Schoolmaster to Christ
LEVITICUS CHAPTERS 18, 19 & 20

Scripture Reading: Leviticus 18, 19 & 20 (KJV)

These chapters set before us the personal sanctity and moral propriety Jehovah looked for on the part of those whom He had graciously introduced into relationship with Himself. They also present a most humiliating picture of the enormities of which human nature is capable.

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, l am the Lord your God." Here we have the foundation of the entire superstructure of moral conduct presented by these chapters. Israel's actions were to be based on a simple foundation – take their character from the fact that Jehovah was their God. In other words, they were called to comport themselves in a manner worthy of a high and holy position. It was God's prerogative to set forth the special character and line of conduct becoming a people with whom He associated His name. Thus, the frequency of the expressions, "I am the Lord;" "I Am the Lord your God;" "I the Lord your God am holy." Jehovah was their God, and He was holy; therefore, they were also called to be holy. His name was invoked in their character and action.

This is the true principle of holiness for the people of God in all ages. We are to be governed and characterized by the revelation He has made of Himself. Our conduct is to be founded on what He is, not on what we are. This sets aside the principle expressed in the words, "Stand by thyself, I am holier than thou;" a principle justly repudiated by every spiritually sensitive mind. It is not a comparison of one man with another; but a simple statement of the line of conduct that God looks for in those who belong to Him. "After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do; and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do; neither shall ye walk in their ordinances." The Egyptians and the Canaanites were wrong. How was Israel to know this? Who told them? Why were they right, and all others wrong? These are interesting inquiries; and the answer is as simple as the questions are interesting. Jehovah's Word was the standard by which all questions of right and wrong were to be settled in the judgment of every member of the Israel of God. It was not the judgment of an Israelite in opposition to the judgment of an Egyptian or a Canaanite; but it was the judgment of God, period. Egypt might have her practices and opinions, and so might Canaan; but Israel’s opinions and practices were laid down in the Word of God.

"Ye shall do my judgements, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the Lord your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgements; which, if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord."

It is to our advantage to get a clear, deep, full, practical sense of this truth. The Word of God must settle every question and govern every conscience. There must be no appeal from its solemn and weighty decision. In other words, when God speaks, every heart must bow. We may form and hold our opinions; we may adopt and defend our practices; but one of the finest traits in the character of "the Israel of God" is profound reverence for, and implicit subjection to, "every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord." The exhibition of this valuable feature may, perhaps, lay them open to the charge of dogmatism, superciliousness, and self-sufficiency, on the part of those who have never deeply weighed the matter. However, in truth nothing can be more unlike dogmatism than simple subjection to the plain truth of God; nothing more unlike superciliousness than reverence for the statements of inspiration; nothing more unlike self-sufficiency than subjection to the authority of Holy Scripture.

True, there will always be the need of carefulness regarding the tone and manner in which we set forth the authority for our convictions and conduct. As best as possible, we must make known that we are wholly governed by the Word of God, and not by our own opinions. There is great danger of attaching an importance to an opinion merely because we have adopted it. This must be carefully guarded against. It is always possible that self may creep in and display its deformity in defense of our opinions; but in every shape and form we must disallow it, and in all things be governed by "Thus saith the Lord." In other words, we must always let God's Word be the sole answer to every question, and if His Word does not clearly provide the answer, then we must close our mouth.

But, we should not expect everyone to admit the full force of God’s statutes and judgments. Only as one walks in the integrity and energy of the divine nature will the Word of God be owned, appreciated, and reverenced. An Egyptian or a Canaanite would have been unable to understand the meaning or estimate the value of the statutes and judgments governing the conduct of the circumcised people of God; but that did not affect the question of Israel's obedience. Israel was brought into a certain relationship with Jehovah – a relationship that had its distinctive privileges and responsibilities. "I am the Lord your God." This was the ground of their conduct. They were to act in a way worthy of the One who had become their God, and made them His people. It was not that they were better than other people. The Egyptians or Canaanites might have thought the Israelites were setting themselves up to be superior in refusing to adopt the habits of either nation. But, no; the foundation of their conduct and tone of morality was founded in the words, "I am the Lord your God."

In this practically important fact, Jehovah set before His people a ground of conduct that was immovable, and a standard of morality that was as elevated and enduring as the eternal throne itself. The moment God entered into a relationship with a people, their ethics were to assume a character and tone worthy of Him. It was no longer a question regarding what they were, but what God was. This makes a material difference. Making self the ground of action or the standard of ethics is a presumptuous folly, and will most definitely set us on a descending scale of action. If self is our object, we will sink lower and lower every day; but, on the other hand, if we set the Lord before us then we will rise higher and higher and grow in conformity to that perfect model in the sacred pages of Inspiration. Undoubtedly, we will have to prostrate ourselves in the dust, under a sense of how short we come of the mark set before us. However, we can never consent to the setting up of a lower standard, nor can we be satisfied until we are conformed in all things to Him who was our substitute on the cross – our Model in glory.

