Overview of: LeviticusToday's Reading:
Leviticus 18:1 – 19:37
"Laws about Sexual Conduct"
Focus Verses: Lev. 16:20-22
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'I am the LORD your God. 3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4 You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God. 5 Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD.
Insight:
Humans are sexual beings. It is crucial that our sexual perspectives and conduct be informed and guided by God. So much of life--our sense of self, our relationships, our respect and responsibility toward others--is affected by our sexuality. It makes sense, then, that the Law Moses received from God should be very specific about sexual behavior.
The detailed instruction in the Law about sexual conduct implies the need humans have to be instructed. Such instruction would not be necessary if we were not so susceptible to the many possibilities for violating God's plan and intention for our sexuality. God called people to live according to his commands, not according to the practices of the people around them, and not according to their own inclinations or desires.
Response and Action:
God's will relates to every aspect of my life, including my body and my sexuality. God's will is about more than my heart, my mind, my beliefs, and my motives; it is about my interactions and relationships with everyone around me. My body is the means through which I relate with everyone and everything around me. I will turn away from sexual immorality. My ideas about sexuality and my sexual conduct must not be shaped by the world around me, nor my own inclinations, but rather by God's command. I have faith that the abundant and healthy life I want, including my sexuality, is to be found in obedience to God.
O God, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Help me to love and honor you with my heart, my mind, and my body. Thank you for guidance you give for every aspect of life. Help me to turn away from sexual immorality. Grant me the wisdom and the will to guard my heart, feed my spirit, stimulate my mind, and care for my body. Do not let me be shaped by the pattern of this world. Instead, transform me by the renewing of my mind and your holy word. Amen.
New Testament for Today: Hebrews 10:1-4
3 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
In Context: 1 Thes. 4:1-12
Proverb for Today: Prov. 14:8
"The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception."
Resources:
Thinking About Sexuality (eBook)
by Paul R. Stevens, Robert Banks
Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity
by Lauren F. Winner
Rumors of Another World: What on Earth Are We Missing?
by Philip Yancey
