Leviticus · chapter 19 of 27
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Leviticus 19 calls all Israel to be holy because the Lord is holy, and explains it through everyday commands: honor parents and the Sabbath, leave part of the harvest for the poor, do not steal or lie, pay fairly, judge impartially, bear no grudge and love your neighbor as yourself. It also commands love for the foreigner.
This chapter is the heart of the Holiness Code. Unlike earlier chapters, it is addressed to the whole congregation of Israel, not only the priests, and shows that holiness is not limited to the sanctuary: it is lived in the field, at work, in the courts and in the family. Jesus quoted one of its commands as the second great commandment.
The Lord tells Moses to speak to the whole congregation: be holy, for he is holy. They must respect mother and father, keep the Sabbaths, not turn to idols and offer the peace offering in a way that will be accepted. When they reap, they must not harvest to the edges of the field or glean the vineyard but leave it for the poor and the foreigner.
A series of rules for living together follows: do not steal, lie or deceive, do not swear falsely by his name, do not oppress or withhold the hired worker's wages, do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind. In the courts there will be no injustice, no partiality to the poor or deference to the great. Do not go about slandering, do not endanger a neighbor's life, do not hate in your heart but rebuke frankly, do not take vengeance or bear a grudge, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Mixtures in livestock, fields and clothing are also forbidden, along with divination and consulting mediums, and certain mourning practices such as cuts or tattoos. They are told to rise before the gray head, honor the elderly, love the foreigner as one of their own and use honest scales and measures. The chapter ends by recalling that the Lord brought them out of Egypt.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord commands the whole congregation: be holy, because he is holy. Holiness is not only for the priests: it is the calling of the entire people. Peter takes up this phrase in his first letter to call believers to live set apart for God.
When reaping the field, the Israelite must not harvest to the last edge or glean what fell. That remainder is for the poor and the foreigner. God's generosity becomes visible in the way the owner shares his harvest.
It forbids vengeance and grudges and commands loving one's neighbor as oneself. Jesus quotes this verse as the second great commandment, and Paul says it sums up the law. Love of neighbor is the concrete fruit of holiness.
The foreigner who lives among them must be treated as one of their own and loved as oneself, because Israel too was a foreigner in Egypt. The memory of their own oppression becomes the reason for compassion.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Because the Lord their God is holy. — Leviticus 19:2
Answer: The edges of the field and what fell when harvesting, and the fallen grapes of the vineyard. — Leviticus 19:9-10
Answer: They were not to be held until the next day. — Leviticus 19:13
Answer: The deaf and the blind. — Leviticus 19:14
Answer: To love him as oneself, without vengeance or grudge. — Leviticus 19:18
Answer: As one of their own, loving him as oneself. — Leviticus 19:33-34
Leviticus 19 shows a holiness that smells of field, market and courtroom. In a Sunday school class you can ask: what does it mean to leave the edges of the field today? It may be sharing time, money or food with someone in need, without making it a favor.
The command to love our neighbor falls short if we reduce it to feelings: it includes paying on time, speaking truthfully, not slandering and judging fairly. Jesus called it the second great commandment and showed how to live it. Let us ask with whom it is hardest for us to apply it, and ask God for a heart like his.
Leviticus 19 shows that holiness is concrete love for God and for neighbor. Leviticus 20 gathers the penalties for those who break several of these rules, and repeats the call to be a people set apart for the Lord.
In context, it is first the fellow Israelite, but the same chapter commands loving the foreigner as oneself. Jesus widened the scope in the parable of the good Samaritan, showing that the neighbor is anyone who needs our compassion.
Verse 28 forbids cuts for the dead and marks cut into the skin, and it is tied to pagan mourning rites. Christians differ on whether it applies directly today; the constant question is whether a practice honors the Lord and avoids imitating rites he rejects.
The text gives no detailed explanation. Many understand it as a picture of order and separation: Israel was to remain distinct in everything, even in the everyday. These rules belong to the ceremonial system, which the New Testament sees fulfilled in Christ.