Leviticus 18

Updated
2001-05-26; 14:32:01utc

Purity in Sexual Relations 18:1-30

The main point of this section is a warning against perversion of any sort. During our missionary work among the mountain tribes of Irian Jaya, people have often come to me to ask for explanations about this chapter, because they felt that it confirmed their cultural restrictions by which people of one moiety were not allowed to marry people from another moiety. In their case blood-relations often played no role in the matter, at least not along the female line. But what they worried about is not the issue in this chapter.

The most important verses are 1-5 and 24-30. We read in the opening verses of the chapter: "The LORD said to Moses, 'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'I am the LORD your God. You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God. Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD.' " And the chapter ends with the words: "'Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things, for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. Everyone who does any of these detestable things-- such persons must be cut off from their people. Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God.' "

Sexual perversion was common in Egypt as well as in Canaan. Certain practices were accepted as normal because they were common. In that respect the contents of this chapter is very relevant for our time and for our Western world, which suffers from "sexual liberation."

The problem for Israel at that time was that this generation had grown up in a surrounding in which every thing "went" in sexual matters. There were no rules or restrictions. The lifestyle of Egypt had become their model, and they would have a hard time to rid themselves of this. However strong the Word of God against these practices, it would be very difficult for them to forget what they had grown up with. They would have to make a clear personal decision to accept the norm of God's Word in order to break out of their past with its experiences and memories.

I do not remember who was the young German who said this, but it captures the issue: "He who says a strong 'No' should also say a strong 'Yes.' "[ 1 ] Only he who would say a strong "Yes" to God's commandments, could say a strong "No" to the customs and practices of Canaan.

We have arrived here at the point of which God prophesied to Abraham in Genesis: "In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."[ 2 ] The sin of the Amorites had reached its full measure. We are given a glimpse of the kind of sin with which the Amorites filled up their measure in the events that led to the destruction of Sodom when we read the Genesis account of God's judgment upon the cities.

In the first five verses we read three time the sentence: "I am the LORD your God," or "I am the LORD." (That is YHWH). (vs.1, 4 and 5). The chapter ends with the same declaration. The central issue is God's covenant, because the name JHWH is connected with the covenant, that is God's relationship with us and ours with Him. That is why the words "your God" are added.

The point is obedience to a commandment and the recognition of a statute. Obedience is not necessarily linked to understanding and comprehension of the reason for the commandment, but to observe the statutes one has to understand the situation and the relationships God created. It is on the basis of our recognition of who God is and of our relationship with Him that God expects us to know why we have to observe the rules. What I mean is that it is impossible to understand why these commandments were given, if we do not understand the nature and meaning of sexuality.

In connection with chapter 15 we have seen that sexual relations are a mirror of the spiritual relationship between God and man. Sometimes this meaning is emphasized in a negative sense. So says Paul, for instance, in the first Corinthian epistle, "Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, 'The two will become one flesh.' But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit."[ 3 ]

The repeated phrase "I am the LORD" implies that a thorough understanding of who God is will keep us from perversion. After all, holiness is nothing else but the bringing in line of one's life with the glorious character of God. In the same way is sin a deviation from God's character and a missing of this glory. Paul's definition of sin is: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."[ 4 ] Several times in the book of Leviticus we find the exhortation: "Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy."[ 5 ]

The fourfold repetition of "I am the LORD" in this chapter is important because, in his sexuality, man is faced with an urge which becomes stronger than he is, once he passes the point of self-control. If we do not rule our sexual desires, our sexual desires will rule us. We are only safe from ourselves if we put our bodies under God's protection. Since, however, our sexuality is a picture of our spiritual relationship with God, there ought to be a point where we can let go of our self in the spiritual realm in order to be overtaken by an ecstasy which sweeps us off our feet. We will only understand what deviation is if we can compare it with the original.

Following the description of sexual sins in the verses 6-20, we read about the perversion of idolatry, homosexuality and sexual relations with animals or bestiality. The emphasis here is on the difference in gender and kind. God's intention of our relationship with Him is expressed, by way of image, in the relationship between husband and wife. In the relationship with God, He is the male partner and we are female. At this point it makes no difference whether we are male or female in our earthly bodies. In comparison with God every man is female. That is why homosexuality is a perversion because it denies this pattern. Implicit in the picture is the fact that, in our relationship with God, we take the female attitude of giving ourselves in love and that we leave the initiative to Him and let ourselves be guided by Him.

