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The Death Penalty and God’s Mercy

Thank God, Yours Was Commuted

So how do you wring an uplifting devotional out of this Leviticus 24 discussion of the death penalty in biblical times? Well, God loves peace and harmony among his children, and necessary to this is punishment for crime. But more than that, God desires peace and harmony between his children and himself, and necessary to this is punishment for the sin that prevents it. In that sense, since we’re all hopelessly marred by sin in the presence of an altogether holy God, we all deserve the death penalty, don’t we? But praise the Lord, in the greatest act of loving kindness and mercy ever seen, God himself stepped in and offered his Son to suffer the capital punishment you and I justly deserved. That truly is the mercy and grace and the indescribable love of a just God at its most stunning! Jesus paid a debt he did not owe for a debt we could not pay. And I don’t say this lightly, but for that, we owe an eternal debt of gratitude.

The Journey// Focus: Leviticus 24:17-22

Anyone who takes another person’s life must be put to death. Anyone who kills another person’s animal must pay for it in full—a live animal for the animal that was killed. Anyone who injures another person must be dealt with according to the injury inflicted—a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whatever anyone does to injure another person must be paid back in kind. Whoever kills an animal must pay for it in full, but whoever kills another person must be put to death. This same standard applies both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.

Perhaps Leviticus 24 would be an appropriate time for me to do a devotional on the death penalty—although you might consider the juxtaposition of “death penalty” and “devotional” a bit of an oxymoron—but that is not what I think this section of scripture is primarily about. More on that in a moment.

But let me just say that any believer who holds a high view of Scripture (which every believer should, by the way) who offers a glib argument either for or against capital punishment probably needs to carefully and empathetically read, re-read and prayerfully reflect on the seriousness of this account. Mostly, Leviticus is didactic—God is instructing his people on how to live in holiness. This chapter, however, includes one of the few narratives in Leviticus—it tells a real story of a real human situation. And while I won’t get into it here, grasping the context of this drama is necessary to reaching any conclusions about the death penalty from Leviticus 24.

The death penalty, whether you are for it or against it—involves real human tragedy and is connected to human suffering at its most painful. Someone did something so heinous to another human being that it required death at the hands of the state. And someone was victimized so terribly that it will forever mark his or her life. And two families were forced into a trauma they didn’t ask for and for which they cannot simply “take an aspirin and call the doctor in the morning.” This will be with them forever. And in this case, the witnesses to the crime actually had to lay hands on the guilty party’s head—there was no anonymous tip line here—and representatives of the witnessing community had to actually throw the stones that crushed the man’s skull. This was tragic as well as gruesome.

The death penalty might be easy to debate academically, but the reality of taking another person’s life as punishment, rightly or wrongly, will turn the stomach of any person with normal human empathy. Not that I am recommending this, but if you don’t believe me, watch one of the many videos that are now a part of our online living that shows a Middle Eastern stoning for adultery or some other crime. But I want to give you fair warning: it is not pretty and it will turn your stomach in a way that will affect you for a long time.

And one more thing about this chapter as it relates to any death penalty argument: God commanded it! This was not just a human construct; it originated with the Almighty. There is no getting around that. Something so egregious to a holy God took place that the Lord himself issued the death warrant.

Now, does that amount to God’s tacit approval for capital punishment in today’s society? Maybe—he did order it, after all. But maybe not, because we don’t execute every punishment that God ordered against sin in Old Testament in our current culture. We don’t stone adulterers today, nor do we execute those who blaspheme their parents, do we? My point is, using this chapter to argue a pro death penalty position will be fraught with inconsistencies. So take care.

