt and Canaan, 18:24-25 focuses on the Canaanites as sinners. Here the emphasis is on the implications of sin. The nations that have done such things have defiled the Land and will be driven from it. The Land itself (18:28) becomes an agent independent from the people and able to exercise judgment and cleanse itself.³¹⁴

But you are to keep my statutes (Hebrew: hachukkim, meaning to write into law permanently) and ordinances (Hebrew: hammishpatim, meaning a judgment of the court) and not engage in any of these disgusting practices, neither the citizen nor the foreigner living with you (18:26). As in 18:4, so here, the command to keep God’s mitzvot is repeated and forms the heart of the message in this section. Here the note is added that not only Israelites, but also resident aliens must keep these statues and ordinances. Any violation defies the Land and leads to banishment.

If the Israelites or resident aliens rejected God’s statutes and ordinances, and chose instead to copy the pagan nations who had committed all these abominations, the Land would again be defiled. And if they made the Land unclean, it would vomit them out too, just as it was vomiting out the Canaanites that were there before them (18:27-28). The rabbis cite a parable of a prince to whom was given a loathsome thing to eat. His stomach, being unable to retain it, vomited it out. Similarly, the Holy Land will not be able to contain sinners.

The conclusion reaffirms the warning and commands. It insists that the purity of the Land and Isra’el’s existence there will be threatened by any disobedient citizen unless that person is cut off. For those who engage in any of these disgusting practices, whoever they may be, will be cut off from their people (18:29). In rabbinic literature the penalty is called karet, or “cutting off.” In priestly literature, the penalty of karet was understood to include a series of related punishments at the hand of God, ranging from the immediate death of an offender, as in 20:17, to his premature death at a later time, and even to the death of his descendants. In Mishnah Sanhedrin 9:6 and Mishnah Keritot 1:2, this penalty was characterized as mitah biydei shamayim, or “death at the hands of heaven.” Since in 7:20-21 karet is mentioned in the context as childlessness, there is the implication that it took that course as well.³¹⁵

So keep my charge not to follow any of these abominable customs that others before you have followed and thus defile yourselves by doing them. The sages teach that if Isra’el chose to defile herself with the practices of the Canaanites, and thus remove herself far from God, that He would remove His blessing from her. The message concludes where it began: with a call for people to live in obedience to the mitzvot of YHVH and avoid the detestable practices of the Canaanites – because I am ADONAI your God (18:30).

It is amazing to see how modern trends, even in the supposedly Christian world, seem bent on embracing practices that are not too unlike these ancient abominations. This modern sophisticated world has come to accept adultery, incest, homosexuality and even bestiality, so long as it does not “hurt anyone.” Pagan goddesses, sensual liturgy, and prohibited practices all keep surfacing within religious settings – and if they find acceptance there, then religion will have little reason to call people to repentance and salvation.

Leviticus 18 is not hard to correlate with any age in history and certainly not with today. Many Christians are oblivious to the problem and instead desire to be “loving and accepting.” While these are noble virtues, YHVH wants obedience to His Word, and this requires avoiding wickedness. All the vices listed in this chapter have always been present in the world and are present today as well – even child sacrifice as seen in abortion. Ha’Shem warns His people again and again to remain pure from the world and to keep faith holy. The description of all the individual prohibitions in Chapter 18 must be related to the whole message of covenant loyalty to ADONAI. For one cannot simply legislate righteous acts – they must flow from faithfulness to the covenant. Nevertheless, we must not overlook individual applications along the way and must not fail to correlate them all to the high standards of the B’rit Chadashah.³¹⁶

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for being a covenant-keeping God. Yes, I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, in order to be your God and your seed’s God after you. . . God also said to Abraham, “As for you, My covenant you must keep, you and your seed after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant that you must keep between Me and you and your seed after you: all your males must be circumcised” (Genesis 17:7 and 9-10).