We have considered the main and important principle of these chapters from a practical point of view. It is no doubt needless to enter into an exposition of statutes that speak for themselves in obvious terms. We simply point out that those statutes range under two distinct heads: those setting forth the shameful enormities that the human heart is capable of devising; and, those exhibiting the exquisite tenderness and considerate care of the God of Israel.

Regarding the first, the Spirit of God would not enact laws for the purpose of preventing evils that do not exist. He does not construct a dam where there is no flood to be resisted. He deals with positive realities, not abstract ideas. Man is capable of perpetrating every one of the shameful crimes referred to in these chapters of Leviticus. If he were not, why should he be told not to do so? Such a code would be unsuitable for angels, because they are incapable of committing the sins referred to; but it suits man, because he has the seeds of those sins in his nature. This is deeply humbling. It is a fresh declaration of the truth that man is a total wreck. From the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, there is not a single speck of moral soundness, when viewed in the light of God's presence. The being for whom Jehovah thought it needful to write Leviticus 18 through 20 must be a vile sinner; but that being is man – each of us. Therefore, it is plain, "they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom. 8). Thank God, the true believer is "not in the flesh, but in the Spirit." He has been taken out of his old creation-standing, and introduced into the new creation, in which the moral evils aimed at in these chapters can have no existence. True, he still has the old nature; but it is his happy privilege to "reckon" it as a dead thing, and to walk in the abiding power of the new creation, wherein "all things are of God." This is Christian liberty – liberty to walk in that fair creation where no trace of evil can be found; liberty to walk in holiness and purity before God and man; liberty to tread those lofty walks of personal sanctity on which the beams of God's countenance always pour out in living luster. Yes, this is Christian liberty. It is liberty, not to commit sin, but to taste the celestial sweets of a life of holiness and moral elevation. Christian liberty – may we more highly prize this precious boon of heaven.

And, now, a word regarding the second class of statutes contained in these chapters: those that so touchingly bring out divine tenderness and care. Consider the following: "And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God" (Lev. 19:9, 10).

This ordinance will meet us again in Leviticus 23, but there we see it in a dispensational bearing. Here, we contemplate it morally – unfolding the precious grace of Israel's God. God thinks of "the poor and stranger;" and wants His people to do likewise. When the golden sheaves were being reaped, and the mellow clusters gathered, "the poor and stranger" were to be remembered by God, because Jehovah was the God of Israel. The reaper and the grape-gatherer were not to be governed by a spirit of grasping covetousness that would bare the corners of the field and strip the branches of the vine, but rather by a spirit of large-hearted, genuine benevolence, that would leave a sheaf and a cluster "for the poor and stranger," so they, too, might rejoice in the unbounded goodness of Him whose paths drop fatness, and on whose open hand all the sons of want may confidently wait.

The Book of Ruth furnishes a fine example of one who fully acted out this benevolent statute. "And Boaz said unto her [Ruth], At meal-time come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed and left. And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: and let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not" (Ruth 2:14-16; emphasis added).

Truly, it is good for our selfish hearts to be brought in contact with such principles and practices. Nothing can surpass the exquisite refinement of the words, "let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her." Evidently, it was the desire of this noble Israelite that "the stranger" might have abundance, but as the fruit of her own gleaning rather than his benevolence. This was the essence of refinement – putting her in immediate connection with, and dependence on, the God of Israel who had fully recognized and provided for "the gleaner." Boaz was merely acting out that gracious ordinance of which Ruth reaped the benefit. The same grace that gave him the field gave her the gleanings. In other words, they were both debtors to grace. She was the happy recipient of Jehovah's goodness. He was the honored exponent of Jehovah's gracious institution. All was in lovely moral order – the creature was blessed and God was glorified.

We now turn to another statute of these chapters. "Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob Him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning" (Lev. 19:13). What tender care. The High and Mighty Eternal God is concerned about the thoughts and feelings in the heart of a laborer. He knows and takes into account the laborer’s expectations regarding the fruit of a day's toil. Naturally, the wages are expected and needed. The laborer's heart counts on them; the family meal depends on them. Our blessed Lord God did not want the laborer sent home with a heavy heart, which would also make the heart of his wife and family heavy. By all means, give him that for which He has worked, to which he has a right, and on which his heart is set. He is a husband, a father; he has borne the burden and heat of the day so that his wife and children may not go to bed hungry. Do not disappoint him. Give him his due. Our God notices and is concerned about the throbbings of a laborer's heart, and makes provision for his rising expectations. What precious grace – what tender, thoughtful, touching, and considerate love. The contemplation of such statutes is sufficient to throw one into a flood of tenderness. Could any one read such passages and not be melted? Could any one read them and thoughtlessly dismiss a laborer, not knowing whether he and his family have wherewithal to meet the cravings of hunger?