Let me offer this broader insight into what is going on here by quoting from the Expositor’s Bible Commentary:

The stoning of the blasphemer is taken as the occasion for the summation of the principles of justice. Here again the principle of lex talionis or retaliation is stated as a form of justice. The principle similarly appears in Exodus 21:23-25 and Deuteronomy 19:21. Christ quoted the law in Matthew 5:38-42 and seems to have opposed it, though he was actually not contradicting the OT but was denouncing the Pharisaic use of these verses to justify personal revenge. It is another question whether this law was taken literally or is an emphatic statement of the principle that the punishment must fit the crime. If a man killed a beast, his own beast was not killed (Leviticus 24:21). There is no example in the OT of a judge exacting literally an eye for an eye. The usual penalties of Hebrew law were capital punishment for a limited number of serious offenses and fines and restitution for the remainder. There were no prisons in the early days, and none is mentioned in the Pentateuchal legislation. Apparently we have here an emphatic legal idiom meaning that the punishment must be commensurate with the offense.

The larger point to this tragic human story is that God cares deeply about justice—both in his spiritual family and in the family of mankind. This law established here, referred to as lex talionis, is foundational to the principle of justice that govern our civilized world, and that is simply this: the penalty must fit the crime. If there is too much or if there is too little by way of punishment, the state, which is God’s instrument of justice (see Romans 6:3-5) is guilty of a grave miscarriage of justice.

So here is where the devotional gets wrung out of a death penalty discussion: God loves peace and harmony among his children, and necessary to this is punishment for crime. But more than that, God desires peace and harmony between his children and himself, and necessary to this is punishment for the sin that prevents it. In that sense, we all deserve the death penalty for sin, don’t we? But praise the Lord, in the greatest act of loving kindness and mercy ever seen, God himself stepped in and offered his Son to suffer the capital punishment you and I justly deserved.

That truly is the mercy and grace and the indescribable love of a just God at its most stunning! Jesus paid a debt he did not owe for a debt we could not pay. And I don’t say this lightly, but for that, we owe an eternal debt of gratitude.

Going Deeper: Offer up a heartfelt prayer of gratitude to God that he commuted your death sentences.

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You Need Some Rest!

Ignore Sabbath At Your Own Peril

As New Testament believers, we are no longer under the Old Testament law. Our salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus, not of religious works and rule keeping. As such, we are not required to rigidly observe the Sabbath each Saturday or to ritually celebrate the Biblical feasts throughout the calendar year. But the spirit of renewal that these holy days represented is still alive and well in our Christian faith, so if you want to be alive and well as a follower of Jesus, you would be wise to carve out for yourself a regular rhythm to recalibrate your life – body, mind and spirit.

The Journey // Focus: Leviticus 23:1-3

The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as official days for holy assembly. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the Lord’s Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live.

We are no longer under the Old Testament law. Our salvation is by grace through faith, not of works, so we are not required to woodenly observe the Sabbath each Saturday or to religiously celebrate the Biblical feasts throughout the calendar year. But the spirit of renewal that these holy days represented is still alive and well in our New Testament faith, so if you want to be alive and well as a follower of Jesus, you would do well to carve out for yourself a regular rhythm of renewal.

Even Jesus practiced this rhythm of renewal. Mark 6:31-32 tells us,

Because so many people were coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn’t even have time to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they left in a boat to a solitary place.

Now we are not told what Jesus and the disciples did when got there, but we do know this:

  • They ceased their normal activity
  • They retreated from the demands of people
  • They set aside a specific time and place for quiet
  • They were with Jesus in an undivided way

And that rhythm of renewal resulted in rest. That same rhythm will work for us; it’s how we can abide in Christ: pausing from routine; scheduling time and place for solitude; giving access into our lives to Jesus. That’s a simple but sure template, if you need one.

Now let me hasten to clarify some things about abiding in Christ, and its importance to New Testament faith:

First, renewal does not mean an absence of busyness or the rejection of work. Jesus was often busy; but he was never hurried. Being busy is an outer condition—it’s external; being hurried is a sickness of the soul—it is internal. For Jesus, life was full and his schedule demanding, but he never allowed himself to be forced into a pace that squeezed his access to his Father.