God You who are wise and loving, used circumcision as a sign of the love in the heart to follow and obey You. It is no good to have only the outward sign without also having inner love. And He said to him: You shall love ADONAI your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-38). Thank You for Your wisdom to probe into each person’s heart to see if there is really love for You. Circumcision is indeed worthwhile if you keep the Torah; but if you break the Torah, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. . . For one is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something visible in the flesh.  Rather, the Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart – in Spirit not in letter. His praise is not from men, but from God (Romans 2:25 and 28-29). I want to keep the covenant by pleasing You, my King, my Lord and my Savior. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Haftarah Acharei Mot reading (Ezeki’el 22:1–19 (A); 22:1–16 (S):
(see the commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah)

I will scatter you . . . thus I will remove your defilement . . . and you will cause yourselves to be profaned in full view of the Goyim Then you will know that I am ADONAI (Ezeki’el 22:15-16. Eighty times Ezeki’el chastises Isra’el for violating holy prohibitions regarding blood. The people had been debased bloodsuckers in all areas of life. As a result, Ha’Shem personally shortened the community’s length of days in the Land. Judah had become a city of blood (Ezeki’el 22:2). Her sins included child sacrifice during Manasseh’s reign, drunken orgies, open idolatry (Ezeki’el 22:9), bloodshed (Ezeki’el 22:2-4, 6, 9 and 12), and forbidden relationships which uncovered their father’s nakedness (see Dd – Incest and Other Uncleanness). Having succumbed to incest, bestiality, and child sacrifice, Isra’el was judged by YHVH. In captivity among the Babylonians (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule), she was profaned in full view of the Goyim (Ezeki’el 22:15-16). But all was not lost. At Jerusalem, the fires of the siege purified the nation (Ezeki’el 22:16-22 and 23:25-27). Never again would Isra’el collectively approve of child sacrifices to a foreign idol.

B’rit Hadashah reading (First Corinthians 6:20):

You were bought at a price. So, use your bodies to glorify Messiah (First Corinthians 6:20). Greeks viewed the body and the material world as headed for destruction. Only the soul was immortal. The Corinthians thought the body stood for nothing. As a result, sexual matters were transitory and unimportant. Porneia (illicit sex) was widespread in Corinth (First Corinthians 6:9 and 7:2; Second Corinthians 12:21) and condoned by public opinion in Greece and Rome. In fact, the Hellenistic believers in Corinth attacked Paul for his Jewish world view! Rabbi Sha’ul stated that the believer was bought with a price, much in the same way as purchasing a slave at market (First Corinthians 7:23; Romans 6:17). With the change in ownership, believers lack the freedom to practice proneia, and join themselves with prostitutes. Rather, sexual matters fit into an abiding, life-creating moral order. The fallen order will be redeemed and made whole. The body must be treated as holy, the temple of the living God (see the commentary on First Corinthians Bc – Failure to Exercise Sexual Purity).³¹⁷

Homosexuality
Leviticus 18:22-23 and 20:13

Homosexuality DIG: What does God’s Word say about homosexuality? What do you do when your feelings are at odds with God’s Word? Which do you obey? Is homosexuality the unforgivable sin? Why? Why not? How did Adam and Eve turn into Adam and Steve?

REFLECT: How can you protect your family against the homosexual lobby and the assault on our Godly culture? Yeshua said to count the costs when following Him. What will it cost you to uphold the standard of holiness that ADONAI expects from each and every believer?

God holds men, as heads of households, directly accountable for such sins.

Coming on the heels of the high, holy chapters of purity (to see link click Bj – The Mitzvot of Purification), it seems strange to plunge into a litany of forbidden sexual relationships. They are commandments which define sexual morality. The main thrust of the chapter is a lengthy list of detailed statutes (Hebrew: hachukkim, meaning to write into law permanently) and ordinances (Hebrew: hammishpatim, meaning a judgment of the court) about abstaining from the abhorrent sexual acts and the curses resulting from their violation (18:6-23). It is a jarring transition to go from the sublime imagery of the high priest emerging from the Most Holy Place to the blunt prohibitions on incest and other uncleanness. But these are also purity mitzvot. They are different from the previous ones because they come with a moral and ethical component.³⁰⁹

I hold no ill-will against homosexuals; however, a rigorous critique of same-sex intercourse can have the unintended effect of bringing personal pain to homosexuals, some of whom are already prone to self-loathing (see Ae – The Bible and Homosexual Practice). This is why it needs to be stated right up front that to feel homosexual impulses does not make one a bad person. Whatever one thinks about the immorality of homosexual behavior, or about the abhorrent of elements within the homosexual lobby, homosexual impulses are just like all other sinful impulses of the flesh (Romans 7:14-25). A homosexual impulse cannot give birth to sin unless one gives in to it (James 1:13-15). The person with homosexual temptation, or practice, should evoke our concern, sympathy, help, and understanding, not our scorn or hatred.

