← Back to sermon library

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 
Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and 
say to them, You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am 
holy. Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, 
and keep my sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. I am the Lord your God. And if 
you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, you shall 
offer it of your own free will. It shall be eaten the same day 
you offer it, and on the next day, and if any remains until 
the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. And if it is eaten 
at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not 
be accepted. Therefore, everyone who eats 
it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed 
offering of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from 
his people. "'When you reap the harvest of your land, "'you shall 
not wholly reap the corners of your field, "'nor shall you gather 
the gleanings of your harvest. "'And you shall not glean your 
vineyard, "'nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard. 
"'You shall leave them for the poor and the stranger. "'I am 
the Lord, your God. "'You shall not steal nor deal 
falsely, "'nor lie to one another. "'And you shall not swear by 
my name falsely, "'nor shall you profane the name of your 
God. "'I am the Lord. You shall not cheat your neighbor, 
nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired 
shall not remain with you all night until morning. You shall 
not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall 
fear your God. I am the Lord. "'You shall do 
no injustice in judgment. "'You shall not be partial to 
the poor, "'nor honor the person of the mighty. "'In righteousness 
you shall judge your neighbor. "'You shall not go about as a 
tailbearer among your people, "'nor shall you take a stand 
"'against the life of your neighbor. "'I am the Lord.'" "'You shall 
not hate your brother in your heart. "'You shall surely rebuke 
your neighbor "'and not bear sin because of him. "'You shall 
not take vengeance nor bear any grudge "'against the children 
of your people, "'but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 
"'I am the Lord. "'You shall keep my statutes. "'You shall not let your livestock 
breed with another kind. "'You shall not sow your field 
with mixed seed, "'nor shall a garment of mixed linen and 
wool come upon you. Whoever lies carnally with a 
woman who is betrothed to a man as a concubine and who has not 
at all been redeemed nor given her freedom, for this there shall 
be scourging, but they shall not be put to death, because 
she was not free. And he shall bring his trespass 
offering to the Lord to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, 
a ram as a trespass offering. "'The priest shall make atonement 
for him "'with the ram of the trespass offering before the 
Lord "'for his sin which he has committed. "'And the sin which 
he has committed shall be forgiven him. "'When you come into the 
land "'and have planted all kinds of trees for food, "'then you 
shall count their fruit as uncircumcised. "'Three years it shall be as 
uncircumcised to you. "'It shall not be eaten. "'But 
in the fourth year, all its fruit shall be holy, "'a praise to 
the Lord. And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it 
may yield to you its increase. I am the Lord your God. You shall 
not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination 
or soothsaying. You shall not shave around the 
sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your 
beard. You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the 
dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am the Lord. Do not prostitute 
your daughter to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall 
into harlotry and the land become full of wickedness. You shall 
keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary. I am the Lord. 
Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits. Do not seek 
after them, to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God. 
You shall rise before the gray-headed and honor the presence of an 
old man, and fear your God. I am the Lord. And if a stranger 
dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. The 
stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among 
you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers 
in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. You shall 
do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, 
or volume. You shall have honest scales, 
honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest inn. I am the Lord 
your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Therefore, 
you shall observe all my statutes and all my judgments and perform 
them. I am the Lord. Amen. Well, the 
last couple of weeks we've been here in Leviticus chapter 19, 
we saw the emphasis on religious observances in verses 1 to 8, 
and then we've also seen the emphasis on neighborly love in 
verses 9 to 18. Now as we approach verses 19 
to 37, I need to remind you once again that I'm not a rabbi. We 
are separated from these goings-on by many, many years, and there 
are things that are a bit puzzling and perplexing to us on this 
side of redemptive history. These laws are typically classified 
as what we call ceremonial law. And ceremonial law refers to 
that body of law given to the children of Israel in the old 
covenant that spoke concerning things to come. In fact, I'll 
just remind you from our confession. In 2nd London Confession, chapter 
19 of the law of God, we have a wonderful statement concerning 
God's giving of the law to Adam in paragraph one. Then we see 
its codification, the moral law in paragraph two. And then we 
have ceremonial law in paragraph 3 and judicial law in paragraph 
4. Now, what that does is it highlights 
the Reformed distinction in terms of the law of God. There's a 
threefold division. The moral law, Ten Commandments, 
the Decalogue, those things that are non-changing, those things 
that are trans-covenantal, those things that apply to all men 
wherever they might live in the continuum of history. Then you've 
got ceremonial law, which, as I said, was given to the nation 
of Israel. I'll just read 19.3. Besides this law, the moral law, 
commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people 
of Israel ceremonial laws, containing several typical ordinances, partly 
of worship, prefiguring Christ, His graces, actions, sufferings, 
and benefits. And then it goes on to say, "...and 
partly holding forth divers' instructions of moral duties." 