In vs. 21 we read: "Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD." This kind of sacrifice describes more than mere idolatry. This is, probably, the grossest perversion of religion every invented by the devil. It is also a perversion of parenthood. Parents give up their own children to be killed and burned. This kind of sacrifice makes a caricature of parental love but, more than anything else, it makes a caricature of God's character. After all, our love and care and concern for our children is a reflection of God's love for us. The thought that God would be pleased with that kind of murder and perversion is the greatest insult we could make of Him. That is why God calls it "profane the name of your God." "I am the LORD" is a majestic declaration of love and holiness that contrasts immediately how completely contrary the above mentioned practices are to the character of God. They are a demonic perversion.

Vs. 22 is a clear prohibition against homosexuality. "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." TLB puts it more clearly as: "Homosexuality is absolutely forbidden, for it is an enormous sin." The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in itself is enough of an indication as to what God thinks about homosexuality. But years ago I read in a Dutch Christian newspaper that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah had nothing to do with homosexuality. It was gang-rape that had brought down God's wrath upon the cities, the article said. The Bible did not condemn homosexuality, it said. The article was an effort to accommodate Biblical teaching to the morality of our times. The interesting part of this effort is that people who reject the authority of the Bible would appeal to the Bible for the justification of certain perversions in our present society. Evidently the Bible sometimes does have use "for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."[ 6 ] It is clear, however, that God calls homosexuality "detestable" and, so far, I have not read of any effort by theologians to circumvent this verse. It has only been ignored.

Why is homosexuality detestable? If heterosexual relations in the context of a marriage express the spiritual relationship between God and man, which Jesus describes as "worship in spirit and in truth,"[ 7 ] then what does homosexual relations express?

First of all, a homosexual relation can never be legal in the sense that a normal marriage is legal, in spite of any laws that are passed. Legality is important because it expresses the legal basis of our relationship with God, which is expressed in the covenant He made with man.

Secondly, homosexuality denies the difference between male and female. In the spiritual realm this means that man presents himself as "male" in his relationship with God and thus he denies his role in this relationship. This is detestable to God, who wants our surrender to Him in love; He is not interested in "gay rights."

If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he has lost sight of all relationships. In doing this man, throws overboard all his dignity as bearer of God's image; he is only out to satisfy his sexual urges. In modern times people have started to experiment with taboos, but even this perversion is, at least not yet, officially accepted. More than anything else this kind of conduct is detestable.

According to the last verses of this chapter, man does not only defile himself in doing these things but also the land in which he lives. In vs. 25 God says: "Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants." This expression "the land vomited out its inhabitants," should not be seen as merely a poetical way of describing judgment, but as an indication that there is a unity between land and people. God intended that there be a relationship between the two; man and land belong together. Originally man was taken from the ground- Adam was formed from the dust of the earth. Man is born on the land where he lives and the land sustains him. The sentence does not convey an animistic world view, as if the god of the earth would turn against man. But in turning against God, man has disturbed the equilibrium. In extreme cases, such as in Sodom and Gomorrah and in the Babylonian captivity, the upsetting of the balance is demonstrated in the expulsion of the people from the land which was their home.

The Bible does not describe in much detail the sins the peoples in Canaan committed. If we read the Scriptures superficially we get the impression that the conquest of Canaan by Israel was a random political maneuver. Vs. 24-30 of this chapter are some of the rare instances in which God gives the actual reason for the extermination of the Hittites, the Perizzites, and other nations. The tragedy of Israel is that, not only did they become contaminated by the sins of Canaan, but also they actually surpassed the Canaanites in evil. The prophet Ezekiel testifies: "You not only walked in their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they."[ 8 ]

The chapter ends with the same words that opened it: "I am the LORD your God." This statement determines all human relations. In the first place it defines man's relationship with God; subsequently, the relationship of man to man and the relationship of man to demons and, finally, the relationship between man and the ground on which he lives. This chapter shows us what happens when the equilibrium is disturbed and from this we can deduct what the situation would be if the relationship between God and man is what it should be.

[ 1 ] "Wer ein starkes 'nein' sagt, soll auch ein starkes 'Ja' sagen."

[ 2 ] Gen. 15:16

[ 3 ] I Cor. 6:16,17

[ 4 ] Rom. 3:23

[ 5 ] Lev 11:44,45:19:2; 20:7,26

[ 6 ] II Tim. 3:16

[ 7 ] John 4:24

[ 8 ] Ezek. 16:47