Homosexuality is not the unforgivable sin. Yeshua said: I tell you that people will be forgiven any sin and blasphemy, but blaspheming the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (the rejection of the Holy Spirit) will not be forgiven (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Em – Whoever Blasphemes Against the Holy Spirit Will Never Be Forgiven). Therefore, according to God’s Word, a person can be a believer, struggle with, and practice homosexuality, and still have that sin forgiven. Now, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be consequences in the sinner’s life, just like any other kind of sin. But we should love the sinner, and hate the sin.

Today, many churches are not teaching that homosexuality is a sin. They want to be “inclusive.” So, they avoid the topic. Jesus didn’t avoid it. Just after describing the destruction of the world by the Flood, Messiah said: Likewise, as it was in the time of Lot – people ate and drank, bought and sold, planted and built; but the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all (see the commentary on Genesis Fa – The LORD Rained Down Burning Sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah). That is how it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed (Luke 17:28-30). This conforms with John’s prophecy that the “church” during the Great Tribulation will be an apostate church, spewing out lies and false doctrine (see the commentary on Revelation Bf – The Church at Laodicea).

Homosexuality (18:22): Homosexuality is forbidden in the strongest of terms. It is condemned more harshly than all other forms of immorality and sexual deviancy forbidden in the Torah, which refers to it as a toevah, meaning an abomination to YHVH. Lesbian activists often point out that the prohibition says nothing in regard to women, but from 18:6 onwards, it is understood that the prohibitions apply to both genders. Paul shows that he is without prejudice or bias by soundly condemning both genders of homosexuality. This is why God has given them up to degrading passions; so that their women exchange natural sexual relations for unnatural; and likewise, the men, giving up natural relations with the opposite sex, burn with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with other men and receiving in their own persons the penalty appropriate to their perversion. In other words, since they have not considered God worth knowing, God has given them up to worthless ways of thinking; so that they do improper things (Romans 1:26-28).

Yet the progressive thinkers of the modern age often raise the objection that a person does not choose a gay or lesbian lifestyle; they are born with it. But there is no “gay gene.” Wouldn’t it be unfair of YHVH to make human beings homosexual and then forbid them to engage in homosexual behavior? What if someone said they were born with a “rape gene?” Or a “pedophilia gene?” Or a “murder gene?” Would that be Ok? Would society put up with that? People with urges to rape, commit pedophilia, or murder must suppress that urge just like the person with an inclination to commit adultery must suppress that urge. They used the “gay gene” theory to avoid taking responsibility for their sinful choices. But sin is still sin.

In support of their position, apologists for the gay community claim that Messiah never talked about homosexuality. In doing so, they unwittingly or not, separate the godhead, which is, of course, impossible. Yeshua is the author of Leviticus and the Word of God (John 1:1-2). This is what Messiah says about homosexuality: You are not to go to bed with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination (18:22). God holds the men, as heads of households, directly accountable for such sins. Leviticus 18:22a addresses the men in the second person; Leviticus 18:22b addresses the women in the less direct, third person.³¹⁰ But God’s Word went even further in the Dispensation of Torah (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of the Torah), saying: If a man goes to bed with a man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death . . . their blood is on them (Leviticus 20:13). This punishment was reserved for only the most serious of offenses to Ha’Shem.

In addition, a common defense of the gay lobby also claims that it’s only the judgmental, “mean” God of the “Old Testament” who condemns homosexuality; but the loving Yeshua doesn’t say anything about it in the “New Testament.” Nothing could be further from the truth. There are eleven scriptures that directly address homosexuality in the Bible; seven in the TaNaKh (Genesis 19:1-11; Leviticus 18:22, 29-30, and 20:13; Judges 19:16-24; First Kings 14:24 and 15:12; and Second Kings 23:7), and four in the B’rit Chadashah (Romans 1:18-32; First Corinthians 6:9-11; First Timothy 1:8-10; and Jude 7).

These are the words and phrases that God uses to describe this deviant practice: cut off, detestable, wicked, vile, an outrageous thing, godlessness, without excuse, fools, sinful desires, impurity, degrading their bodies, shameful lusts, unnatural relations, penalty, deceived, sexually immoral, sinful, the unholy, irreligious, perversions, a lie exposed as a warning of the everlasting fire awaiting those who must undergo punishment. Lastly, ADONAI has set up the world for healthy things to reproduce. Healthy plants reproduce, healthy animals reproduce, and healthy people reproduce. Homosexuals do not reproduce. This alone is an indictment of their lifestyle. Or as YHVH says: It is an abomination.

