Leviticus · chapter 18 of 27
Updated on
Leviticus 18 calls Israel to live by the Lord's laws and not by the customs of Egypt or Canaan. It forbids sexual relations within the close family, adultery, sacrificing children to Molech, same-sex relations and relations with animals. It warns that the land vomited out the peoples who did these things.
With chapter 18 the central part of the Holiness Code begins, setting out how the covenant people are to live. Before entering Canaan, God reminds them that their identity is not defined by the neighboring nations. The boundaries he gives protect the family, the vulnerable and the holiness of the community, and rest on a constant motive: I am the Lord.
The Lord speaks to Moses: Israel must not do what was done in Egypt, where they had lived, nor what will be done in Canaan, where he is leading them. They are to keep his decrees and walk in them, for whoever keeps them will live by them. The reason is repeated: I am the Lord.
A list of forbidden relations within the family follows: with a mother, a stepmother, a sister, a granddaughter, an aunt, a daughter-in-law, a sister-in-law and other close relatives. Also forbidden are relations with a woman during her menstrual uncleanness, with a neighbor's wife, and giving a child to be passed through fire to Molech, which profanes the name of the Lord. Sexual relations between men and with animals are forbidden, called an abomination and a perversion.
The Lord warns that the peoples Israel will drive out defiled themselves with these practices, and so the land itself became defiled and vomited them out. If Israel does them, the land will vomit them out too. Whoever commits them will be cut off from his people. The chapter ends with the command to keep what the Lord orders and not to defile themselves with those customs.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Israel must not copy what was done in Egypt or Canaan but live by the Lord's decrees. Holiness begins with a different identity: they belong to God, and their customs should reflect it.
The Lord says that whoever keeps his statutes and rules will live by them. Obedience is not a burden but a path of life within the covenant. In Galatians, Paul cites this verse to show that no one keeps the law perfectly and that life comes through Christ.
Giving a child to be passed through fire to Molech is forbidden, since it would profane the name of the Lord. God protects the lives of the weakest against cruel religious practices, and reminds Israel that his name must not be tied to violence.
The nations Israel will drive out defiled themselves by these behaviors. The text shows that God judges peoples for their conduct, and that the land itself suffers from human injustice and immorality.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Those of Egypt and Canaan. — Leviticus 18:3
Answer: That he will live by them. — Leviticus 18:5
Answer: I am the Lord. — Leviticus 18:6
Answer: Giving a child to be passed through the fire to Molech. — Leviticus 18:21
Answer: It became unclean and vomited them out. — Leviticus 18:25
Answer: The land would vomit them out too. — Leviticus 18:28
Leviticus 18 reminds us that a Christian's identity is formed by God's Word, not by the surrounding culture. In a youth group you can talk about how to live faithfulness and purity in an environment that promotes very different ideas, with humility and without mockery.
The chapter's boundaries protect families and the vulnerable, and the rejection of child sacrifice defends the dignity of life. The New Testament continues to call for sexual holiness, and it also offers forgiveness and renewal to those who have failed: in Christ there is grace to begin again.
Leviticus 18 sets the boundaries of the sexual and family life of the people who belong to God. Leviticus 19 widens the view to all relationships, with the call to be holy and to love one's neighbor as oneself.
Verse 22 forbids sexual relations between men, and chapter 20 repeats it. Most Christians understand that the New Testament maintains this sexual ethic, while others debate its application today. It is wise to treat the subject with faithfulness to Scripture and respect for people.
Molech was a deity associated with child sacrifice among the peoples near Israel. The law forbids it firmly, and other Old Testament passages condemn it. It was a form of worship that violated the holiness of the Lord's name and the lives of the youngest.