Read Leviticus 20:1-27
Our last reading laid out the practices that were detestable and against God’s desire for his people to be holy. This reading prescribes the punishments for breaking those holiness codes. Most of those penalties are severe, including death, and clearly reveal the seriousness of God’s instructions.
I recognized several of those rules as they show up in the New Testament. The one about adultery made me think of Jesus and how his grace showed up the day a woman was about to be stoned for breaking this law of holiness. The law calls for both individuals to be killed, but in our story from John 8:1-11, only the woman is called out. I’ve always wondered where the man was!
Does Jesus’ grace cover us in all these situations and wicked acts? I suppose if we look at how Jesus counseled the adulterous woman we might get our answer. What did Jesus tell her? “Go and sin no more.” Jesus wasn’t accepting her behavior and was commanding she stop doing it. Do you think that woman ever jumped in bed with a man that wasn’t her husband after that?
The one that really shook me to the core was the one about sacrificing children. While it doesn’t say “abortion,” I couldn’t help but let my thoughts go in that direction. Isn’t sacrificing a life what people are doing when they give up their babies in abortion? While they may not be worshiping “Molech,” they are certainly not worshiping God in that moment, taking the life of a precious child growing inside. As it says in Psalm 139:13, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
God never wants our attention or devotion to stray from him, ever. These instructions for holiness and punishments for disobedience reflect that. I don’t think that God is trying to limit our enjoyment in life, only enhance it. When we are in communion with him, the peace and joy that accompany that relationship is hard to describe. God’s reasoning is plainly stated in verse 26, “You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own.” When we act in ways that are holy, we are set apart as God’s own. That’s powerful.
Children like boundaries, even though they will push them to the limit. It’s like that for us, too, as God’s children. We know what pleases God, and yet we can’t help but want to twist and stretch his desires to fit our own liking. Who am I to say which of these decrees should be paid attention to and which no longer apply? If these behaviors displeased God then, even though we have Jesus as our mediator and his grace covers us, why do we still push the limit?
Let’s pray. LORD, forgive me for seeking to satisfy my own selfish desires ahead of your perfect will for me. Thank you for the grace that covers me in my weakness. I know my own understanding of your ways is limited. Open my eyes to see as you see, love as you love, and act in ways that honor you. Help me do a better job of acting in ways that are holy and pleasing to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
