Leviticus 19:1-8 – The call to honoring God and parents

The foundation for the instruction of the Lord through Moses to the people rested on verse 2. It reads, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord  your God am holy.” This truth was to embrace every area of His people’s life. Leviticus 19 shows how the Ten Commandments should be applied in the life of God’s people practically. Their conduct in living out the Ten Commandments should demonstrate their relationship with the Lord. We see this frequently repeated in the common refrain found throughout this chapter. God reminded His people with these two phrases: “I am the Lord  your God.” and “I am the Lord .” Here in Leviticus 19, God has stipulated what He requires of His people. Holiness must be the standard for the conduct and behavior of God’s people. In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus puts in this way in Matthew 5:48, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”      

Here in these eight verses, the call of God to holy living defines two fundamental duties for His people to observe. Firstly, God’s people must honor their parents The reason for the call to honor one’s parent was a logical one. Since the first people that any child would be introduced to God in a believer’s community would be the parents. Notice that the mother is mentioned before the father. The order is reversed from that given in the Ten Commandments. It is probably because the mothers were usually the ones nurturing the children in the formative years of their lives. It behooves us therefore as parents to do our best to inculcate God’s holy standards into the lives of our children.   

Secondly, they must honor God. In verses 3-5, we see three aspects of honoring God defined. They are to keep the Sabbath (verse 3), then they must avoid idolatry (verse 4) and finally, they must observe the peace offering (verses 5-8). Keeping the Sabbath is a key, the day we must keep in honor of God. In so doing we recalibrate our life so that we can stay in tune with Him for the rest of the week. We should make it a habit to dedicate our rest day to the Lord. Then we must be careful not to place anything above our love for God. If we do, the things we love above God would soon become our idols. We must be careful what we give priority to over God. The call to observe the peace offering is a call to live a life of thanksgiving for the bountiful grace showered on us.  Remember, we are called to give thanks in everything, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us. So, let us honor God in our works and conduct!