2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES
Wednesday in the Word
Second Baptist Church
March 20, 2019
Leviticus 19:27-37
In Leviticus 19, we continue to study how God called his people to holiness. The pagan and idol Gods of Canaan and Egypt had infiltrated most of the Israelites community and God was systematically purging any remnants of those idols and their practices. The remedy for idol worship was true worship of the MOST HIGH God and separation from any of the practices of the false idol worshippers. Some of the things God told the people to avoid and not do were things associated with the worship of pagan gods. These pagan practices were often done as a way to obtain favor from these false gods. God is a jealous God and will not tolerate the worship of a false impotent god. God also knew that any kind of worship to these false gods would spread throughout the community leading people to trust these idols, which couldn’t do a thing, instead of the almighty God.
Verse 27. At first, it seems odd that God would have an issue with a particular haircut. The haircut in question was a particular haircut of men who were high priest in the temple of these pagan gods. It was the custom of some heathen nations to cut and trim their beards and hair into particular shapes in honor of some pagan god. The Egyptians, for example, had their hair cut short and in a certain way, so that what remained appeared in the form of a circle surrounding the head (the halo was derived from this). In another instance, a round spot would be shaved off. Both of these forms are indications of sun god worship. Modern forms of such extremes include: extremely short or even no hair to intimidate (e.g., Nazis, skinheads, white supremacist). The point was for the Israelite men to look different and demonstrate their allegiance to the Almighty God.
Verse 28. It was quite common for people to tattoo themselves out of honor to a pagan god. Tattooing was sign of extreme devotion to the idol gods. Tattooing for art or personal expression was not a common practice in ancient times. Most tattoos or intentional scarring all had to do with devotion to a false god. Some African countries today still practice intentional scarring. The idea was that your complete devotion was to God and God was not asking you to scar yourself or endure pain to worship him. Notice that God ends that command by stating that he is the LORD. There is only one being we are to be so devoted to and that is God almighty. He is LORD. God isn’t looking for outward and superficial demonstrations of commitment as much as GOD is looking for inward devotion. God wants to be inscribed in your heart, not on your shoulder. God wants his law to be written in your heart, and not on your chest. If there are going to be any scars, let those scars come from defending the faith and standing for righteousness.
Verse 29. There was a financial temptation, especially for poor fathers, to pimp out their daughters to the pagan temples for a cut of the prostitution profits. This detestable practice was all too common in the ancient world. God is commanding his people to trust him for provision and not prostitution. God is also elevating the sacredness of a young woman’s sexuality and virginity by not allowing a powerful male figure to causally pimp a daughter out for some small change. Young girls in ancient times were very vulnerable to being prostituted due to the powerful dynamic of the ancient world and its view towards women. God is making it a crime to take advantage of a vulnerable woman. The father’s responsibility is to protect her and not prostitute her. God’s command is to keep a horrendous practice from saturating the community and leading to a general low level of morality where sex is just cheap.
Verse 30. Sabbath day keeping was something God would routinely remind the people. There was a temptation to work on the day of rest instead of trusting God with provision. Your blessings aren’t because you work all the time; your blessings are because God works all the time. If the people needed something, come to worship on the Sabbath and ask God. Don’t prostitute your daughter, don’t sacrifice to false God, don’t cut yourself, don’t tattoo your body hoping to win favor with a false god, worship the Living God instead.
Verse 31.This command is for the people to avoid people who claim to have secret supernatural powers outside of God. The only people that the Israelites should consult are the priest of the Most High. These other people were being influenced by demons and not God. Many Israelite kings went to these people when they were disobedient to God because the prophet of God would call them to live righteously and the kings persisted in living foul. God warned the people about these false prophets who generally were for profit. These false prophets would always give the payer a good report or a good fortune for the right money.
Verse 32. This command is to remind the young people to respect the elderly. Old age was seen as a blessing from God, and an older person was to be respected as one who had favor and wisdom. How can a person love God and not respect his or her elders. God equates respect for the elderly with reverence for God. God being in the sense the eldest of them all.
Verses 33-34. There are three commands in these verses. l. The ancient Israelites were not to mistreat a foreigner living in the land. 2. They were to treat them as if they were native born, and 3. They were to love them as themselves. The Israelites are supposed to differ from the other peoples by how they treated foreigners. Instead of robbing and mistreating people that were not of Israel, they were to show hospitality and kindness. They were to do this remembering how they were treated and how hard it was for them in Egypt. How could they demonstrate that they were different from their oppressors if they oppressed people in the same way? This rule would be a tough sell in the current white house administration.
Verses 35-37. This passage prohibits cheating in business by falsely measuring length, weight, or quality, and is made more specific by reference to scales and stones, the standard equipment of trade. The various measurements mentioned indicate that this rule would apply across a wide spectrum, from tracts of land to the smallest measure of dry and wet goods. The Hebrew word tsedeq (NRSV “honest”) that appears four times in Leviticus 19:36 denotes character that is right in terms of having integrity and being blameless. All weights and measures should be accurate. In short, buyers should get what they have paid for. Sellers possess a vast array of means to deliver less than what buyers think they are getting.
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