So ceremonial law does reflect what goes on in the sanctuary. 
So ceremonial law certainly does affect the cult in Israel, the 
worship apparatus, but there are moral duties involved as 
well. And then the confession goes 
on to say, all which ceremonial laws, being appointed only to 
the time of Reformation, are by Jesus Christ the true Messiah 
and only Lawgiver, who is furnished with power from the Father, for 
that end abrogated and taken away. Now they were abrogated 
and taken away because they were fulfilled in the Lord Jesus. 
So these things, as the Confession says, prefigured Christ, His 
graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits. But as we look 
at this particular list, we will see that they partly hold forth 
divers instructions of moral duties. And of course, that other 
division of the law is the judicial law, and basically the judicial 
law To them also he gave sundry judicial laws, which expired 
together with the state of that people, not obliging any now, 
by virtue of that institution, their general equity only being 
of moral use." So in essence, what you have in judicial law 
is laws governing the children of Israel during their tenure 
in the land. Now, to see this in some sense 
more systematically presented, if you go back to the book of 
Exodus, you see the moral law given in Exodus chapter 20. You see judicial laws then given 
in Exodus 21 to 23. You have the ratification of 
the Old Covenant in Exodus chapter 24. And then from 25 to 40, you 
basically have ceremonial law in the building of the tabernacle. and in the institution of the 
priesthood. So as we come to a passage like 
this, again, there are things that are moral to be sure. Some 
of the laws are hard to pinpoint. Is this judicial? Is this ceremonial? 
Typically, we need to approach it understanding that the Hebrew 
Old Testament is not written like Birkhoff's systematic theology. We like to have everything categorized 
in specific places. That's not usually what you find 
when you go to the Torah or the Pentateuch. Now again, you see 
it there at least loosely in Exodus 20 and following, but 
you certainly see these things mingled together here in Leviticus 
19. So as we come now to these miscellaneous 
laws, there are several. We're going to just categorize 
them this way. First, the prohibition against mixed breeding in verses 
19 to 25. The prohibition against pagan 
practices in verses 26 to 28. Third, the prohibition against 
sacred prostitution, and I'll explain that when we get there, 
in verses 29 and 30. Fourth, the prohibition against 
necromancy, in verse 31, communicating with the dead. Fifth, the responsibility 
to honor the elderly, in verse 32. Sixth, the responsibility 
to love the stranger, in verses 33 to 34. and then finally the 
necessity of fair trade in verses 35 to 36, and then the chapter 
ends with the concluding exhortation on the necessity of obedience 
to the God who spoke these words. Remember in chapter 19 at verse 
1, the Lord spoke to Moses saying, This wasn't a social construct, 
this wasn't the best idea that men had, it wasn't the case that 
you had a particular lawgiver that went up on a mountain and 
then came down of his own. We have the lawgiver Moses functioning 
as a mediator, giving God's law to the children of Israel for 
their conduct as the covenant people. So let's look first at 
the prohibition against mixed breeding in verses 19 to 25. 
Notice the instruction on livestock and garments in verse 19. You shall keep my statutes. You 
shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You 
shall not sow your field with mixed seed, nor shall a garment 
of mixed linen and wool come upon you. Now, in some sense, 
we've already been prepared for this, or at least prepared in 
this direction, because of the food laws. Remember, their diet 
was very much regulated by God in terms of clean and unclean 
animals. So when we drop here into 1919, 
it ought not to shock us. Again, it's not something that 
we practice, it's not something that is typical for us, but it 
is something that was to distinguish the children of Israel from the 
nations around them. And in terms of the theological 
principle, I think Gordon Wenham explains it well. He says, the 
divisions within the animal kingdom mirrored those within the human 
world, between clean and unclean men, between Israel and the nations. In creation, God separated between 
light and darkness, waters and waters. This ban on all mixtures, 
especially mixed breeding, shows man following God's steps. as 
God separated Israel from among the nations to be his own possession, 
so they must maintain their holy identity by not intermarrying 
with the nation." So the theology is that God does this, but then 
practically it is to distinguish and separate the children of 
Israel from the heathen around them. If you turn to Deuteronomy 
chapter 7, You see this in terms of a major emphasis. They were 
not to be like the children of Canaan. They were not to be like 
the pagans in the land. They were not to be like the 
heathen that populated the earth at that time in that place. And 
so in Deuteronomy 7 you have the mandate for holy war. And 
if you look at verse 1 it says, 7 nations greater and mightier 
than you. And when the Lord your God delivers 
them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. 