Strenuous effort and urgent devotion to our work along with the satisfaction of achievement are part of the divine glory in being human. So abiding in Christ isn’t about quitting work and retreating to a commune. It’s about carving out then fiercely protecting “God-time” in your busy world. We are living in a demanding age—and it is going to stay that way. But we can reject hurry sickness by practicing an unforced life.

Second, renewal is a part of the very nature of God in whose image we’ve been created. Genesis 2:2-3 says, “On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And he blessed that seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.”

Notice how this rhythm was fleshed out in God’s life because it shows us what we are to do in this time we set aside for renewal:

One, God rested. When he came to the end of this very aggressive project of creating the universe, God relaxed! And by that, the intentional act of rest was declared holy and made bless-able. Why did he rest? Was he tired? No! God rested, in part, to give us an example of how our lives are to be ordered. Theologian B.B. Warfield wrote, “He who needed no rest, rested from His work…that by His example he might woo man to his needed rest.”

Two, God reflected. He paused to notice. There’s a three-line refrain repeated throughout Genesis 1: “And God said… and it was so… and God saw that it was good.” At the end of every activity and the end of each day, he paused to review and said, “That’s awesome.” Whatever he creates is inherently perfect—so what’s the point of reflecting? Well, God just seems to really enjoy remembering the thrill of making it. And by that he shows reflection must be part of our lives, too. Creating space for noticing instigates holiness, depth, gratitude—and health in our being.

Three, God recreated. It was his recess; it was time to play and enjoy what he’d just created. Psalm 104 says, “He makes clouds his chariot. He rides on the wings of the wind. He grasps lightening in his hand and commands it to strike its mark, and it always does.” Doesn’t that sound like God thoroughly enjoys being God? He likes his work, so he plays. And he modeled it so we’d include it in our renewal. C.S. Lewis was right,

Our leisure, even our play, is a matter of serious concern.

Jesus says in John 15:4, “Abide in me, as I abide in you.” Without a rhythm of renewal, work reminds us that this world demands our sweat; but by abiding—resting, reflecting, recreating—we’re reminded that our soul belongs to Someone and someplace else.

“Abide in me,” Jesus says. “Come away with me.” That’s not only a command, it’s an invitation—and it requires a choice on your part. Will you? Dallas Willard said,

It is the responsibility of every believer to carve out a satisfying life under the loving rule of God, or sin will start to look good!

Jesus invites you to come away with him from the busyness of life and the bondage of hurriedness for a satisfying renewal of your soul. Will you? Will you honor a regular rhythm of renewal in your life?

If you want to really live, you’ve got to make that choice!

Going Deeper: Review your calendar. Do you honor God throughout your day, week or month by setting aside dedicated time for resting, reflecting and recreating? If you don’t, you know what to do: make the choice!

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The Incompatibility Of Taking The Lord’s Name In Vain and Authentic Faith

Profanity Ain’t What It Used To Be - It's Much Worse

Profanity ain’t what it used to be—it’s much worse. There was a day when you just didn’t say certain words; never in public and you do well not to even utter them in private. Especially verboten were words that cursed—showed impiety, irreverence and/or hostility to—God’s name. That day is long gone in our culture. Sadly, even among some believers bad words aren’t so bad anymore. Does God care any less today that his name be sanctified than he did when he gave laws and regulations about honoring it? I think not. His name is still holy, and last time I checked, “thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” is still in the Ten Commandments.

The Journey // Focus: Leviticus 22:32-33

Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who made you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.

Profanity ain’t what it used to be—it’s much worse. There was a day when you just didn’t say certain words; never in public and you do well not to even utter them in private. Especially verboten were words that cursed—showed impiety, irreverence and/or hostility to—God’s name.

That day is long gone in American culture. Sadly, I think even among believers bad words aren’t so bad anymore.

