Day 34 -- Leviticus 18-20

It is always important to keep in mind that toleration, which our society values highly, is not a virtue in the world of Leviticus. The Law of Moses does not leave any wiggle room for individual option or choice. The God of the Covenant does not live and let live; he commands and expects absolute purity.
The uncompromising tone of these laws is central to their meaning. God does not make compromises; he calls his people to a radically countercultural life-style. “I am the LORD your God,” he says, “I have separated you from the peoples” (Leviticus 20:24) “to be mine” (26). We should view all these laws as having that primary purpose—to differentiate the People of the Promise from their pagan neighbors.
The God who is himself absolutely “other”—different from other gods and separate from his own creation—demands of his people a life that is altogether different from all other nations and pure.
There are many different kinds of laws represented in our reading for today. Some protect sexual purity and prohibit sexual relations with close family members. Some command compassion for the destitute (19:9-10). Others prohibit consulting mediums and sorcerers (19:31 and 20:6ff. )(Seeking to contact the spirits of the dead—common among other nations--was a capital offense in Israel.)
Other laws prohibit trimming the beard—part of the ritual of mourning for the dead among Israel’s neighbors (19:27-28). Other laws command simple politeness (19:32) and prohibit cruelty to the handicapped—tripping the blind or teasing the deaf (19:14). Compassion for the weak and infirm sets apart the life of the covenant community.
Some of these laws are timeless. When Matthew’s Gospel reproves hatred and calls us to love our neighbors, it echoes Exodus 19:17-18—“You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin . . . . , but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
And some of these laws are very particular to the situation of ancient Israel. Child sacrifice--passing infants “through the fire”-- was widely practiced in the ancient Near East. Young children were routinely burned to satisfy the god Molech—which may be another name for the Canaanite god Baal—especially in times of national emergency or great personal need. In our reading this practice is twice condemned—“You shall not give any of your offspring to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD” (18:21). Again, in 20:2 the LORD says—“Any of the people of Israel, or of the aliens who reside in Israel, who give any of their offspring to Molech shall be put to death; the people of the land shall stone them to death” (20:2).
Besides the high ethical standards reflected by these laws, they all, in one way or another, command moral purity and condemn every kind of mixing--even down to regulations against blending together different fibers in the making of a garment (19:19). Purity is the highest good. The holiness of the people must mirror the holiness of God (19:2). Those who seek to covenant with a holy God must live a radically countercultural life. The values of the People of the Promise must be different from the world’s--it is as true now as it was then.