You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. 
No political alliances with the pagans. That's the mandate there 
at the end of verse two. You shall make no covenant with 
them nor show mercy to them. You're not supposed to govern 
with the heathen. You're supposed to dispossess 
them from the land. Notice as well there's not supposed 
to be any social alliances according to verses 3 and 4. Nor shall 
you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter 
to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they 
will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods. So the anger of the Lord will 
be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. It's obvious, you 
start, you marry one of them and it won't be long before you're 
worshiping alongside of them. So no political, no social, but 
then notice thirdly, no religious alliances with the people of 
the land. Verse five, but thus their altars, 
I'm sorry, but thus you shall deal with them, you shall destroy 
their altars and break down their sacred pillars and cut down their 
wooden images and burn their carved images with fire. So when 
it comes to the major, we see this idea of separation, distinctiveness 
from the heathen around them. But there's also the minor application, 
the way that you eat, the way that you dress, the way that 
you rotate your crops, the way that you manage your crops, the 
way that you manage your herd, the way that you manage your 
livestock. All of that is supposed to be different from the heathen 
about you. So again, we drop into a passage 
like this, and we think it's a bit odd, but we need to understand 
that God wants them to be separate from the nations around them. 
The nations around them are being dispossessed for their godlessness, 
and their wretchedness, and their evil in the sight of a holy God. So we've got this instruction 
on livestock and garments in verse 19, and then notice the 
instruction concerning relations with a slave girl in verses 20 
to 22. We're going to leave it here 
with this whole idea of mixed breeding. And again, Wenham explains, 
it is not obvious why it should be grouped with regulations dealing 
with agriculture. Often slave girls would be foreigners, 
and this might explain why it is inserted after the ban on 
mixtures in verse 19. But as we look specifically at 
verses 20 to 22, there's a bit of a difference in other passages 
that speak like this. We see something like this, not 
altogether the same, but in Exodus chapter 21, dealing with slave 
girls. And then we have a list of detailed 
instruction concerning sexual immorality, not just here in 
Leviticus chapter 18, but specifically in Deuteronomy chapter 22. In 
Deuteronomy chapter 22, specifically at verses 13 to 30, we see emphasis 
on various sins that are engaged in by godless people in the commonwealth. And here, specifically, this 
verse, 19-20, is somewhat similar to something that you see there 
in Deuteronomy 22. So I just want to look at this 
passage in a bit of detail. Notice first, in verse 20, the 
nature of the sin. Whoever lies carnally with a 
woman who is betrothed to a man as a concubine. Now a concubine 
was sort of a second wife, oftentimes used for producing heirs or other 
functions within the family. They did have legal recognition 
and legal status, not the same as a wife, but they did have 
protection in the law from God Most High. You'll see that the 
law builds in protections for the vulnerable and for the people 
that are easy to sort of stomp on in a body politic. But then 
notice here she has not been at all been redeemed nor given 
her freedom. So it's dealing with a slave. 
It's dealing with one that is subordinate. So the Israelite 
man or an Israelite man lies carnally with a betrothed concubine. Now, notice the status of this 
particular woman. She has not at all been redeemed, 
nor given her freedom, and then for this there shall be scourging, 
but they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. Now, if you turn to the book 
of Deuteronomy, specifically at chapter 22, I think that Deuteronomy 22, 
especially verses 23 to 30, are very important in terms of sexual 
ethics. I think there's a lot of people 
outside of the church, unfortunately those within the church, because 
of muddy thinking, get verses 23 to 27 wrong, specifically 
verses 25 to 27. Essentially, what you have in 
verses 23 and 24 is the seduction of a betrothed woman, and that 
woman is compliant. That woman goes along with it, 
and that woman is, therefore, along with the man to be executed. In verses 25 to 27, you have 
the rape of a betrothed woman in the countryside. So it's a 
different situation. She is violated. She is forced 
into this. So when we look at our particular 
passage, I would argue that the woman, this slave woman in Leviticus 
19.20, does comply with the man who lay with her. Whoever lies 
carnally with a woman who is betrothed to a man as a concubine 
and who has not at all been redeemed nor given her freedom, for this 
there shall be scourging. Some commentators apply that 
only to the female, others to the male and to the female. For 
the sake of argument, I'll apply it to the male and the female. 