Does God care any less today that his name be sanctified among the people than he did when he gave laws and regulations about honoring it? I think not. His name is still holy, and last time I checked, “thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” is still in the Ten Commandments. Just because we rarely use the King James English to quote the Third Commandment, and just because God’s name is quoted as profanity, early and often, by those who disregard him, doesn’t mean God turns a blind eye.

While the immediate ramifications of profaning his name are not as visible and immediate today as they were when Exodus and Leviticus were written, the day will come—as in, the Day of the Lord—when every knee will bow and every tongue confess the name as holy. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess—whether in loving worship or in forced acknowledgement. That day is coming when once again the people of God, along with the whole realm of creation, will know that God holds his name as holy.

Now let me just be clear at this point that Leviticus 22 is sort of a summation of the whole thought of holiness. God is holy, there are ways to approach him in holiness that he requires, and he desires—no, demands—that his people be holy. This chapter is not speaking narrowly about using the Lord’s name to curse, it is about disobedience to his law as profaning his name. And that is serious business. But this general admonition also has some very specific applications for the people of God—as in profaning his name by the speech we use.

God cares about his name! Why? Among other reason, his name represents his identity—who he is, his character, namely, his complete holiness. It also represents his authority—the right to do what he wishes to do: create, rule, heal, deliver, provide, etc. Many names are given in the Old Testament that describe his authority, e.g., Yaweh Jireh, the God who provides, etc. His name is also one and the same with his power. That is why we are called to pray in his name:

Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. (John 16:24

For many reasons, God cares a great deal about his name being honored. And we should, too. And while I am not suggesting that we correct everybody that misuses it—that would be a full time, 24/7 job, these days, I am suggesting that those who are called by his name take great care how they use it. We are not to utter it as a swear word in an angry outburst, it must not spew forth uncontrollably from our lips when we stub our toe at night or smash our finger with a hammer, we should not use it as an exclamation in our excitement or even as a punctuation mark in our praying.

If we truly are to honor his name as holy and avoid profaning it, it is time that we return to a day that we now label as old fashion and outdated in order to recapture some of the reverence for his name that our parents, grandparents and Old Testament progenitors had.

Perhaps we should even consider breaking the habit of even uttering those seemingly harmless substitutes for God’s name—you know, “gosh darn” or “gee wiz” or, well, you get my drift.

My name is holy, so do not bring shame on it, the Lord declares.

Interestingly, Leviticus 22 begins and ends with the same demand from God: My name is holy, so do not profane it. So serious was God about his holy name that when either priest of people profaned it, either in a small matter or a large one, in an accidental way or flat-out deliberately, the violator was to be cut off from God and his people—either by deportation or by death. I would say that is pretty serious business!

Honestly, you and I would have been deported long ago from God’s presence for violating his holy name. Thank God for Jesus, the perfect sacrifice for our sin, through whom our lips are morphed from a mouthpiece of the profane to an instrument of praise. Now in gratitude for our salvation, the words of our mouth should pour forth continuous praise—not as a merit for salvation, but as a mark of it.

Going Deeper: Check your language. Do you honor God throughout the day, especially in the unguarded moments. If you don’t, ask the Lord to help you. Try praying Isaiah 6:5

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The Price of Holiness

Someone Bought It For You, Now Own It!

While we no longer live under the strict rule of the Levitical code, let’s never forget that God still requires a high price for our holiness. It is a price we couldn’t pay, so Jesus did. When we trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are cleared of the charges to our account. But still, our salvation was anything but free. Someone had to pay; Someone did.

The Journey// Focus: Leviticus 21:5-6

The Lord also said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. …You must be careful to keep all of my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the Lord.

Leviticus was so named because it had to do with the rules that God required his people to follow in order to walk before him in holiness—rules that were to be administered by the priests and Levites. Leviticus is a Latin phrase that means, “the book of the Levites.” However, if I were to give the book its name, I would simply call it, “the book of Holiness.”