Bestiality (18:23): You are not to have sexual relations with any kind of animal. Sexual relations between humans and animals are expressly forbidden and referred to as a perversion (Hebrew: tevel is from the root bll, which means to mix). This indicates that this sexual practice involves improper mixing together of the different species, stepping over the boundaries that YHVH has established (Genesis 1:1 to 2:3). It is significant that the Bible puts sex with animals in the same context as homosexuality. Today, many people think bestiality is unnatural and the Bible equates homosexuality and bestiality.³¹¹ In fact, to show God’s distain for homosexuality, the context of this verse includes all sorts or sexual deviations, including bestiality. By the end of the chapter, Ha’Shem declares: For those who engage in any of these disgusting practices, whoever they may be, will be cut off from their people (18:29). With this, the mitzvot of forbidden sexual activity are complete. The closing section (18:24-30) is an admonition against violating any of the sexual prohibitions stated in this chapter.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise and thank You that in Your great love to bless all, especially Your children, You have withheld no good thing. No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly (Psalms 84:11c). I am so grateful for Your love that always seeks to give the best. No rule that You make is ever made to hurt anyone but only to bless and You love to bless! You desire to give fullness of life. I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10)! I know that You work out all that happens in my life for good! Now we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). 

Your love is so deep that you gave the costliest gift that You could give – Your only son to painfully die in our place. He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? Nothing can separate us from God’s great and gracious love! . . . But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord. Romans 8:27-39). We love you! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of resurrection. Amen

Incest and Other Uncleanness
18: 6-21

Incest and Other Uncleanness DIG: What is the meaning of holiness? Why is Molech listed here in the midst of an entire chapter about sexual immorality? What was so abominable about the worship of Molech? What sin is likened to the sin in the worship of Molech?

REFLECT: Why do you think that all these mitzvot, except Niddah (18:19), are directed at men? It’s not that women are not sinners, but they are often abused. This chapter is very contemporary. Men have not changed much. Women are still abused. Just watch the news.

The way we express our sexuality should draw a clean line of distinction
between us and the rest of the world.

Coming on the heels of the high, holy chapters of purity (to see link click Bj – The Mitzvot of Purification), it seems strange to plunge into a litany of forbidden sexual relationships. They are commandments which define sexual morality. The main thrust of the chapter is a lengthy list of detailed statutes (Hebrew: hachukkim, meaning to write into law permanently) and ordinances (Hebrew: hammishpatim, meaning a judgment of the court) about abstaining from the abhorrent sexual acts and the curses resulting from their violation (18:6-23). It is a jarring transition to go from the sublime imagery of the high priest emerging from the Most Holy Place to the blunt prohibitions on incest and other uncleanness. But these are also purity mitzvot. They are different from the previous ones because they come with a moral and ethical component.

The way we express our sexuality should draw a clean line of distinction between us and the rest of the world. As believers, we are still in the midst of the modern equivalent of Egyptians and Canaanites. Modern society is obsessed with sex, so ADONAI gave us the seventh commandment (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Br – Do Not Commit Adultery). Fed by the media, advertising images, the fashion and entertainment industry, the appetite for sexual display and deviance grows ever hungrier and more twisted. Free access to pornography, whether through the internet, television or print, has seared the conscience and sensibility of our culture. Immodest dress is the standard wardrobe for men and women even within churches and liberal synagogues.

The Torah tells us that the sexual immorality of Egypt and Canaan was practically legislated. This is why God’s Word says: You are not to engage in the practices . . . nor are you to live by their laws (18:3). Rashi explains that their practices refer to matters etched into the fabric of the society, so basic to the culture that they are observed as if they were laws. It is against this backdrop of modern society that ADONAI calls us to not do as the Egyptians and the Canaanites did. We are to be a completely different breed of people.

In the First Century, sexual immorality was intrinsically connected to the popular worship systems. Devotees to the gods followed their sexual exploits and imitated their basic behavior in temple rituals which incorporated “sanctified” prostitution. Roman culture, for all its austere talk of moderation, was one of perversity, indulgence and depredation. In the midst of the sexually charged atmosphere of the First Century, the believers who lived at that time stood out as a people quite set apart.

