Sermon #37 Leviticus Sermons
Title: “Abominable Customs”
Text: Leviticus 18:1-30
Subject: God’s Claims, Ordinances and Worship
Date: Sunday Morning—May 19, 2002
Tape # X-1b
Readings: Deuteronomy
11:26-30; 27:1-28:1-14; Joshua 8:30-35; 1 John 3:23-24, 5:3
Introduction:
The Lord God knew that the
children of Israel, like us, were but dust, easily blown here and there, easily
swayed, prone to every abominable imagination, susceptible to every form of
idolatry, and quick to embrace the traditions, customs, and habits of the world
around them. We all like to think of ourselves as independent, free thinking
men and women, people of conviction who cannot be swayed by the opinions and
approval or disapproval of others. But that is not the way things really are.
We are, everyone, more easily moved by the opinions of others than dandelion
seeds are scattered by the wind.
It is precisely this
weakness of our depraved, sinful nature that necessitated the 18th
chapter of Leviticus. In anticipation of the trials and temptations Israel
would face in the wilderness and in anticipation of the trails and temptations
they would face in the land of Canaan, the Lord God here instructs and commands
his people not to practice or even participate in the “abominable customs”
they learned in Egypt and forbids them from the same “abominable customs”
that would surround them in Canaan.
The subject of Leviticus 18
is the “abominable customs” of men and women who do not know our God.
Here the Lord our God teaches us that we must refuse to walk in the ways of the
world, and walk in his way. We must refuse to do the doings of the world, and
do his judgments and keep his ordinances.
Remember, the law of God was
given to Israel alone. It was never given to the nations around them. It was
given only to Israel. Even in the Old Testament, the law was not given to
Gentiles, but to Jews only. You will notice that the Lord God called the ways,
the doings, the customs, the statutes, and the religions of the Egyptians and the
Canaanite wickedness; but he never gave his law to them. Why? The answer should
be obvious.
Proposition: These statutes, even the statutes I am about to read to you in
Leviticus 18, were given to point us to Christ, our Lord and Redeemer. They are
statutes of divine worship given to God’s covenant people, based upon a
covenant relationship, and motivated by covenant grace.
As we read through these
verses, you will see that in this chapter, the Lord God deals plainly with the
most personal decisions of a man’s life and with the most intimate
relationships of his home and family, demanding that his will be obeyed and his
honored maintained, even in these intimate areas of life.
We resent anyone’s interference in these matters. Don’t we? We do not want anyone telling us who we can marry, how we are to live our lives, what we may or may not do, especially in the privacy of our homes and bedrooms. We recent anyone’s intrusion into these matters. We all do.
Our heavenly Father silences
any possible objection to his intrusion in the most tender, loving manner
possible. He prefaces his instructions, his demands, by reminding us his
sovereign mercy, love and grace toward us. Six times he reminds us, “I am
the Lord (Jehovah) your
God” (vv. 1, 4, 5, 6, 21, 30).
·
I
have loved you.
·
I
chose you.
·
I
redeemed you.
·
I
brought you up out of Egypt.
·
I
destroyed your enemies.
·
I
am bringing you into Canaan.
·
I
have the right and I’ve earned the right to rule your life!
Let’s read these 30 verses
together. I will make explanatory comments where needed. Then, I want to call
your attention to five things revealed in this passage. May God the Holy Spirit
be our Teacher.
(Leviticus
18:1-5) "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your
God. 3 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. 4 Ye shall do my
judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your
God. 5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a
man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD."
1. First, the Lord here commands us to strictly and
conscientiously avoid the deeds and the ordinances of both the Egyptians and
the Canaanites.—In doing so, it is obvious that our Lord is here
demanding that as his people we must constantly guard against the horrid
tendency of our flesh to yield to the corrupt ways (“doings”) and the
corrupt religion (“ordinances”) of the world.
2. Rather, we are to observe his ordinances, his statutes and his
judgments.—We are to live by the rule of his Word. Now, watch this…
3. Our God says, “which if a man do, he shall live in them.”—Does
that mean that sinners can save themselves by obeying God’s law? Of course not!
But does mean this.—If you and I worship God in the way he reveals in his
Word, in the way of his ordinances, statutes and judgments, trusting Christ
alone for all righteousness and redemption, we shall live forever in him.
That is exactly the meaning of Romans 3:31, 1 John 3:23-24, and 1 John 5:2-5.
(Romans
3:31) "Do we then make void the
law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."
(1
John 3:23-24) "And this is his
commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and
love one another, as he gave us commandment. 24 And he that keepeth his
commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth
in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us."
(1
John 5:2-5) "By this we know that
we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For
this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments
are not grievous. 4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world:
and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who
is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of
God?"
Now, beginning at verse 6, he starts to
get real personal.
·
Verses
6-19 give a detailed prohibition against incest.
(Leviticus
18:6-19) "None of you shall approach to any that
is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.
7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou
not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy
father's nakedness. 9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy
father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born
abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. 10 The
nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their
nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.