Throughout Leviticus, in chapter after chapter, often in verse following verse, again and again God gave Moses clear and exacting instructions on what the Israelites were required to do now that they had been set apart as a holy nation unto a holy God. Holiness—that is the big deal in Leviticus. God is holy, and his people must be made holy and kept holy—even in the minutiae of their lives.

That included, especially, the priest. As you read this chapter, to be a high priest or a regular priest, there was an exceedingly high price to pay for a lifestyle of continual holiness unto the Lord. They couldn’t eat some things—ever; couldn’t touch certain things—ever; and couldn’t marry “those” women—ever. Even if things happened to them, due to no fault of they own—a birth defect, a chipped tooth, a debilitating injury or disease—they were disqualified. They had to be without defect. Their holiness demanded an impossibly high price.

So does yours and mine. The Bible says that without holiness, no one will see God. (Hebrews 12:1) The problem is, the price for holiness is too high for us. And even though we don’t live under the rules and regulations of holiness that were required of the Israelites, the price of holiness has not changed—the costs still have to be paid.

Have you ever owed something to someone you couldn’t pay, and they couldn’t or wouldn’t pay it for you, so someone else stepped in to foot the bill? Max Lucado tells a story that illustrates this:

He did for us what I did for one of my daughters in the shop at New York’s La Guardia Airport. The sign above the ceramic pieces read Do Not Touch. But the wanting was stronger than the warning, and she touched. And it fell. By the time I looked up, ten-year-old Sara was holding the two pieces of a New York City skyline. Next to her was an unhappy store manager. Over them both was the written rule. Between them hung a nervous silence. My daughter had no money. He had no mercy. So I did what dads do. I stepped in. “How much do we owe you?” I asked. How was it that I owed anything? Simple. She was my daughter. And since she could not pay, I did. Since you and I cannot pay, Christ did. We’ve broken so much more than souvenirs. We’ve broken commandments, promises, and, worst of all, we’ve broken God’s heart. But Christ sees our plight. With the law on the wall and shattered commandments on the floor, He steps near (like a neighbor) and offers a gift (like a Savior). What do we owe? We owe God a perfect life. Perfect obedience to every command. Not just the command of baptism, but the commands of humility, honesty, integrity. We can’t deliver. Might as well charge us for the property of Manhattan. But Christ can and he did. His plunge into the Jordan is a picture of His plunge into our sin. His baptism announces, “Let me pay.” (From Next Door Savior by Max Lucado)

Let’s never forget that God still requires a high price for our holiness. We couldn’t pay it, so Jesus did. And we are clear of the charges to our account when we trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.

But still, our salvation was anything but free. Someone had to pay; Someone did. And if you and I will never forget that, we will live out true holiness unto the Lord in the most beautiful, God-honoring way of all: through a life of organic gratitude to God for our gift of salvation through Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross.

Through Jesus, we meet the impossibly high cost of holiness unto the Lord!

Going Deeper: Holiness exacts an impossibly high payment. You couldn’t pay it so Jesus did. Offer him gratitude throughout the day—and every day for the rest of your life.

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Holiness: God Did His Part – Now Go Do Yours

You've Got To Work Out What God Has Worked In

We may be holy, but we have to walk in that holiness. That’s the part God asks us to play in the imputed holiness equation. God said to the Israelites, and by extension, he says to you and me, “Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord who makes you holy.” (Lev. 20:7) We have to live practically what God has done theologically, working out what God has worked in. In other words, we have to take what God has done and advance it in our daily lives. As God himself says “Set yourselves apart to be holy.”

The Journey // Focus: Leviticus 20:7-8

So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the Lord your God. Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord who makes you holy.