Abstaining from sexual immorality was one of the warnings of the Jerusalem council and a frequent caution in the epistles. In passage after passage the apostles encouraged the disciples of Yeshua to live set apart and free from immorality. More than that, we are told to dress modestly. We are not to wear clothing that advertises our bodies. Likewise, the women, when they pray, should be dressed modestly and sensibly in respectable attire, not with elaborate hairstyles and gold jewelry, or pearls, or expensive clothes. Rather, they should adorn themselves with what is appropriate for women who claim to be worshiping God, namely, good deeds (First Timothy 2:9-10). Believers are supposed to look different. According to biblical standards, it should be fairly obvious whether a person is one of faith.

Unfortunately, believers within our modern Egypt and Canaan have adopted the dress and behavior of the sexually deprived culture around us. We live in a sex-saturated society today. Sins that used to be kept in the dark are now flaunted in public. Our sense of shame has been replaced with brazen defiance. Norms that used to be accepted are now being challenged; people living abnormal lifestyles now want to be accepted as normal. Sex sells everything today. It is in every industry, all the time, year after year, day after day, every minute, every second. We cannot escape it. Like Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah, we are swimming in an ocean of sexual excess and perversion while trying to stay clean. Sex crimes are at all-time highs, while infidelity, divorce, and perversion are now commonplace. We are obsessed with sex to a degree perhaps never seen before in the world. God’s solution is a total break from this culture. We are to be completely different. We should look different, act different, and be different. That is the meaning of holiness.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for being a God of Holiness, Wisdom and Love. It is a privilege to meditate on many awesome qualities. You desire Your children to act and to think like You. You are both absolutely just and You never lose control in Your wrath. You do have wrath (Romans 1:18) but You are also patient. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some consider slowness. Rather, He is being patient toward you – not wanting anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance (Second Peter 3:9). Your patience is not the overlooking of sin but rather to bring people to repentance.

You graciously desire to give life to the full. I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10)! When people turn away from Your offer of salvation and choose to put themselves first, they store up your wrath for themselves. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. In unrighteousness they suppress the truth, because what can be known about God is plain to them – for God has shown it to them (Romans 1:18-19).

Thank You that in Your desire for us to live holy lives, You do recognize our frailty and our need of having You to help us live pure lives. As a father has compassion on his children,
so Adonai has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame. He remembers that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass – he flourishes like a flower of the field, but when the wind blows over it, it is gone, and its place is no longer known. But the mercy of ADONAI is from everlasting to everlasting on those who revere Him (Psalm 103:13-17b). You are a wonderfully faithful Abba to stand beside Your children to help us resist the temptations of life. No temptation has taken hold of you except what is common to mankind. But God is faithful – He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can handle. But with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so you will be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13). Thank You for being such a wonderfully loving and holy Father! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Believers who teach that the Torah has been nullified by the B’rit Chadashah still, paradoxically, point to the Torah when it comes to determining a standard for sexual morality. When necessary to take a stand against homosexuality or some other deviance, they find themselves scrambling to find Leviticus 18. Yet, those who advocate for their own favorite form of immorality will often respond by pointing out that the Torah has been done away with. Needless to say, the Torah has not been done away with, and the commands of sexual morality are still our blueprint for living, with the consequences still in place.

The implication of the mitzvot of Leviticus 18 is not simply that certain sexual relations are prohibited, but that monogamous, heterosexual relations between a husband and wife are permissible and sanctioned by the Torah. This is the reason for the blessing in the traditional Jewish wedding ceremony: Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and has commanded us regarding forbidden unions . . . and permitted us to marry women through the chuppah and dedication (Blessing of Betrothal).

Drawing near and nakedness (18:6): The Torah begins the mitzvot of sexual morality with a general statement. None of you is to draw near (Hebrew: karav) to anyone who is a close relative in order to have sexual relations; I am ADONAI (18:6). The rabbis understand it, in this instance, to include both male and female because as Rashi points out, the following verb is cast in the plural, rather than in the singular, as one would expect. A person might otherwise suppose that these prohibitions applied only to men, but not to women. From 18:6 onwards, it has been understood that the prohibitions apply to both genders.

