When studying the Scriptures as a whole, we’ll find that human sexuality plays quite a central role in the Bible.
This makes sense because sex is how physical life is brought into this world and from the earliest chapters of Genesis we see that God takes a positive view of sex and procreation.
“As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”-Genesis 9:7
However, I certainly don’t believe God gave us sex just for procreation but also for joy and pleasure.
No bones about it, God created humankind as male and female and inputted into us a healthy LUST for each other.
However, like many of the wonderful gifts we’ve received from our Creator, fallen man has a tendency to abuse what he has been given.
And that’s why He gave us His instructions or TORAH (which literally means “teaching” or “instruction”).
Another area we’re going to see further develop in Leviticus 18 is the family structure.
Through these sexual commands, we’re going to be able to formulate a definition of who is included in the family and who is not and who is the head of the family unit and who is not.
When reading the Scriptures, it becomes clear from beginning to end that the Bible revolves around a patriarchal family structure.
The fathers are the head and responsible for all the other members of the family.
This seems to be the God-ordained family structure.
Men, not women, are to be the HEAD of the family and I don’t see the need for any politically correct apology about it.
However, as with all high positions of leadership comes great responsibility.
It was considered an absolute abomination that the leader of a family would his abuse wife or daughters or treat them as less than equal in God’s eyes.
The Bible doesn’t teach against the God-ordained male leadership of the family, but it does teach against the misuse and abuse of that power and authority.
In fact, the father who abuses his wife and/or children makes the Father in heaven look bad and will hinder the abused ones from being able to trust their true Father in heaven because they’ve had such a bad example of their father here on earth.
The father is to selflessly shepherd his family as Yeshua shepherds his church.
I needed to make this point so that you would properly understand the context of what we’re reading here.
All of these instructions here in Leviticus 18 are being spoken of from the male perspective.
With the possible exception of Leviticus 18:23, the commands here are directed ONLY to Israelite males, not females.
And these rulings also apply to the male foreigners who had left Egypt with Israel.
Of course, females are obviously affected by these rulings but the instructions themselves are being directed to men.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Wives should submit to their husbands
as they do to the Lord;
because the husband is head of the wife,
just as the Messiah,
as head of the Messianic Community,
is himself the one who keeps the body safe.
Just as the Messianic Community
submits to the Messiah,
so also wives should submit
to their husbands in everything.”
-Ephesians 5:22-24
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