Wrestling with hard stuff
What are we do to do with God's Old Testament laws, statutes, and ordinances?
We reached Leviticus 18 today, Day 49, in our yearly chronological Bible reading. As I read God’s commandments and ordinances in Exodus, and as I’ve continued to read more of them in Leviticus, I’ve prayerfully reflected on which are relevant to me today.
I can figure out that instructions regarding the tabernacle and its rituals, the priests and their responsibilities, the sacrifices, and what is clean versus unclean were part of the Old Covenant that we are free of under the New Covenant of Jesus Christ’s atoning blood. I appreciate what they teach me regarding the holiness of God, His foreshadowing of Christ, and the tremendous relief of not being accountable to them.
But what do I do with all the other commandments, statutes, and ordinances? My salvation is a gift of grace by my belief in Jesus Christ. I am not trying to, nor can I , earn it. But I desire to care about what God cares about. I desire to please Him. I read ahead to our Old Testament reading for Day 51, when Jesus declares, “whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35). Can I glean some of His will, some of what He desires me to do and not do, by what He communicates in Leviticus? That is my prayer.
Leviticus 18 uses strong language for certain practices: lewdness, defilement, abomination, perversion. The chapter ends with this explanation:
Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants. But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you (for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled); so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you. For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people. Thus you are to keep My charge, that you do not practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves with them; I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 18:24-30
Notice that God’s requirement to abstain from these practices does not just apply to the sons of Israel, but to the alien as well.
In my wrestling, I read the rest of Leviticus. Leviticus 20 enumerates that the consequences for the sons of Israel for some of the practices listed in Leviticus 18 included death. And if the people were not willing to inflict this penalty themselves, God promised to do it for them. Seems to imply quite a strong hatred of these practices on His part. There’s another helpful explanation toward the end of this chapter:
you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them.
Leviticus 20:23
It seems reasonable to me to conclude that, if I desire to please God, I do not want to do anything abhorrent to Him.
I admit most of the actions listed in Leviticus 18 aren’t temptations to me: sex with relatives, polygamy, adultery, child sacrifice, homosexuality, or bestiality. I’m not tempted to argue with God about these. But a strange one sticks out: “you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her menstrual impurity” (Leviticus 18:19). I remember the first time I read this, I thought, “really, God? Why are You opposed to this?” Preferences aside, it’s not something I would have considered in the category “Abhorrent to God.” Leviticus 20 explains those among the nation of Israel who engaged in such a practice were to be cut off from their people.
This is the point of my wrestling. How are we to pick and choose what does, or does not, please God? Should we pick and choose? I found an example, in Leviticus 18, of something I was surprised by and, preferences aside, could have justified as inconsequential. But then I was convicted. My desire is not to do anything abhorrent to God, even I don’t understand why it would necessarily be abhorrent to God.
My argument is that we should be consistent. Is it easy for us to make proscriptions for others in areas where we are not tempted? Maybe God threw a “strange” one into the mix so that we all have consider abstinence in some fashion as a means of pleasing Him, giving us compassion for those who are tempted in areas where we are not.
We can be guilty of picking and choosing, especially when we are concerned with the behavior of others. Reading ahead again, I came across: “When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:33-34). I’m going to stay far afield of controversies that I’m tempted to delve into with this verse. My point is people like to quote it and use it to justify certain immigration policies, and their criticism of those who don’t share their opinion. That’s fine. For consistency sake, then, we should also not dispense with, “You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:1-18), or the call not to make any tattoo marks on yourself (Leviticus 19:28b).
Thank God for His grace and mercy. Thank God that He promises to give us wisdom when we ask. He has given us His word. He invites us to reason with Him. My personal prayer is to be willing to seek and abide by that which is pleasing to Him, because He is the LORD my God.
Thank you for the depth of insight you provided here ….I appreciate the wisdom and guidance in reading these passages
"He has given us His word. He invites us to reason with Him. My personal prayer is to be willing to seek and abide by that which is pleasing to Him, because He is the LORD my God." - Amen. Praise God. Thank you Dr. Milhoan. Peace.