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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
19:1-37 Call to Holiness. In ch. 19 the Lord strongly commands the people (including the priests) to become holy in their practice, as he is holy (v. 2). One becomes practically holy by observing all the following negative and positive commandments. Some of the commandments in vv. 3-18 are similar to the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:2-17), and the topics in this chapter show that holiness must be practiced in every sphere of one's life. Some of the rules are grounded in the fact that the Lord is the One who saved the Israelites from the bondage in Egypt. Many of these rules (e.g., Lev. 19:9-18) are oriented toward the Israelites' functioning as a loving community, serving one another's well-being.
19:1-4 Holiness here refers first and foremost to the essential nature of God. The term holy means "set apart, unique, and distinct," and holiness in humans ordinarily refers to their being set apart for service to God (see note on Isa. 6:3). Human holiness is the imitation of God, i.e., becoming and acting like him.
19:5-8 Sacrifices are to be made in a specific way, namely, according to God's commands. If they are not carried out in the prescribed manner, then the offerer has profaned that which is holy.
19:9-10 Thorough harvesting may reflect coveting and greed. Caring for one's neighbor and helping provide for the poor and the sojourner displays holiness. (For a literal observance of these rules, and for kindness that goes well beyond the simple legal requirement, see Ruth 2.)
19:11-18 This section refers often to the Ten Commandments. Holiness requires that a person keep the Word of God and, in particular, the fundamental moral law enumerated in the Ten Commandments.
19:11-12 Dishonesty in human relationships is prohibited. When someone swore an oath, he would do so by invoking the name of the Lord. To swear . . . falsely, therefore, was to disregard the holiness of God's name and thus profane it.
19:13-14 The prohibition against oppression is exemplified by two cases: delay in paying the wages of the hired servant and insulting the physically disadvantaged.
19:15-16 Justice and righteousness must prevail in the Israelite legal system. No favoritism is permitted; the poor and the great are to be treated the same in a court of law.
19:17 To hate in one's heart is prohibited; one should rather reason frankly with his neighbor (cf. Prov. 27:5-6). The instruction is followed by a warning: lest you incur sin because of him. Scholars debate the relationship between reproof and incurring sin, but this probably has to do with a situation in which one who refuses to "reason frankly with his neighbor," helping him to see his sin, would share in the guilt of the neighbor's sin when it is committed; it might also suggest that to fail to "reason frankly" will result in bitter feelings that will overflow into sinful action.
19:18 The instruction and warning of v. 17 is developed in a heightened way. you shall love your neighbor as yourself. To love one's neighbor as oneself is a fundamental principle of the Torah, God's law. Both Jesus and Paul teach that it is a foundational tenet for how believers are to treat one another (Matt. 22:39-40; Rom. 13:9; Gal. 5:14), while James calls this the "royal law" (James 2:8). In Matt. 5:43, Jesus cites a distortion of this rule in order to restore the rule to its rightful place.
19:19-37 Holiness means more than mere separation, but it always signifies that something is set apart in its proper sphere. In this section, this principle is applied in a variety of areas of life, such as in agricultural practice in which two different types of seeds are not to be planted together.
19:19 Two different kinds of domesticated animals are not to be crossbred, and two types of cloth are not to be woven together. Ceremonial holiness requires that things stay in their proper sphere, just as Israel must observe its separation from the nations (20:22-26).
19:20-22 The concept of holiness governs sexual relations in Israel. It requires that a fair judgment be conveyed in legal matters pertaining to adultery and promiscuity.
19:23-25 In the land of promise the fruit of the tree must not be eaten for the first three years (v. 23). In the fourth year it is holy and an offering of praise to the Lord (v. 24). Only in the fifth year can it be eaten (v. 25). Forbidden literally means "uncircumcised," and so the law of the land is being compared to circumcision. As a child is not to be circumcised before the eighth day, so the fruit on a tree is not to be plucked or eaten until after the third year.
19:26-31 These are all practices of the Canaanites. Holiness requires Israel not to act like the pagans in any areas of life.
19:33-34 Since the Israelites had been strangers in Egypt and knew what it was like, they ought to treat the strangers living among them just like themselves. In this regard the commandment in v. 18b is broadened beyond one's own countrymen to foreigners (cf. Luke 10:29-37).