We should also notice that the euphemism the Torah uses here for sexual intimacy in karav, meaning to draw near, the same expression that is used earlier in Leviticus to refer to entering the Presence of God in His Tabernacle. In parashah Vayikra (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah) the same expression is used in 1:2 to refer to entering the Presence of God in His Tabernacle (see Ai – The Burnt Offering: Accepted by God). The book began with the words: If a man will bring near (karav) from you something brought near (korban) . . . From this we learn that entering the presence of YHVH is comparable to this, the most intimate and sacred level of human interaction. The sages understood karav in this context to mean any behavior which might incite sexual activity; for example, even flirting, kissing, or caressing. A second euphemism is the term nakedness (Hebrew: ervah). Uncovering one’s nakedness is understood to mean engaging in sexual relations. In rabbinic language, an ervah is any person with whom sexual relations is forbidden.³⁰⁴

Your father’s nakedness (18:7-8): The Torah euphemistically refers to a man’s wife as his nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. Forbidding a man from uncovering his father’s nakedness should probably be understood as a general prohibition against incest with one’s mother or adultery with one’s step-mother. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness (18:7-8).

Your sister’s nakedness (18:9): One’s sister is forbidden, whether she is one’s full sister or one’s paternal or maternal sister. You are not to have sexual relations with your sister, the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere (meaning born out of wedlock). Do not have sexual relations with them. Leviticus 20:17 sheds light on the punishment: The man was to publicly banished from the covenant community, he has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible. And if his sister consented, she would also be banished.

Your children and grandchildren’s nakedness (18:10): You are not to have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or with your daughter’s daughter. Do not have sexual relations with them, because they are your own flesh and blood. Naturally, this implies that sexual relations with his own daughter, a far closer relative, are forbidden as well.

Your half-sister’s nakedness (18:11): Lest one suppose that a daughter born of the union of one’s father and a woman other than one’s mother is permissible, this verse prohibits it. You are not to have sexual relations with your father’s wife’s daughter, brought up in your father’s family, because she is to be viewed as your sister; do not have sexual relations with her. 

Your aunt and uncle’s nakedness (18:12-14): This passage goes on to prohibit relations with one’s aunt, whether paternal or maternal, and the wife of one’s uncle. You are not to have sexual relations with your father’s sister, because she is your father’s close relative. You are not to have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative. You are not to disgrace your father’s brother by having sexual relations with his wife, because she is your aunt. Leviticus 20:20 tells us that the penalty is not that they will be put to death, or even exiled, but that, at death, they will not have any descendants within Isra’el to carry on their name.³⁰⁵

Your daughter-in-law’s nakedness (18:15): Relations with a daughter-in-law is prohibited. You are not to have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law; because she is your son’s wife. Do not have sexual relations with her because she had become a close relative through marriage to his son. The prohibition is a great mercy for the daughter-in-law, who is therefore protected from becoming a sexual slave to multiple men in the household.

Your sister-in-law’s nakedness (18:16): Relations with the wife of one’s brother is forbidden. You are not to have sexual relations with your brother’s wife, because this is your brother’s prerogative. This prohibition is understood to extend even if she is divorced. The only exception would be the case of a levirate marriage (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Et – Levirate Marriage).

A woman, her children, and granddaughter’s nakedness (18:17): It is forbidden to have sexual relations with both your wife and any of her offspring. You are not to have sexual relations with both your wife and her daughter, nor are you to have sexual relations with her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter. The daughter and granddaughters were close relatives of hers, and had come under the man’s roof for protection. To exploit them sexually would be shameful.

A sister’s nakedness (18:18): You are not marry a woman to be a rival (Genesis 16:4, 29:21 and 30:24; First Samuel 1:6) with her sister and have sexual relations with her while her sister is still alive. This verse is prohibiting a man from marrying his wife’s sister while his wife is still living. Therefore, this verse is a general prohibition against polygamy.

Niddah (18:19): You are not to approach a woman in order to have sexual relations with her when she is unclean from her time of niddah (see Cn – Female Menstrual Uncleanness: Niddah). This would make him equally ritually impure (15:24 with 15:19-23), thereby increasing the chances of spreading ritual uncleanness in the camp. That was a risk that no-one was to take (15:31.

