Today we begin Leviticus Chapter 18.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here.
For the King James version, click here.
“Adonai said to Moshe, “Speak to the people of Israel; tell them, ‘I am Adonai your God. You are not to engage in the activities found in the land of Egypt, where you used to live; and you are not to engage in the activities found in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you; nor are you to live by their laws.”-Leviticus 18:1-2
We’ve now arrived at that part of Scripture dealing with the Lord’s commands governing human sexual behavior.
And right off the bat we’re told that the guiding principle or purpose behind these commands is to draw a clear line of demarcation between the behaviors of the world and the behaviors expected of Israel AND those foreigners who are grafted into Israel.
Through these commands, the Lord is making two things very clear.
First, His people are NOT to continue the sexual behaviors that were commonplace in Egypt where they just left.
Second, they are NOT to adopt the sexual behaviors of the land they are about to enter, Canaan.
This might come as a bit of a surprise and shock to you, but while the Israelites resided in Egypt, it wasn’t like they lived in a state of disgust and shock at the immoral nature of the Egyptian society they found themselves immersed in.
Nor would they be taken aback by the sexual deviancy they encountered once they entered Canaan.
What behavior equalled “sexual immorality” had to be taught to them.
Until some outside objective force (in this case God) defined for the Israelites what SPECIFIC ACTIONS comprised sexual immorality, what was immoral or not was a completely subjective matter and differed from culture to culture and nation to nation.
I mean look at some Muslim societies where weddings between middle-aged men and 9 year olds take place!
Shocking, right?!
But this is the kind of perversity that develops minus the firm hand of God’s commands to properly rein in and govern sexual behavior.
My point is, the Israelites, after being plucked out of Egypt, had to be taught a healthy disgust of those very practices YHVH disgusted.
For example, on a personal level, I find homosexuality absolutely disgusting.
When I was living in San Francisco and my eyes caught two guys making out like there was no tomorrow, I had to look away, and real quick.
I felt as if a part of my soul had just become tainted with dirtiness after being visually exposed to such an act.
Is my aversion to homosexuality some genetic trait I inherited?
No, I had to be taught through God’s Word that such acts are despicable.
I know this is true because obviously there are many people out there who aren’t shocked when exposed to ungodly sexual behavior.
People need rules and have to be taught what is right and wrong.
The same goes for CLEAN and UNCLEAN foods.
I had to be taught that pork and shellfish are UNCLEAN and to be avoided.
And now, thanks to TORAH, I have a healthy and natural aversion towards eating such creatures.
The same principle applied to the ancient Israelites.
God had to TEACH THEM (and remember TORAH really means “teaching” or “instruction”) to adopt his ways.
Much of these commands on sexual behavior were relatively new to the Hebrews.
That’s right.
After these commands were handed down, there might have been an Israelite or two who were irritated that they could no longer have sex with their pet goats anymore.
I mean think about it, the very fact that God had to hand down a command prohibiting certain behaviors shows that such behaviors must have been practiced to some extent by at least some of the folks in the community.
The Lord had to put His foot down and say, “No more Charlie, that activity is a no-no if you’re going to be one of my people”.
This brings me to my second point.
If you want to know exactly what actions comprise “sexual immorality”, Leviticus chapter 18 is where you have to go.
This is the place where you will find the one and only comprehensive list of God’s commands on sexual conduct.
Instead of just mindlessly accepting what your church or pastor says, who in most cases has very little foundational training in Torah principles, you need to study the Torah where sexual sin is defined.
And by the way, of all the sins listed, what’s interesting is you’ll find that sex before marriage is not on the list.
Here’s the list:
- Do not have sexual relations with thy father
- Do not have sexual relations with thy mother
- Do not have sexual relations with thy father’s wife
- Do not have sexual relations with thy sister
- Do not have sexual relations with thy son’s daughter
- Do not have sexual relations with thy daughter’s daughter
- Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of thy father’s wife
- Do not have sexual relations with thy father’s sister
- Do not have sexual relations with thy mother’s sister
- Do not have sexual relations with thy father’s brother
- Do not have sexual relations with thy father’s brother’s wife
- Do not have sexual relations with thy daughter-in-law
- Do not have sexual relations with thy brother’s wife
- Do not have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter
- Do not have sexual relations with a woman and her son’s daughter
- Do not have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter’s daughter
- Do not have sexual relations with thy wife in addition to her sister, as rivals
- Do not have sexual relations with a menstruous woman
- Do not have sexual relations with thy neighbor’s wife
- Man can not have sex between men
- Man can not have sexual relations with an animal
- Woman can not have sexual relations with an animal
You will notice that these rules are presented in a similar style as the 10 Commandments (or 10 Words).
They begin with the refrain…“I am YHVH thy God, you shall not…“
Also, like the 10 Commandments, the Lord doesn’t go out of His way to explain why He has issued such commands other than the reason that His People are to be HOLY because He is Holy.
