Leviticus 18 Bible Study - Sexual Immorality (Holiness Code)

Leviticus 18 continues the “holiness code,” talking about sexual immorality. The holiness code is a series of chapters in Leviticus (chapters 17-26) that call the Israelites to be holy and set apart for the Lord. In verse 3, God calls the Israelites not to be like the Egyptians (where they had been) and not to be like the people in the land they are going to (the Canaanites). The Israelites are not to engage in unlawful sexual relations, and included in that discussion, Dave talks about what the Bible has to say about Polygamy, child sacrifice, abortion, and homosexuality. The application for the Israelites in Moses' day was that they were to be set apart for the Lord; our application today is the same. We can not be perfect, but based on being perfectly forgiven in Christ, we ought to aim for living Holy lives, not allowing anything that will derail or lead us astray in our lives.

Outline:
00:24 - heavy subjects to be covered today. You must read the Bible for yourself and come to your own conclusions. If you are upset by what is shared, ask the question, am I upset at this teaching or am I upset by what the Bible says? When we find ourselves in contradiction to the Bible, we can either change and follow God’s direction or we can rebel and go our own way.

01:59 - reading all of Leviticus 18

06:44 - Leviticus 18.1-5 & 24-30 - Sets up the rest of the Holiness Code. The Israelites were to be set apart.

8:13 - Leviticus 18.3 - You must not do as they do in Egypt. What do they do in Egypt? Bible verses cited: Ex chapters 7-12; Ex 12.12; Ex 32 and Lev 17.7. You must not do as they do in the land of Canaan. What was the sin of the Canaanites? False worship & Idolatry (Baal, Asherah, & Molek) as well as child sacrifices, occult practices, witchcraft, and divination. Bible verses cited: Deut 18.9–12, Lev 18.26-27, Gen 15.16, Exo 3.8; 3.17; 33.2; 34.11; Deut, Joshua, Judges, etc). Joshua 1-12 God uses the Israelites to judge the Canaanites.

What right does God have to judge the Canaanites, or any people group? Just wait until we talk about child sacrifice. God does judge the wicked for their acts: 2 Peter 2.4-10, 2 Peter 3.9-18

20:42 - Leviticus 18.6-23 - Unlawful Sexual Relations

21:16 - Why does Leviticus 18 not outlaw having sex with your children?

22:02 - Leviticus 18.18 - Polygamy - Does the Bible condone polygamy? Does the Bible outlaw polygamy? Bible verses cited: Gen ch 16 as well as chs 29-30. 1 Kngs 11.3; Gen 2.24; Ex 21.10; Deut 21.15-17; Lev 18.18; Mat 19.1-9; Eph 5.25-33; 1 Tim 3.2; Tit 1.6, and 1 Cor 7.2/

32:13 - Leviticus 18.19 - “uncleanness of her monthly period.” Leviticus 15.19-24

35:12 - Leviticus 18.21 - Child Sacrifice. Bible verses cited: Lev 18.21; Deut 12.31; Deut 18.10; Lev 20.2-5; 2 Kngs 16.3; 2 Kngs 21.6; Jer 32.35, and Jer 7.31.

Abortion statistics:
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 73 million induced abortions occur globally each year. This estimate is based on data from 2015-2019 and represents about 29% of all pregnancies and 61% of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion.
Article: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abortion

42:34 - Leviticus 18.22 - Homosexuality - “that is detestable.” What does the Bible say about homosexuality? Bible verses cited: Lev 18.22; Lev 20.13; Gen 19; 1 Tim 1.9-10; Rom 1.18-32; and 1 Cor 6.9-20. Additional Bible verses on sexual immorality: Gen 2.2; Pro 6.27-32; Gal 5.19-21; Eph 5.3-5; Heb 13.4; 1 Thes 4.3-5; Mat 5.28; and 1 Cor 6.18-20

58:34 - Leviticus 18.30 (and v2, 4, 5, 6, & 21) - I am the Lord your God. I am the Lord, I am the Lord, I am the Lord, I am the Lord Your God. Israel was to be set apart, and these commands that follow are how the Lord was calling his people to set themselves apart: to stand out as different, but to protect them and keep them from falling into the endless cycle of sin and death. Bible verses cited: Matt 5.13-16, Jam 4.7, and Rom 12.1-2.

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