Leviticus 19:29-37– Practises that God’s people should avoid (2)

In our previous discussion in Leviticus 19:19-28, we discovered a list of actions God’s people must observe. They were not to crossbreed animals, or plant two kinds of grain in the same field; or mixing cotton linen with other material. We surmised that God wants His people to live simply and be single-minded in their commitment to Him. Then there was the call not to violate one’s maid who had already been promised in marriage to someone. Then the eating of anything with blood was forbidden. We also saw how God said about not practicing what Pagans commonly would do such as divination, sorcery, unusual mourning rites and mutilating one’s body on behalf of the dead. In Leviticus 19:29-36 we shall explore the remaining of the list of actions God’s people were told not to engage in.

Verse 29 warned against prostituting one’s daughter. This was to prevent religious prostitution. This probably won’t make sense to us without the context. The fertility teaching of the Canaanites asserted that productiveness of the land, animals or themselves depended on arousing the gods into having sexual relations.  So, in order to induce their gods into sexual activities, they would have sex with a prostitute to cause those deities to be aroused. To engage in such practice would lead to widespread immorality in the land God had promised them. More than about prostitution and lewdness, God was dealing with the human tendency of being influenced into venerating other gods. Hence it makes perfect sense to see why verse 30 called for them to keep the Sabbath. In all these, we become aware of God’s desire for us to worship and honor only Him by being focused.   

In verse 31 God warned them against consulting the dead through a medium. People who engaged in such practice were barred from the worship of the true God. The LORD then proceeded to tell them not to disrespect the elderly in verse 32 but instead, to honor them. Simultaneous to showing respect to the elderly, God’s people must also walk in the fear of the Lord.  Verses 33-34 detailed that they must not ill-treat foreigners who would reside with them. Their own experience in Egypt should cause them not to ill-treat others. To ensure that His people live with integrity, God forbade them from cheating in their business dealings with others. They must not cheat in weight or measurement. In all these, we can see that our God is faithful and just. He expects us to emulate Him and be people known for our single-minded love for Him. We must always remember that whatever we do reflects our relationship with Him. The call is for us to ensure that we honor God and testify to His faithfulness in our conduct. We must, therefore, seek to be truthful in all that we do, and in so doing show reverence for the LORD our God.