One thing is clear about the Lord’s feelings on these prohibited practices.
They are not just a minor irritation to Him.
They are downright detestable, a total ABOMINATION.
However, on a positive note, the Lord says,
“if a person does obey my instructions,
he will have life through them;
I am YHVH.”
-Leviticus 18:5
Why is sex before marriage not listed ? We are taught the marriage bed only is allowed.
Where?
Religion and doctrine . Falls teaching by printing in your mind fear . That’s why you should only listen to what the book says and not what the other says. Listen to your heart but make sure it is steared by YHVH . Today you read this article now ask your heart (YHVH) to make you understand no anyone else. The scripture is there the words are there. Which words are not there?
The commands in Leviticus (The Torah) are from Yahovah himself. You can’t argue with that. We should be in fear of doing these things that He told us not to do. He plainly states what the consequences are. We are commanded to be holey for He is holey. We are to be a light to the nations. If we participate in these practices we are no better than the pagan nations that he destroyed because they defiled the land.
Exactly, you’re letting yourself be taught by a fear mongering preacher and not by Torah. Do not trust any man’s words not even if he be “ordained” read, (really read) interpret, and understand for yourself. I for one believe that sex was given by God as a gift. It is not a gift to be shared lightly but it is a gift ment to be enjoyed.
Well because the act of sex itself is the consummation of marriage. A man would hold a sheet up for everyone after their union to prove she was a virgin. If she was not then he could divorce her. So sex outside of marriage was a no-no in that regard since she had to stay pure for her future husband.
That may be a cultural thing but show us chapter and verse where the Torah says to do that.
Do what?
Look at Deut 22:17
A couple of comments:
Firstly, I personally think the Torah instructions were known, at least to some degree, prior to Moses. Concerning sexual relations, the story in Genesis 38 about Judah and Tamah shows (to me) that there was clearly an understanding of Torah law. So, I personally believe that the Israelites coming out of Egypt would have generally known these laws (but quite possibly had forgotten many and slipped into Egyptian practices). This is not provable, but I think there’s enough hints to see the likelihood.
Secondly, you correctly say that sex before marriage is not included in the Leviticus chapter. However, it’s worth saying that sex before marriage doesn’t seem to be YHWH’s holy way to live. The account in Deuteronomy 22:28,29 shows that premarital sex was not the best, but humbling. It had life-changing consequences for the man and the woman. Earlier in that chapter, we see that premarital sex could have a big effect on a new marriage. A wife could be put to death for previous undisclosed relations with a man. Obviously, honesty before that point would avoid this, but it still shows the point that it wasn’t YHWH’s best. A woman who was in that situation was said to have “played the whore”. We certainly see later in Scripture, that both “playing the whore” (woman) and “whoring after” (man) were considered to be wicked things. This was usually in the context of going after other gods, but the example still points out that the fleshly instance was bad, just as the spiritual instance was bad.
Thanks for the thought provoking post!
Thanks for sharing Marcus. Overall I agree with your comments. No doubt, God’s IDEAL is that sex be kept within marriage but will not find a command anywhere in Torah prohibiting sex before marriage. Shalom.
Well said Marcus, Shalom!
The first prohibition in Leviticus 18:6 to not approach a close relative for the purpose of having sex should be on this list. Otherwise, there is no law against sex with one’s own daughter. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
It the First Rule dont have sex with Your Father
How’d you miss the very first one bud? Lol I’m surprised sexual relations with a first cousin is nowhere mentioned.
I think the problem is we have decided that marriage is wedding, sex forms marriage (the two became one flesh) what then is premarital sex ??? if you have had sex with 5 people then you are married to 5 people whom non of are yours. (the story of the woman at the well) a man can not sleep with a woman and then leave her, he must make it known to the public what he did in secret, and have a wedding. we have introduced a term of something that should have never existed and therefore allowed people to explore it.
Interesting points Mary. And wouldn’t necessarily disagree with you. Be blessed. Shalom!
Leviticus isn’t attempting to give us a complete sex law. Just like most of torah, it’s not designed to be. Rather, these are examples that you can find the Father’s heart through and then apply them to any situation.
The most obvious example missing is pedophilia. The middle aged muslim man marrying a 9 year old girl did not transgress a single one of the sex laws. Yet we all know this is wrong. You can glean this from learning the Father’s heart and acting in accordance.
Sex before marriage is an act that can result in kids. How can you love those kids well if they result from this act? People hold abortions in high esteem for this reason. You can’t separate “sex before marriage” from “plan B” or “abortion”.
It’s important to remember Torah is Yah’s plan B. It’s not His best for you. It’s “please don’t be the worst version of you”. The kingly laws are a good example of this. Israel wasn’t to have a king. Yah is their king. Yet here we have a bunch of laws specifically for a king.