Translation: ESV
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
The sexual ethics of God's people must be distinct from the world, reflecting the holy character of God.
▸Leviticus 18 contains comprehensive regulations on sexual ethics.
Leviticus 18 contains comprehensive regulations on sexual ethics. This chapter begins with the command for Israel not to follow the customs of Egypt or the customs of Canaan. Sexual purity was a core domain that set Israel apart from surrounding peoples.
"Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the LORD your God.
The ultimate basis for all ethical commands lies in the covenantal relationship in which God is our God.
▸The covenant declaration 'I am the LORD your God' is the core formula repeated throughout Leviticus 18-26.
You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes.
God's people must live lives transformed by God's standards, not adapting to the cultural currents of the world.
▸Israel was to be distinct simultaneously from Egyptian culture (the past) and Canaanite culture (the future).
You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.
God's law is the way of life, and perfect keeping of the law is accomplished only in Christ.
▸The declaration 'if a person does them, he shall live by them' expresses the relationship between keeping the law and life.
You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
Children are life given by God, and sacrificing children under any pretext is an abomination before God.
▸Molech is a foreign deity associated with offering children as sacrifices in fire.
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.
The sexual order God created is based on the union of man and woman, and this order reflects the holiness of God.
▸This is the command prohibiting male homosexual intercourse.
"Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean,
Sexual immorality is not merely a personal matter; it defiles the entire community and brings God's judgment.
▸It is revealed that the Canaanite peoples were driven out precisely because of such sexual immorality.
So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God."
Holy sexual ethics flows from the identity of being God's covenant people as a response.
▸This is the conclusion of Leviticus 18.