“Set yourselves apart to be holy.” That exhortation foreshadows what Paul taught in Philippians 2:12-13, “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”

God has done what only he can do—he has redeemed us and set us apart for his pleasure, purpose, and glory. He has made us holy. Positionally—that is our legal standing before the just God of the universe—we are as holy as we can ever be, because we stand in the imputed holiness of Jesus Christ.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Positionally, that is what we are—holy! Progressive holiness—now that is another story. But the good news is, God has empowered us to live up to Christ’s work of imputed holiness in our lives by placing within us his very own Holy Spirit—emphasis on “Holy”—to enable us to live in a way that pleases him.

We have a part to play in this: We may be holy, but we have to walk in it. We have to live practically what God has done theologically. We have to work out what God has worked in. We have to take what God has done and advance it in our daily lives.

We have been made holy—now we must choose the things that are consistent with holiness. We have been empowered to obey—we must choose obedience. We have been blessed—now we must choose to walk worthy of God’s blessings. God has worked, and is now working in us to give us not only the will to, but the want to live as his holy people.

Now we’ve got some working out and walking in to do!

Going Deeper: Here is a prayer for holiness that I am offering up today. I invite you to join me in it: “Dear Father, I thank you for the work of salvation and sanctification that you have performed in my life. You have gifted me righteousness and eternal life, and I will never get over that. You have also placed in my spirit the desire to walk worthy of your amazing grace and unending mercy. You have placed in my spirit your very own Spirit who gives me the will and the want to live a God-honoring life. It’s the moment-by-moment choices that I need to train on you. Even though I need to work out what you have already worked in, I would appeal for even more Presence and power so that increasingly, even my every thought and even the deepest core of my soul if set apart and lived out for your glory. Lord, I would pray that every grace of Christ would be a reflection that is seen in me. Help me in real and practical ways this very day to grow into greater Christ-likeness.”

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Love, Then Do What You Will

Love God: The Summation Of The Law

  1. It’s easy to get overwhelmed if you look at God’s law as a checklist for righteousness that is to be executed woodenly in your life. But there is another way, a simple way—not necessarily an easy way, but a simple way—to approach God’s requirements for righteous living. St. Augustine summed it up quite nicely: Just love—then do what you will.

The Journey // Focus: Leviticus 19:1-2, 3 7

The Lord also said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. …You must be careful to keep all of my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the Lord.

One of the great Christians of the early church era, Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo (in modern Algeria) preached a sermon in which he said, “Once and for all, I give you this one short command: love, and do what you will.” In my humble opinion, that is not only a great prescription for living a God-honoring life of great impact, it would make an apt title for anyone preaching Leviticus 19.

Between the first and last verses of this chapter, there are thirty distinct commands the Lord gave his people, by my count. The chapter opens with God saying to the Israelites, “I’m holy, so you be holy, too—and here’s how… (Leviticus 19:1) It ends with God capping off this Divine list of holy things for his people to do with, “carefully obey them down to the last detail—not just in thought, but in deed.” (Leviticus 19:37). Then right in the middle, literally, of these thirty demands, he again says, “these are important, so let me be clear: carefully and completely obey everything that I am telling you to do!” (Leviticus 19:18)

The list is comprehensive. Some of the commands are obvious requirements of righteousness. Some seem a bit arcane. It doesn’t matter what we think of them, if we like them, if we agree with them, they are God’s requirements for his people to distinguish themselves as set apart from the other people of the earth, to live in respectful relationship with each other, and to walk in purity before him.

It would be easy to get overwhelmed if you looked at this simply as a checklist for righteousness that was to be executed woodenly in our lives. But I think there is another way, a simple way—not necessarily an easy way, but a simple way—to approach these commands. Augustine summed it up quite nicely:

Just love. Then do what you will.

One month before his death at age 65, C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter addressed to a child, “If you continue to love Jesus, nothing much can go wrong with you, and I hope you may always do so.”

Love! Do that and you’ll be just fine—in this life and in the one to come. Just love God with all your heart, and when you do, you cannot help but love everybody else. Do that and you’ll fulfill all God’s requirements.