Nothing is more painful to a tender heart than the lack of consideration for the poor, so often manifested by the rich. Too often, the rich can sit down to their sumptuous repast after dismissing some industrious creature who had depended on them for the just reward of a day’s honest labor. In this age of outsourcing, it is not uncommon for corporate owners and directors to coldly disregard the aching heart that must return home and tell wife and family the disappointing news. Such is offensive to God, and should be to all who have tasted His grace. To know what God thinks of such action, one needs only to consider the following accents of holy indignation: "Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them that have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth" (James 5:4). "The Lord of Sabaoth" hears the cry of the aggrieved and disappointed laborer. God's tender love demonstrates itself in the institutions of His moral government; and even though the corporate “outsourcing” hearts may not be melted by the grace of His institutions, one would think that they should at least be governed by its righteousness. The sun rises and the sun sets, and all seems to be moving along as normal; but we should guard against being lulled into thinking that our eternal God, the Mighty One, is asleep. God will not allow the claims of the poor to be heartlessly tossed aside by those who are hardened by the influence of wealth; who are insensible to the appeals of tenderness, and who are obviously incapable of feeling for those who spend their days amid exhausting toil or pinching poverty. The poor are the special objects of God's care. Again and again He makes provision for them in the statutes of His moral administration – it is particularly declared of Him who shall before long assume in manifested glory the reins of government, that

"He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their souls from deceit and violence; and precious shall their blood be in his sight" (Ps. 72:12-14).

May we profit by reviewing those deeply practical truths – may our hearts be affected, and our conduct influenced by them. We live in a heartless world; and there is a vast amount of selfishness in our own hearts. We are not sufficiently affected by the needs of others. We are apt to forget the poor in the midst of our abundance. We often forget that the souls whose labor ministers to our personal comfort are sometimes living in poverty. Let us think on these things. Let us beware of "grinding the faces of the poor." If the Jews of old were taught by the statutes and ordinances of the Mosaic economy, to entertain kind feelings toward the poor and to deal tenderly and graciously with the sons of toil, how much more should the higher and more spiritual ethics of the Gospel dispensation produce in the hearts and lives of Christians a large-hearted benevolence toward every form of human need.

While the above is true, still, we need prudence and caution, so that we do not take one out of the honorable of dependence on the fragrant fruits of honest work. This would be a grievous injury instead of a benefit. The example of Boaz offers instruction regarding this matter. He allowed Ruth to glean; but he took care to make her gleaning profitable. This is a safe and simple principle. God intends that we should work at something, and we run counter to Him when we draw others away from dependence on the results of patient work, into dependence on the results of false benevolence. The former is as honorable and elevating as the latter is contemptible and demoralizing. There is no bread as sweet to the taste as that which is nobly earned. One will feed and care for horses; how much more his fellow, who yields him the labor of his hands.

But one might say, "There are two sides to this question." Unquestionably there are; and, without a doubt there is much about the poor that is calculated to dry up the springs of benevolence and genuine sympathy – that tends to steel the heart, and close the hand. However, one thing is certain: it is better to be deceived in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred than to shut up the bowels of compassion against a single worthy object. Our heavenly Father causes His sun to shine on the evil as well as the good; He sends rain on the just as well as the unjust. The sunbeams that gladden the heart of devoted servants of Christ are poured on the path of ungodly sinners. The same shower that falls on the tillage of true believers, also enriches the furrows of blaspheming infidels. This is to be our model. "Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48). It is only as we set the Lord before us and walk in the power of His grace, that we will be able to go on from day to day, meeting every possible form of human misery with a tender heart and open hand. Are we drinking at the exhaustless fountain of God’s love and tenderness? Our tiny springs would soon be dried up were they not maintained in unbroken connection with that ever-gushing source. Only in this way will our hearts be open to the needs of others.

The next statute touchingly exemplifies the tender care of the God of Israel. "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord" (v 14). Here, God erects a barrier to stem the tide of irritability toward meeting the personal infirmity of deafness. Human nature does not like to be called on to repeat words again and again for the deaf. Jehovah thought of this, and provided for it. And what is the provision? "Thou shalt fear thy God." When feeling tried by a deaf person, remember the Lord – look to Him for grace to govern our temper.

The second part of this statute reveals a humiliating amount of wickedness in human nature. The idea of laying a stumbling block in the way of the blind is about the most wanton cruelty imaginable; and yet we are capable of it, or else we world not be warned against it. No doubt, this, as well as many other statutes, offers a spiritual application; but that in nowise interferes with the plain, literal principle it sets forth. We are capable of placing a stumbling block in the way of fellow-creatures afflicted with blindness. Truly, the Lord knew what was in us when He wrote the statutes and judgments of the Book of Leviticus.

May we meditate on the remainder of this section of Leviticus; and by so doing hopefully we will find that each statute teaches a double lesson: nature's evil tendencies and Jehovah's tender care.¹

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