Adultery and uncleanness (18:20): For good measure, the Torah reminds us that to lie with another man’s wife is adultery, and it is forbidden. This is the seventh commandment (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Br – Do Not Commit Adultery). You are not to go to bed with your neighbor’s wife and thus become unclean with her. To do so is to contaminate oneself. We learn here that ritual uncleanness can be caused by sexual immorality. No purification from uncleanness arising from immorality is given. We will learn before the end of the chapter that uncleanness arising from sexual immorality can defile both the people and the land.³⁰⁶

Molech (18:21): The Torah anticipated the despicable worship of Molech. You are not to let any of your children be sacrificed to Molech, thereby profaning the name of your God; I am ADONAI. Molech was an old Canaanite idol, into whose worship the Israelites gradually became drawn. The usual description given of this god is that of a hollow image made of brass, and having a human body with the head of an ox. The idol was made of bronze with hands extended. In sacrificing it, the image was heated by a fire within. The parents then place their babies into the red-hot hands of the idol, while the noise of drums and cymbals drowned out the cries of the little sufferers. It is also said that there were seven chapels connected with the idol, which were to be entered according to the relative value of the offering presented; only those who offered children being allowed to enter the seventh.³⁰⁷

We must ask, why is this mitzvah listed here in the midst of an entire chapter about sexual immorality? Wouldn’t it be better placed in a passage dealing with idolatry? Obviously, the sacrifice of the children to Molech and the abominable practices of sexual immorality are not completely disconnected. Both were practiced by the Canaanites. Both had defiled the land and the Canaanite nations. Both are reasons why the Canaanites were expelled from the land. But one thing is for sure, the more immoral a society becomes, the more disposable the children of the society become. Today, abortion is the most obvious example of this.

The main reason the Adversary so desires to twist our sexuality away from the healthy, monogamous marital relationships is that he desires to hurt, damage and destroy the nuclear family. To the wicked one, no child is better a conceived one, an illegitimate child is better than a legitimate one, a defected child of incest is better than a whole child and an aborted child is the best of all. The Torah means to teach us that sexual immorality and the sacrifice of children are not at all unrelated issues. To indulge in sexual immorality is to sacrifice children, in one way or another.³⁰⁸

All these mitzvot point to the need of a Savior. And the Torah came into the picture so that the offense would proliferate; but where sin proliferated, grace proliferated even more (Romans 5:20). One of the reasons YHVH gave the Torah was to cause us to sin more (see the commentary on Exodus Dh – ADONAI and the Torah). No matter how great our sin becomes, God’s grace overflows beyond it and abundantly exceeds it. No wonder Paul wrote that God’s grace is enough for us (Second Corinthians 12:9a). The Torah has never been a means of salvation during any Dispensation. Paul has already declared that Abraham was righteous completely apart from any good works he accomplished, and several years before he was circumcised and centuries before the Torah was given by Moshe (see the commentary on Romans Be – The Sign of Justification).

All this happened so that just as sin (Greek: a ‘amaptia, meaning, sin nature) ruled by means of death, so also grace might rule through causing people to be considered righteous, so that they might have eternal life (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer), through Yeshua the Messiah, our Lord (Romans 5:21). Here, we see our [sin nature] being personified, since it reigns as king. Thus, two realms or kingdoms are spelled out. No middle ground is given. This prepares us so that, as believers, can live a holy separated life, disengaged from our [sin nature], no longer compelled to obey it.

Avoid Worldly Practices
18: 1-5

Avoid worldly practices DIG: In Chapter 18, Isra’el is called to be different than other nations (18:3, 21, 24-30). What does that tell you about the sexual practices of those other nations? How would not being set apart harm Isra’el’s relationship with ADONAI?

REFLECT: Do you embrace the fact that the Word of God tells us how to live and how to act, or is there a part of you that resents it? If so, where does that attitude come from? Is there any part of your life that is still in Egypt? How can God help you leave Egypt forever?

We are to be easily distinguishable from the secular/pagan culture in which we live.

Chapter 17 opened up a new section of Leviticus by way of the blood we can approach YHVH (to see link click Cy – The Holiness Code). For that purpose, the Messiah died for us. Once this concept is grasped, now Leviticus teaches the reader how to live and how to act. This is the practical aspect of the Torah. What we have here in Chapter 18 was not merely good advice that was being offered to Isra’el here – it was a matter of covenant loyalty. The text of this message follows the pattern of the ancient suzerain-vassal treaties (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Ah – Treaty of the Great King).³⁰¹

Preamble (18:1-2): ADONAI said to Moshe, “Speak to the people of Isra’el; tell them, ‘I am ADONAI your God’ (18:1-2).” This is the main point of the message we need to grasp. When God becomes our Lord, then our lives will be so much easier, and the mitzvot which follows will be the breath of life, not a burden. These words: I am ADONAI your God can be seen in the first commandment: I am ADONAI your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. You are to have no other gods before Me (Deuteronomy 5:6-7). The phrase “no other gods” is emphasized by the mention of Molech in the next file (see Dd – Incest and Other Uncleanness: Molech). The phrase I am ADONAI your God is repeated twelve times in the next three chapters. We also have the words: I am ADONAI, which occur thirteen times in the next three chapters. That’s twenty-five times in the next three chapters. But now, these two verses summed up in the next three verses.