That’s great advice—and a pretty simple, not easy, but simple way to live an extraordinary life!

Going Deeper: Read over the list of required actions for righteous living in Leviticus 19. Of these thirty, what is one that you are prompted to highlight in your living today?

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Sexually Distinct

A Pure Sexuality Is Still A Powerful Witness

Knowing God’s design for human sexuality eliminates an “is this okay, is that not okay?” approach to moral purity. Whether you are single or married, when you pursue Creator’s call to purity, abstinence, and yes, even Christ-likeness in your sexuality, you become a compelling witness before a lost world of a loving God’s promise to bless his people’s obedience with abundance.

The Journey // Focus: Leviticus 18:1-6

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. I am the Lord your God. So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God.  If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord. You must never have sexual relations with a close relative, for I am the Lord.

Like the title of today’s devotional? I thought that would get your attention. But basically, that is what God is saying to the Israelites in this chapter: I want you to be sexually pure, unlike the nation from which you came (“where you used to live”), and the nations where you are headed (“where I am taking you”). Do not be like them (“You must not imitate their way of life”). Do not adapt their anything-goes approach to sexual fulfillment nor get enticed into their sexual lifestyles (“You must never have sexual relations with…”), it is a deathtrap—literally (“If you obey…you will find life”).

The chapter then lists out specifically the kinds of sexual practices that were verboten. Now they didn’t need God to spell that out for them—they knew! We know too. We know, instinctively, what is right and what is wrong in terms of sexual activity. The Israelites did as well. Yet people are people, in any age, and they will shoot back with, “Yeah, but what about this? Is this okay? Can I do such and such?” Why do we do that? Because we are guilty of searching for the outer banks of morality so we can push as close to edge of permissibility as possible without pushing on past it. The problem with that type of mentality is that when we push to the limit of pre-sinfulness, it is practically a given that we will become, sooner or later, pro-sin.

Proverbs 6:27 rhetorically asks, “Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire?” No. If you play with fire, you’re going to get burned.

So in this case, God says, “I’m going to pre-empt your foolish questions and tell you exactly what kinds of sexual relationships and practices you are not to commit.” And boy does he! He spells out in living color the boundaries that we are not to cross, no if’s, and’s or but’s about it.

As you read though Leviticus 18, you come away with a clear list of sexual “thou shalt not’s”. But what are the “thou shalts” of God-honoring sexuality? I have been told that when U.S. treasury agents are trained to spot counterfeit money, they don’t spend their time looking at phony bills. They become so familiar with the real deal that it becomes easy to spot the fake. In the case of human sexuality, I think perhaps it’s is just as critical for us to study the real deal of God’s design and become so familiar with it that we don’t need to dwell on the “is this okay, is that not okay?” approach to morality.

And I think I can put this very succinctly: the sexuality that God blesses is between a man and a woman living as husband and wife within the loving/serving/honoring bonds of marriage. Now read deliberately and think clear about every single word in that statement: man, woman, husband, wife, within, loving, serving, bonds, marriage.

Our culture will call that outdated, restrictive, counterproductive to pleasure, ignorant and hateful toward certain groups. That is too bad, because the designer of human sexuality says it’s the only way to a blessable life.

Now that is what culture will say—and we should never be surprised that they would label us a weird and dangerous for holding to those views. But the major theme of this chapter is that as believers, God wants us to be different from the culture around us, and even in our sexuality, he wants us to stand out as belonging to him.

Have you ever thought of sexuality that way? Whether you are single or married, when you follow purity, abstinence, and yes, even Christ-likeness in your sexuality, you become a compelling witness before a lost world of a loving God’s promise to bless his people with the abundant life.

In your sexuality, God wants you to stand out for your moral purity. So don’t blend in and he will bless you!

Going Deeper: Take some time to very carefully and deliberately meditate on the statement: the sexuality that God blesses is between a man and a woman living as husband and wife within the loving/serving/honoring bonds of marriage.