11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father,
she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 12 Thou
shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy
father's near kinswoman. 13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy
mother's sister; for she is thy mother's near kinswoman. 14 Thou
shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not
approach to his wife: she is thine aunt. 15 Thou shalt not
uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife;
thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 16 Thou shalt not uncover the
nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. 17 Thou
shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou
take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for
they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness. 18 Neither
shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her
nakedness, beside the other in her life time. 19 Also thou shalt not
approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for
her uncleanness."
o In these verses the Lord expressly forbids
the incestuous unions (in marriage or not) parents and children—step-parents
and step children—siblings—step-siblings—aunts/uncles with
nephews/nieces—cousins—even step cousins, or in-laws.
o Though polygamy was tolerated (because of
the hardness of men’s hearts – Matt. 19:8), a man was forbidden to marry
sisters, lest they vex one another as Leah did Rachel.
o Temporary considerations were allowed
prior to this.[1] But by this
law the Lord established a family order of the greatest possible stability and
peace.
o God calls the practice of these evils “horrid
wickedness.”
o In verse 19 “the Lord put a check even on
lawful intercourse. There were times when the wife was not to be approached by
her own husband. And in Ezek. 22:10, the transgression of this law is reckoned
one of the marks of Israel’s great corruptions. Every sensual feeling must be
subordinated to the Lord's will; and men must live as the Lord appoints. Their
happiness consists in letting their soul flow out in the channel of the Lord's
will.” (Andrew Bonar)
·
Verse
20 forbids adultery.
(Leviticus
18:20) "Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally
with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her."
·
Verse
21 prohibits idolatry—The root and cause of all moral corruption in society.
(Leviticus
18:21)
"And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to
Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the
LORD."
·
In
verse 22 the Lord God stamps his “X” upon homosexuality.
(Leviticus
18:22) "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as
with womankind: it is abomination."
·
In
verse 23 he expands his denouncement to that which is the child of
homosexuality—Bestiality!
(Leviticus
18:23) "Neither shalt thou lie with any beast
to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to
lie down thereto: it is confusion."
·
These
acts of horrid wickedness are both the result of divine judgment and the cause
of it (vv. 24-28.
(Leviticus 18:24-28)
"Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these
the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: 25 And the land is
defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself
vomiteth out her inhabitants. 26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and
my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither
any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: 27 (For
all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before
you, and the land is defiled;) 28 That the land spue not you out also,
when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before
you."
o
In divine
judgment God leaves men to their own lusts (Rom. 1).
o
Then, he
casts them into hell, spewing them out of the earth they have defiled!
·
If
you and I follow the way of the wicked, the earth will soon spew us out into
hell as well (vv.
29-30).
(Leviticus
18:29-30) "For whosoever shall commit any of
these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off
from among their people. 30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that
ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were
committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the
LORD your God."
Lessons
What does God the Holy Spirit intend for us to learn from this
chapter? What is its purpose? Why was it written? Let me give you five things,
and I will send you home, I hope, to walk with God and honor him in the
totality of your being.
I. First, learn this—The Lord God almighty is God
indeed.
Because he is God, he has the absolute right as God to rule you
and me, to control our thoughts and our deeds. Is it not lawful for him to do
with his own what he will?
Because he is God, he and he alone determines and declares both
the evil and the good (Isa. 45:7).
(Isaiah
45:7) "I form the light, and
create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things."
II.
Second, ThE Word of God
alone is our rule of Life.
This
Book, and this Book alone is and must be authoritative in the church and
kingdom of God.
(2
Timothy 3:16-17) "All scripture is
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the
man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
III.
I want us each to take home with us this third horrible, humbling
lesson—The heart of man is a
thoroughly corrupt cesspool of iniquity.
The
horrible, shameful crimes against God and man described in this chapter are so
basic to our nature that God speaks of them here as the defilement of the
nations.
Such is vileness of the human heart that all these forms of
depravity were anticipated by the Lord God who knows the heart. He knows the
hell that is in that poisoned spring. Men see another commit some atrocity and
say, “I cannot understand how a person can do that.” But the Lord God, looking
on the hearts even of his own people Israel knew that they, like us, would be
incessantly tempted to the most abominable evils imaginable—Tempted (by the
pressures of the society around them) because of their own corrupt hearts’
lusts to incorporate into the worship and service of God the sacrifice of their
children for their own sins and the approval of the basest of deeds in the name
of moral freedom and religious tolerance!
Andrew Bonar wrote—“How awful is the Lord's judgment of the human heart! He
believes that an Israelite, though surrounded as an Israelite of course was,
with everything that could fence in his morality, might nevertheless have a
heart so foul as to burst all bounds, and transgress all limits, and overflow
all banks. 'The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked;
who can know it? I the Lord search the heart; I try the reins’ (Jer.
17:9-10).”
IV.
How I pray that God will show us the wonder of this fourth great
lesson!—This Holy Lord God
Declares Himself to be our God because of his redeeming mercy, love and grace!—He
begins and ends the chapter like this—“I am the Lord (Jehovah!)
your God” (vv. 2, 30).
Because
he is the Lord our God by his great grace, by his blood atonement,—because he
loved us, because he chose us, because he redeemed us, because he saved us he
has the right to possess us and rule us totally.—And be his name, we want him
to do so!
(1
Corinthians 6:9-11) "Know ye not
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived:
neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers
of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And
such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
(1
Corinthians 6:19-20) "What? know
ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,
which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with
a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are
God's."
V.
One more thing.—The Lord God
demands that we take his side!
Illustration: Ebal
and Gerizzim
Deuteronomy 11:26-30;
27:1-28:1-14; Joshua 8:30-35
·
There
is a way that seems right to man; but it is the way of cursing, everlasting
cursing!
·
There
is a way despised by men; but it is the way of blessing, everlasting blessing.
(Deuteronomy
11:26-29) "Behold, I set before
you this day a blessing and a curse; 27 A blessing, if ye obey the
commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: 28 And
a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn
aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods,
which ye have not known. 29 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy
God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that
thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount
Ebal."
(Joshua
24:14-15) "Now therefore fear the
LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your
fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the
LORD. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this
day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were
on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land
ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
[1] Obviously, Cain and Abel had no such law as this. They married their sisters.—Noah’s grandchildren were not under such a law. They married either siblings or cousins.—Abraham had no such law. He married Sarah, his half sister.