For this, there shall be scourging, but they shall not be put to 
death, because she was not free. So that's the difference in the 
application of this law. She was a slave. Now, we might 
think, well, that doesn't seem fair. I mean, if a man goes into 
a woman that is compliant, then both of them are to be executed. That shows the gravity of the 
sin, at least as far as he's concerned, because he's executed 
as a result. But in this particular instance 
with the slave girl, neither of them are executed. But the 
man is punished. The woman is punished. The difference 
again is the reality that she is a slave. In Deuteronomy 22, 
23 to 24, that woman is not a slave. That woman is betrothed to a 
husband. And again, she is compliant with 
the man that goes into her, and therefore both of them are to 
be executed. As I said, verses 25 to 27 deals 
with rape. The woman cries out, but there 
was nobody there to hear her, and so therefore only the man 
who engages in the rape is actually executed for his crime. But back 
to Leviticus 19, again, this may seem harsh to us. It may 
sound untoward to us. It may sound a bit vicious to 
us. But she is not liable to execution. She's not free. And as a result, she's not punished 
as a free woman would have been. If she was free, she would have 
been executed for this particular crime. But because she's a slave, 
there is this built-in, I guess we'd say, protection for her. 
in terms of this particular breach of covenant law. Now, as far 
as the man is concerned, notice the punishment with reference 
to his sin in verses 21 and 22. And he shall bring his trespass 
offering to the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, 
a ram as a trespass offering. Remember that the sin offering 
was most likely for unintentional sin. The trespass offering was 
for intentional sin. This was an intentional sin. 
Whoever lies carnally with a woman who is betrothed to a man as 
a concubine and who has not at all been redeemed nor given her 
freedom. So this man has to offer up a sacrifice. So he takes his 
sacrifice and he brings it to the door of the tabernacle of 
meeting and it's a ram as a trespass offering. It's a very significant 
offering. Again, it shows the gravity of 
the nature of his sin and crime. And then it says, the priest 
shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass 
offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed, 
and the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him. So this 
is indeed a sin, and this is indeed a situation that necessitates 
a costly sacrifice on his part. And then notice still under this 
mixed breeding is the instruction concerning fruit in the promised 
land in verses 23 to 25. When you come into the land and 
have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count 
their fruit as uncircumcised or unclean. I think that's the 
emphasis there. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised 
to you, it shall not be eaten." So when you come into the land 
of Canaan, which again reiterates the promise, this is where they're 
heading, this is not a mystery, nobody's kind of wondering, where 
are we supposed to go from here? God had promised to Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob that he was going to give them a land. And 
so they're at Sinai now. They're getting this law. They're 
getting this instruction. After Leviticus is over, we get 
to the book of Numbers. And then they go and they start 
their journey in the wilderness. Now, it's ultimately the second 
generation that enters into the land of promise. But this is 
the law code. So for three years, you shall 
treat it as uncircumcised. It shall not be eaten. But in 
the fourth year, all its fruits shall be holy, a praise to the 
Lord." So you dedicate it to God Almighty. Proverbs 3, 9 and 
10 says, honor the Lord with your possessions and with the 
first fruits of all your increase. So your barns will be filled 
with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine. Now, 
we're not supposed to take a statement like that and say, well, in order 
to actually get good things, I need to give. It's just the 
commensurate blessing of God. When you honor the Lord with 
your wealth, God is good, and God oftentimes returns to you 
an abundant harvest or blessing. So we don't give to get, but 
we give to obey God. And in that obedience to God, 
God very often blesses us in kind, and he returns good things 
to us. And then the fifth year they 
get to eat. So verse 25, and in the fifth year, you may eat 
its fruit that it may yield to you its increase. I am the Lord 
your God. Now that brings us then to the 
prohibition against pagan practices in verses 26 to 28. Again, these 
are all sort of bunched together, so we conclude that it's dealing 
with one particular theme. I'm going to argue that way with 
reference to verses 29 and 30 as well. It's not just a random 
statement in verse 30 in terms of Sabbath-keeping, it is a corrective 
to the violation of verse 29. So, but back to verses 26 to 
28, you shall not eat anything with the blood. Now, there's 
already been that prohibition in Leviticus up to this point. 
Leviticus chapter 17, they are prohibited from ingesting blood. Most likely, the emphasis here 
is blood used in pagan rituals. Blood used in pagan rituals. Matthew Poole explains it this 
way. The Jews write that the Egyptians 
and other nations, when they offered sacrifices to the devils, 
did eat part of the sacrifices beside the blood which was kept 
in basins for that end. which also they believed to be, 
as it were, the special food of the devils. They would literally 
eat right over basins of blood. That's not just some old Puritan 
commentator. This is what the moderns tell 
us as well. He was just shorter and more succinct and briefer 
in terms of that particular practice. So again, the general prohibition 
against ingesting blood in Leviticus 17, but here in verses 26 to 
28, we have specific things that the pagans, that the heathens 
did. And this is what God is cautioning 
them against. Again, if you're eating blood 
the way the pagans do, it won't be long before you're worshipping 
the gods of the pagans. Same as we trace through this. 
Notice, you shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall 
you disfigure the edges of your beard. Most likely a pagan project. It wasn't, you know, I want you 
just to look differently for the sake of looking differently. 
The emphasis is most likely on a pagan practice. As is verse 
28, you shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, probably 
mourning rites that the pagans engaged in, nor tattoo any marks 
on you. I am the Lord. And so the significance 
of the ritual there specifically in verse 28 is seen, for the 
dead. You shall not make these cuttings 
in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am 
the Lord. I think the idea is that the 
pagans engaged in these particular things in association with the 
worship of their gods, the sacrifice to their gods, and therefore 
the children of Israel are being told not to do that. When you 
go into the land, you may say, well, I'm not gonna actually 
worship their gods. Well, if you participate with them in 
that act, it won't be long before you are bowing down to their 
gods. Now notice third, the prohibition 
against sacred prostitution in verses 29 and 30. I think the prostitution there 
is most likely sacred in the sense of temple prostitution. Temple prostitution. When you 
move into the land of Canaan, when Baal becomes that sort of 
object of worship, we heard an explanation of this on Sunday 
night, the way that the worshipers of Baal engaged in worship was 
to fornicate. It was to copulate, and it was 
to try and entice Baal and his consort to do likewise and then 
fertilize the ground, fertilize the land. It was a rite that 
was employed in order to worship their gods. And so the emphasis 
in verse 29, do not prostitute your daughter to cause her to 
be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry. Now, that's a 
general principle as well. Obviously, you're not supposed, 
well, I'm not bringing her up for harlotry in the temple, so 
it's okay. No, no, that's not what I'm suggesting. But the connection to verse 30. We've already had a statement 
concerning Sabbath keeping, specifically in verse 3. Notice, every one 
of you shall revere his mother and his father and keep my Sabbaths. 
I am the Lord your God. The fact that verse 30 comes 
again, you shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary. I 
am the Lord. I take that as the corrective 
to verse 29. Do not prostitute your daughter 
to cause her to be a harlot and to fill the temples and the sanctuaries 
with that kind of conduct. as the pagan or the heathen do 
around you. You're not supposed to do that 
lest the land fall into harlotry, both physically, the act itself 
is wicked, but spiritually, the Bible identifies harlotry, spiritual 
harlotry, as turning from the living and true God and going 
after false gods, going after that which is not God. So verse 
30 is another reminder concerning the Sabbath, but in the connection 
to verse 29. We don't want the land to fall 
into harlotry and the land to become full of wickedness. What's 
a good protective? What's a good help? What's a 
good strengthening agent in terms of the body politic and their 
religious approach to life? Keep my Sabbaths and reverence 
my sanctuary. I am the Lord. In other words, 
the day of worship and the place of worship are to be revered 
by the people of God and kept pure for the purpose of the worship 
of God. Now notice, fourthly, the prohibition 
against necromancy. And again, this simply means 
to communicate with the dead. Verse 31. So we've already seen 
verse 26. Look back at verse 26. You shall 
not eat anything with the blood. I did sort of skip over. Nor 
shall you practice divination or soothsaying. So there's a 
prohibition against using means, things, tokens, weather patterns, 
clouds, whatever sorts of things that you can manipulate to try 
to engage in divination or soothsaying. Here in verse 31, it's specifically 
speaking about mediums and familiar spirits. So give no regard to 
mediums and familiar spirits. Do not seek after them. Notice, 
to be defiled by them, I am the Lord your God. This has a defiling 
effect upon the people of God. When you go after the pagans' 
sort of methods and gods and the manner in which they worship, 
that defiles. It doesn't leave you neutral. 
It doesn't just mean that you're not doing it right. It actually, 
you know, gives you a degree of degradation. And so that's 
the argument specifically here. Now, if you turn to the book 
of Deuteronomy, more of a sort of amplified version of this 
prohibition against soothsaying and against mediums and against 
necromancy and that sort of thing. So basically in Deuteronomy chapter 
18, the chapter is about the priest and the prophet in Israel. The priest and the prophet in 
Israel. Israel was not going to be like the nations around 
them. They weren't going to have soothsayers. They weren't going 
to have mediums. They weren't going to have necromancers. They 
weren't going to have, you know, holy dice. They weren't going 
to have sort of clouds or whatever it is that you might look at 
to try to, you know, divine what's going to happen. So in Deuteronomy 
chapter 18, you have first the provision for priests in verses 
1 to 8. Secondly, the prohibition of 
sorcery in verses 9 to 14. Notice, when you come into the 
land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not 
learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall 
not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter 
pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or 
a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one 
who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls 
up the dead. For all who do these things are 
an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations, 
the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall 
be blameless before the Lord your God, for these nations which 
you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners. 
But as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for 
you." One commentator on the book of Deuteronomy, or actually 
it was 1 Samuel, 1 Samuel chapter 28, David Samora says, the very 
need for such prohibitions is an indication that the problem 
of necromancy and of religious practices related to the dead 
was widespread in ancient Canaan. In other words, when you read 
all these warnings, it's not God just being a killjoy. God's 
just trying to regulate and rule every jot and tittle of your 
life because he hates you. No, this is what you're going 
to face. You faced it in Egypt. God's delivered you out of Egypt. 
Now you're coming into the land of Canaan. There's going to be 
a lot of rivals, a lot of rival deities, a lot of rival worship 
practices, a lot of things that if you are not careful, that 
will damn your soul. So you need to be very careful 
and very cautious. So there's this provision for 
priests, verses 1 to 8, the prohibition of sorcery, verses 9 to 14, and 
then the promise of a prophet to come in verses 15 to 19. This 
establishes the prophetic class with specific emphasis on the 
terminus of the prophetic ministry, which is our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Notice in chapter 18 at verse 15, the Lord your God will raise 
up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren, 
him you shall hear. When on the Mount of Transfiguration, 
when the Lord Jesus, as it were, blazed forth in His glory, the 
divine testimony came, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am 
well pleased. And then what were the next two 
words? Hear Him. So you've got Moses and Elijah 
there, and now they see the blazing glory of Jesus Christ, and the 
Father says, hear him. Not don't care about Moses and 
get rid of Elijah, but he was identifying the prophet of Deuteronomy 
18.15 was now standing right before their eyes. So there's 
this terminus in the Lord Jesus Christ, but this establishes 
the succession of the prophetic ministry. Verse 16, according 
to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day 
of the assembly saying, let me not hear again the voice of the 
Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore lest I die. And then verses 20 to 22 speak 
concerning the penalty for the false prophet. The penalty for 
the false prophet, that's death. I mean, they took religious heresy 
seriously back in the day. There was no toleration for false 
prophets. You were executed. If you claim 
to be speaking in the name of God, and you said something that 
didn't come out to be right, or even if you said something 
that was right, but it was in the name of another god, Deuteronomy 
13, you're still subject to execution for that blasphemy. So there 
is this condemnation of sorcery, soothsaying, necromancy, mediums, 
witchcraft, all throughout the Bible. And there's that interesting 
case in 1 Samuel 28. You can turn there. 1 Samuel 
chapter 28, a very sad passage of scripture. for Saul. I mean, it's instructive for 
us, but for Saul, it's pathetic. Absolutely, positively pathetic. He needs a word from Anai as 
to whether or not to go into battle. And of course, God's 
not speaking to him anymore because he's cut himself off. And so 
he seeks out the witch at Endor. And when we look at this particular 
passage, we'll notice that she does bring something up. Now, 
some suggest it really is Samuel, others suggest that it's not 
Samuel. The point is that something was 
there. So notice, specifically at verse 
12, When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. 
And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why have you deceived 
me? For you are Saul. And the king said to her, Do 
not be afraid, what did you see? And the woman said to Saul, I 
saw a spirit ascending out of the earth. So he said to her, 
What is his form? And she said, An old man is coming 
up, and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was 
Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed 
down. Now Samuel said to Saul, Why 
have you disturbed me by bringing me up? And Saul answered, I am 
deeply distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and God 
has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither 
by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore, I have called you 
that you may reveal to me what I should do. Now, here's the 
point. Again, whether you identify it 
as Samuel or you do not, that's not the point for right now. 
The point is simply this. God doesn't condemn these practices 
because they don't work. Never forget that. There are 
weird things that happen. There are strange phenomena. 
When you read through scripture, in fact, that Deuteronomy 13 
passage, a false prophet may actually do or engage in signs 
and wonders. But if he's speaking in the name 
of a false god, he's still supposed to be executed. But it's not 
a denial that he has this ability. The magicians at the time of 
Moses, now was this a supernatural or just a sort of a natural manipulation? There are strange phenomena that 
happen. Davis makes the observation, So the argument isn't don't do 
these things because you'll never get an answer. The argument is 
don't do these things because it's an abomination to the Lord. 
Israel was to be spoken to by the prophet. Israel was to speak 
to God through the priesthood. Israel was to have that divine 
ministry or that ministry divinely appointed by God, not soothsayers 
and fortune tellers and witches at end doors. It's important 
that we understand that. And then the emphasis in verse 
31 is to be defiled by them. Trot with godless things produces 
bad things in the soul of a man. There is degradation that results 
from contact with those things that are godless in and of themselves. Notice then, fifthly, the responsibility 
to honor the elderly. This, by the way, isn't confined 
to the Old Testament ceremonial law. Well, it prefigured Jesus. 
Jesus is here. Now we can sit on the bus while 
the old guy has to stand there hanging on. Get up. Honor the 
presence of the whore he had. We see this repeated in 1 Timothy 
chapter 5, specifically at verses 1 and 2. Timothy's not supposed 
to rebuke an older man. He's supposed to treat him with 
love and esteem and respect. And again, this is a carryover 
from the middle section here in Leviticus 19. We saw specifically 
in Leviticus 19, verses 9 to 18, the emphasis on neighborly 
love. We saw an emphasis there on not 
doing things that would degrade the weak. Look specifically at 
verse 14. You shall not curse the deaf 
nor put a stumbling block before the blind. but shall fear your 
God, I am the Lord." Same emphasis here in verse 32. You shall rise 
before the gray-headed and honor the presence of an old man, and 
then notice, and fear your God. I suggest those things go hand-in-hand. 
When you got a culture like ours where courtesy is gone, where 
there's just absolute wretchedness and lawlessness at the level 
of basic decency, that's a nation of people that don't fear God. The fear of God brings us to 
that place where we esteem our superiors, where we revere the 
older men among us and the older women, where we give up our bus 
seat, where we do those kinds of things that serve and help 
facilitate for the weak or the marginalized. So we're supposed 
to see here this respect and esteem given to our elders. And 
then same principle applied to the stranger in verses 33 and 
34. If a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not 
mistreat him. Well, he's a stranger and typically 
the idea being is a resident alien, a man that's entered into 
the body politic. He has taken on him whatever, 
you know, the specific responsibilities are in terms of that body politic. Therefore, you're not supposed 
to mistreat him. If he has proselytized his way in, in terms of religion, 
then he is your equal. If he has come in just because 
he wants to live with you in the land that the Lord is giving 
you, then treat him still with respect. In Exodus chapter 12, 
we find that the people that come out of the Exodus wasn't 
just Israelites. In Exodus 12, 38, it says, a 
mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds, 
a great deal of livestock. So it wasn't just Israelites. 
So Israelites are told that you need to treat the stranger, the 
resident alien in your midst with that love and respect. Verse 
34, the stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born 
among you, and you shall love him as yourself. And then notice 
the argument, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the 
Lord your God. Now, they weren't supposed to 
conclude, well, we weren't treated well when we were strangers in 
the land of Egypt. Brethren, the golden rule isn't 
do unto others as they have proven to do unto you. I think we mess 
up there. We do unto others as we want 
them to do to us, even if they don't, right? Isn't that the 
rule? It's not only treat somebody 
with the kind of respect that you want if they do it reciprocally. No, you do to others what you 
want them to do to you, irrespective of whether they do it to you 
or not. So the Israelites weren't able to say, well, you know, 
we were strangers and we got treated pretty poorly. There 
was Sion, there was Og, these guys were just horrible people, 
filthy masters, all that sort of thing. No, you treat them 
in a manner that is consistent with the law of God because God 
has treated you well when you were strangers. And then finally, 
notice the necessity of fair trade. We've already seen in 
terms of the judicial court an emphasis on no injustice in judgment. If you look back at verse 15, 
you shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial 
to the poor nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness 
you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go about as a tailbearer, 
probably not basic garden variety gossip, but tailbearer in terms 
of a civil court proceeding or criminal court proceeding. Nor 
shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor. Probably 
the idea being is that you've got a big mouth outside the courtroom 
and that could jeopardize your neighbor. So we see it there 
in the judiciary. Here we see it in verse 35, connected 
to trade. So you shall do no injustice 
in judgment, and then that's elucidated or it's explained 
or amplified in measurement of length, weight, or volume. You 
shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and 
an honest end. I am the Lord your God who brought 
you out of the land of Egypt. Again, brethren, we don't say, 
well, that's ceremonial, it's done now, so we can rip our neighbors 
off. No, as the Confession says, partly 
holding forth divers instructions of moral duties. Those moral 
duties do not get suspended in the fulfillment of the ceremonial 
law. Those moral duties can be traced 
back to the Ten Commandments of God, and specifically here, 
the prohibition against theft. So you shall do no injustice 
in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. You 
shall have honest scales, honest weights, honest ephah, and an 
honest hand. I am the Lord your God who brought 
you out of the land of Egypt." In other words, when we come 
to this land of Canaan, this land of promise, once we dispossess 
all the rabble, then we're supposed to function in a manner that's 
consistent with the law of God? We're not supposed to cheat one 
another. We're not supposed to lie against each other. We're not 
supposed to rip one another off. And so therefore, verse 37, you 
shall observe all my statutes and all my judgments and perform 
them. I am the Lord. Now it's here 
that we'll obviously see that with many of these things, there 
would be the inability on the part of the children of Israel. 
So we've got the threefold division of the law. Then there's the 
three uses of the law. And the first use is to restrain 
the wickedness of men. The second is to tutor them or 
show them their need for the Savior. And then the third is 
the normative. How does a saved man live? Well, 
that pedagogical or child tutor function is all throughout the 
Old Testament law. These laws were designed to restrain 
the people, these laws were designed to govern the remnant who were 
walking by faith in the Son of God, but they as well were to 
teach the people their need for the Savior, for the Lord Jesus 
Christ, because they themselves could not obey. They themselves 
would not fulfill what they swore to do in Exodus 24, all that 
the Lord commands we will do. So this law-breaking or this 
reality that they would face would always impress upon them 
the need for the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the 
world. Well, let us close in a word of prayer. Our Father 
in heaven, thank you for your word. Thank you for the book 
of Leviticus. for the various laws that we find there. We know 
ultimately these laws show us our own sin and it shows us our 
need for the Savior. And we thank you that he was 
the perfect law keeper. We thank you that he was the 
substitute and the sacrifice on the cross. We thank you for 
his resurrection that third day and for his current session now. 
And we pray that his gospel would be proclaimed throughout the 
earth and many more people would come to a saving knowledge of 
him. And we just ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Amen. Well, any questions or comments? Comments, preferably. Yes? What is the relationship between 
an animal with something not of our type? Does that mean they 
can't breed like a horse or a donkey or a mule? There's a few mule 
examples in the Bible. What's that? There are a few 
mule examples in the Bible. Oh, I know, I know, I know. Yeah, 
I'm not Rabbi Butler. You'll find some. Jewish synagogue, I'm kidding. Yeah, 
that's how it appears. Again, I think they probably 
understood it a lot more than I did, but good observation. The other comment that I would 
kind of open my eyes and be able to see that God lets things happen 
with the pagan rituals, that we think, oh, that's a hogwash, 
whatever, but it's actually that they get their results, but it's 
just wicked. And further, yeah. We think, 
oh, nothing happens. Things do. Things do, huh? I 
know. Oh, yeah.