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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'I am the Lord your God. 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. You must obey My laws and be careful to follow My decrees. I am the Lord your God. Keep My decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.’
'No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord.”
'Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.’
‘Do not have sexual relations with your father's wife; that would dishonor your father.’
'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.
‘Do not have sexual relations with your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; that would dishonor you.’
‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father's wife, born to your father; she is your sister.’
‘Do not have sexual relations with your father's sister; she is your father's close relative.’
‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative.’
‘Do not dishonor your father's brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.’
‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife; do not have relations with her.’
‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother's wife; that would dishonor your brother.’
‘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.’
‘Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.’
‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.’
‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor's wife and defile yourself with her.’
‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.’
‘Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.’
‘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.’
‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you must keep My decrees and My laws. The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things, for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.’
‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people. Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.'"
Leviticus 18
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
One of the biggest challenges we face in our Christian walk is resisting worldly influence. For as we go through life trying to live in accordance with God’s standards and expectations, we’re doing so immersed in a world that runs completely counter to Him.
If God says not to do something, you can bet you’ll encounter someone who is living for the world and its ways, not hesitating to disobey His expectations with every opportunity. For when it comes right down to it, the ways of the world are the ways of Satan, who is always at work to lead the world astray (Revelation 12:9). The scriptures make it clear that the enemy’s wisdom in completely unspiritual in nature (James 3:15) and yet so many people submit to it, ever moving further and further away from holiness and righteousness toward sinfulness and wickedness.
The people of Israel had the same problem and it caused major issues for them, severely damaging their relationship with God. Looking at the history of the Israelite people, we see where they willingly adopted the sinful practices of other cultures and in doing so, violated God’s commands and the covenant He had made with them. This is why we find the Lord commanding His people "not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live” or adopting the practices of “the land of Canaan” where He was leading them. God went onto forbid the Israelites from following the wicked practices of other pagan nations, demanding that His people obey His laws and follow His decrees.
Indeed, the key for the Israelites was to live in obedience, being faithful to their God while seeking and then carrying out His will for their lives. Unfortunately, they didn’t exactly comply with God’s mandate.
With this as a backdrop, let’s now go back to our passage for today where we find God telling the Israelites how they were to conduct themselves in regard to sexual relations and the abhorrent practice of sacrificing children. Look again at His words here for they still are applicable to us today:
‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways (the ways listed in Chapter 18) because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things, for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people.’
The bottom line here is that any sexual immorality or child sacrificing was not only forbidden but considered detestable by the Lord, and rightfully so. Anyone committing these offenses could expect harsh punishment to include the Lord having the land vomit the offender out just as deplorable nations had been vomited out prior.
Indeed, God was going to drive out all the nations who would hinder His people from inheriting the land He had set aside for them but we also know that things got to a place where the Lord’s wrath and punishment rained down on the Israelites in a big way through two acts of exile, the first to Assyria followed by a seventy year captivity in Babylon. The Lord certainly would make good on His Word to His people and vomit them out of their lands over sinful acts that had defiled them and activated His wrath.
Through all this, we are reminded of one important truth to remember. For our Lord will always keep His word when He says something, bringing blessings to the obedient and judgment to those who live for the world and the enemy’s ways.
So this brings us to some important questions:
If the Lord were to assess our lives, would He see us striving to live in accordance with His will and way...or would He see us turning from Him and living for the world?
How would the Lord grade each of us on His obedience scale?
Are we being adversely influenced by non-believing people of the world to the point where we relate to them and their worldly sinful standards more than we side with God, His Holy Spirit, and those believers who commit themselves to His righteous ways?
Friends, there should be no question what we should do. For if the Lord says we are to do something, then we need to obey. Period. No more explanation is needed.
If we do this, if we choose complete compliance with the Lord’s Word and will, then we can ensure that we are living in a way that pleases Him and developing the kind of life behavior He wants every believer to adopt.
I don’t know about you but I would much rather live in God’s favor than be in a place of enmity with Him. We can always find ourselves in this place if while living in this world, we choose to not be of it, instead living for the Lord and His ways with every waking moment until He calls us out of the earth to abide with Him forever.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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