Leviticus 18:1-23

¹The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God. ³ 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. ⁴ You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. ⁵ Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.

⁶ “‘No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord.

⁷ “‘Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.

⁸ “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; that would dishonor your father.

⁹ “‘Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.

¹⁰ “‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you.

¹¹ “‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

¹² “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.

¹³ “‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative.

¹⁴ “‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.

¹⁵ “‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.

¹⁶ “‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother.

¹⁷ “‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.

¹⁸ “‘Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.

¹⁹ “‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.

²⁰ “‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.

²¹ “‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

²² “‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.

²³ “‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.

- Is mentioned unlawful sexual relations that were forbidden. 

Leviticus 19:2

² “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

- Be holy in all circumstances. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. Have faith in God who is your Father in heaven. Give all your worries and concerns to God. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, they are plans for good and not for disasters, to give you a future and hope. Do not worry what comes tomorrow, just be holy. Surrender your life to the Lord.

Leviticus 19:11-19, 19:29, 19:32, 19:33-37

Leviticus 19:11-19 

¹¹ “‘Do not steal. “‘Do not lie. “‘Do not deceive one another.

¹² “‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

¹³ “‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. “‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.

¹⁴ “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.

¹⁵ “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

¹⁶ “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. “‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.

¹⁷ “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.

¹⁸ “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

¹⁹ “‘Keep my decrees. “‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.

Leviticus 19:29-30

²⁹ “‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.

³⁰ “‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:32-33

³² “‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord.

³³ “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. ³⁴ The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

Leviticus 19:35

³⁵ “‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. ³⁶ Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah^[d] and an honest hin.^[e] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.

Leviticus 19:37

³⁷ “‘Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the Lord.’”

- What is good will still be good in this century or next.

Leviticus 19:4, 19:31

⁴ “‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.

³¹ “‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

- You have a big God, who is the one true God, the creator of heaven and earth. He gave His only son Jesus Christ to die for us to rebuild our relationship with Him.

Leviticus 20:13

¹³ “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.   - For the 3rd time since Genesis 2:23 the word of God is stating a marriage is between a man and a woman and sex is meant for a man and a woman. Why are we going against His law and His creation? Please stop and educate our children what is good and right in our faith.

Leviticus 20:26

²⁶ You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. - Be holy, be Christ like.

Leviticus 25:35-38

³⁵ “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. ³⁶ Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. ³⁷ You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit. ³⁸ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.   - After all the readings of laws and rituals God wanted the Israelities to follow, this passage came as a surprise to me. I like this passage. God was telling the Israelities to help and be kind to one another in time of need and downfall. This is definitely valid till this very day and tomorrow. Matthew 22:39 Love your neighbor as yourself.  

Leviticus 26

Reward for Obedience

¹“‘Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God.

² “‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

³ “‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, ⁴ I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

⁶ “‘I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. ⁷ You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. ⁸ Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

⁹ “‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. ¹⁰ You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. ¹¹ I will put my dwelling place^[a] among you, and I will not abhor you. ¹² I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. ¹³ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.

Punishment for Disobedience

¹⁴ “‘But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, ¹⁵ and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, ¹⁶ then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. ¹⁷ I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.

¹⁸ “‘If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. ¹⁹ I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. ²⁰ Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit.

²¹ “‘If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve. ²² I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted.

²³ “‘If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me, ²⁴ I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over. ²⁵ And I will bring the sword on you to avenge the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be given into enemy hands. ²⁶ When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.

²⁷ “‘If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me, ²⁸ then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over. ²⁹ You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters. ³⁰ I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars and pile your dead bodies^[b] on the lifeless forms of your idols, and I will abhor you. ³¹ I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings. ³² I myself will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who live there will be appalled. ³³ I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. ³⁴ Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. ³⁵ All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.

³⁶ “‘As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them. ³⁷ They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before your enemies. ³⁸ You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you. ³⁹ Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their ancestors’ sins they will waste away.

⁴⁰ “‘But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me, ⁴¹ which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, ⁴² I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. ⁴³ For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees. ⁴⁴ Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I am the Lord their God. ⁴⁵ But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.’”

⁴⁶ These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the Lord established at Mount Sinai between himself and the Israelites through Moses.   - Leviticus 26 foretells what is to come in the next few books.

Leviticus 27:30

³⁰ “‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.   - For the 1st time since the book of Genesis, tithe is mentioned. Beside giving, we give thanks to God for all His blessings.