Historical prologue (18:3): The people of Isra’el were on the move. They were leaving Egypt and Canaan. YHVH warned them not to imitate the ways of the Egyptians (don’t turn back to the evil of your past), and He told them not to do as the Canaanites do (don’t be seduced by new temptations). This is the mission of the people of God. We are set apart. We are to be easily distinguishable from the secular/pagan culture in which we live, and one of the most obvious ways in which we can be different is in the area of sexuality, as we shall soon see.³⁰²

You are not to engage in the practices found in the land of Egypt, where you used to live; and you are not to engage in the practices found in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you; nor are you to live by their laws (18:3). But you may be asking yourself, “What does my life have to do with ancient Egypt or Canaan?” Let us first remind ourselves that the history of Egypt and the Israelites themselves have become an example for us to follow, being a reflection of who we are. As Paul reflected on Isra’el’s time in the wilderness, he said: These things happened as an example for us (First Corinthians 10:11-13). It’s as if he were saying, “Go back and read the Torah and see how Ha’Shem dealt with them.” In the same way, God deals with us today. As Isra’el was saved as a nation through the blood of the Lamb, so are we. Egypt and Canaan symbolize the world (First John 2:15-17).

General stipulations (18:4): You are to obey My statutes and ordinances and live accordingly; I am ADONAI your God. The words statutes and ordinances are often seen together in the Torah (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bb – Hear and Obey), and here repeated twice, the second time in reverse order. We will sometimes see that these statues and ordinances are very harsh and at times, seemingly overly severe to us. For instance, the death penalty for those who violate Shabbat, or the death penalty for a son who insults his father or mother. These might act as a deterrent for some. However, the main reason that they are there is to remind us that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Today, we live in a world that is at odds with God’s statutes (Hebrew: hachukkim, meaning to write into law permanently) and ordinances (Hebrew: hammishpatim, meaning a judgment of the court), which makes this book of Leviticus very contemporary for us. As the people of God, we are expected to imitate God, that is, to be holy. For I am ADONAI your God; therefore, consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy (11:44a).

Blessings (18:5): You are to observe My ordinances and statutes, if a person lives by them, he will have life through them; I am ADONAI (18:5). The word live brings us to consider the power behind the Torah of ADONAI. It has much more value than mere human laws. Torah is our blueprint for living here on the earth, but it also prepares us for the hereafter. Ancient rabbis have understood this. The targum of Jerusalem, Aramaic translations of the Hebrew before the first century, renders this verse, “You are to keep My statutes and ordinances so whoever does so may have eternal life.” The Words of YHVH are eternal and have eternal consequences. This is why it is so important to read the Word of God. Psalm 118:89 demonstrates this truth when David wrote: Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. This is why the Word says we should live by them. For we must all appear before the bema seat of Messiah, where everyone will receive the good or bad consequences of what he did while he was in the body (see the commentary on Revelation Cc – We Must All Appear Before the Bema Seat of Christ).³⁰³

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for being such a wonderful Father in so many ways. Your love took sin’s penalty of death at the cross and gave Messiah’s righteousness to those who declare with their mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead. They will be saved (Romans 10:9).

Everyone wants to live in heaven and you also would like all to enter heaven, but there is a requirement to enter heaven – a heart that loves You as Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10). For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. In unrighteousness they suppress the truth, because what can be known about God is plain to them- for God has shown it to them (Romans 1:18-19). Many know about You, even Satan, but that is not good enough. Knowledge must be accompanied by a heart that delights to follow You in love.  And He said to him: You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37).

While some think that everyone gets into heaven, you express a very different thought. “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.  How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14). Not even doing many good deeds will allow anyone into heaven.  Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?’  Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness (Matthew 7:21-23)! Lord, I love You and want to live a holy life to please You. You are our joy to live for! In Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen