Come down to the exposition of God's holy word and congregation. We want to take our Bibles out together and let's turn back in the word of God to the book of Leviticus. Leviticus as we continue in our exposition of this book, we find our place in chapter 18 tonight. Leviticus chapter 18 looking tonight here at the sanctity of intimacy. Let me just read in your hearing the first few verses here, beginning in chapter 18, verses 1 through 5. We read here the beginning of this chapter. The scripture says in verse 1, and the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you live. 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. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules. If a person does them, he shall live by them. I am the Lord. Let's now pause for a word of prayer. Father, we come before you tonight. And Lord, as we come tonight, we come seeking to look into the very precious word of truth. Lord, as we look tonight in this chapter and we consider the instruction that you gave to your old covenant people, Israel, help us. Oh God, that we would see the seriousness of the sanctions you gave. these stipulations for them to follow as your called out sanctified people. Help us father that we too would live with that same kind of devotion, separation, and commitment that we might honor you, that we might live as salt and light, and that we would be a testimony to the truth of your word, your ways, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Bless your word to our hearts tonight, we pray, asking this in Christ's precious name. Amen. As we come to chapter 18, again, is another one of those chapters in the book of Leviticus dealing with various practical issues related to holy living. We said that beginning in chapter 17, we have the second part of the book, which is sometimes referred to as the holiness code. has to do with those practical words of sanctions, stipulations, commands that God's people would live distinct and different in the land and live holy unto the Lord. Chapter 18 has to do with laws related to sexual practices. We will see here that God wanted His people to live different than the practices and the abominations of those ancient peoples in the land. That, of course, is what is in view, and that, of course, is the backdrop historically for them as they are being instructed before they enter into the promised land. Various abominations that the heathen people practiced included adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, child sacrifice, and incestuous relationships. And so that's the theme and topic of this chapter. And as we look, basically by way of an outline, we see it broken up into four different parts. First of all, we see in verses one through five, which we just read a moment ago, this called covenant loyalty, where God tells his people, I am your God, you are to live according to my ways, and if you do so, you shall live. And so that's verses one through five. Then verses six through 18 is a series of prohibitions against incestuous relationships. And there are various statements about what is an improper relationship, which they were forbidden to engage in. Then in verses 19 through 23 is the third section of this chapter, and it has to do with prohibitions again, prohibitions about those things which are unlawful and those things which are immoral. There are several things listed in that section. And then finally in verses 24 through 30, the last part of the chapter, you have kind of a concluding exhortation. God says in those verses, The Canaanites are guilty of these abominations, and so therefore, they're going to be expelled out of the land. And then he says, you Israelites, my people, if you are guilty of these abominations, you will be judged as well. And that's how the chapter concludes. So looking tonight, as we look at this, the first thing I want to do by way of introduction is share with you what you may or may not have read if you're following along and reading commentaries. It is the fact that here in this chapter, and there are other places in the Old Testament where Old Testament scholars would point to the structure of this chapter, how it's laid out, and they would say this resembles strikingly the structure of various ancient Near Eastern treaties that were common among many people groups in the ancient world. These are called suzerain treaties, and you may be familiar with that word. This is the kind of treaty where you have a superior ruler and you have a vassal, and you have in these treaties between the ruler and the people, these words of calls for loyalty and the blessings which flow from being loyal, and then threatenings and curses for rebellion. and people who read the Old Testament in light of the ancient Near Eastern documents, of which we have much, of various ancient people groups, they have read this chapter and they have said, this resembles those suzerain treaties of the ancient Near East. Specifically, those of the Hittite peoples, if you're interested in the exact culture and people group that they would point to. The suggested parallels I share with you by way of introduction are six themes that were common in these treaties. First of all, there was a preamble to the treaty. They would point to verse 2, and they would say, that's the preamble here in chapter 18. I am the Lord your God. That's the beginning or the preamble of the treaty. Then there would be a historical retrospect that is often attached. Well, we read in verse 3 about this reference to being in Egypt, that is historically in the past for God's people here. Then there would be basic stipulations that are given. The basic one is God declares, or in these treaties, the king would declare that they were to follow his rules and keep his statutes. Well, we see something very similar to that in verse number 4. And then in verse five, there is the promised blessing. And again, that is a theme common in those treaties. And then, you know, the various stipulations and that's found here versus six through 23, and then curses for disobedience, which is that last section versus 24 through 30. So if you're very familiar with Old Testament scholarship at all, if you've read commentaries, and I don't mean scholarly commentaries, I mean just you pick up like a Bible handbook, you're going to find this kind of discussion going on. Two things that I would like to say. in light of much that has been written about these so-called treaty hypotheses related to the Old Testament scriptures. Number one, the scriptures are given by the inspiration of God. The authors were moved by the Holy Spirit. They were not moved to incorporate the language, the style, and structure of other pagan groups. And so we would say that at the very beginning. Whenever we read the scriptures, we're not reading an account of where the Israelites are borrowing from other peoples how they write out their laws. That's not what's going on. This is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the Bible and in this chapter. Secondly, I would say to those who would talk about this hypothesis, that yes, there may be some similarities, but that does not necessarily mean, and I would emphatically reject, that the Old Testament writers were borrowing or copying from these pagan treaties. In fact, I would argue that perhaps the opposite is the case. Perhaps it is that these pagan peoples are following after what we see in Holy Scripture. But I want to mention that because this is something that you will in all likelihood encounter and we would reject on its face any notion that the Bible is some sort of evolved book that borrows on the cultures and writings of other peoples and then it's kind of pasted together and it reflects just simply the culture of the people of that day. So having said that, just by way of a preface, now let's look at the scriptures themselves, because it is the word of Almighty God. And we see here, first of all, notice in verses one and two, God's relation to his people. It says in verse one, the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. This is God affirming his absolute authority over his people, that he is indeed their sovereign king. Whenever we think about the whole topic of authority, it was for God's people in that day, an important subject. Who is their authority over them? And God says, I am your authority and you are my people. And authority has been a fundamental issue for people throughout the ages. It's certainly an issue for us in our current day. People ask the question, well, who made you the authority? Who gives you the right to say this, that, or whatever, and what's right or wrong? Who determines right and wrong? Well, we live in a day often where it's just personal opinion, just whatever you think. We all, in this day and age in which we live, many people, they're kind of an authority unto themselves. They're their own little God over their own little universe. It's like what we read in Judges 17, 6, there was no king in Israel and everyone did what? what was right in their own eyes. We see so much of that in our culture today. People just doing whatever is right in their own eyes, and if you say, oh no, that's wrong, that's wicked, that's against God's law, they say, who are you to tell me that? I make my own decisions as to what is right and wrong. So people live on the basis of their own personal opinion. Others determine right and wrong by majority opinion. That is, well, whatever the majority says is right, whatever most people think. And so they watch what the influencers say is right or wrong, and whatever Oprah says is the right thing to do, that's what they want to do, because after all, Oprah says that's the right thing, or Taylor Swift, or Michelle Obama. You fill in the blank. And that's how people often operate. They're gullible. They're just following the crowd like a herd of cattle. And whatever the one in front says, that's what they want to do as well. Well, in light of a world of personal opinion, being the arbiter of right and wrong, and the opinion of the majority, God's immutable, transcendent authority is the authority over God's people. Amen? God is our authority. God is truth, and His Word is infallible truth. It doesn't matter if no one agrees with it at all. It doesn't matter if you took a vote And zero votes were cast for what God says is true. It is still the absolute truth. Notice, if you will, with me just one verse of Scripture. Turn with me over in Isaiah 45. We actually read from this in our Scripture reading several weeks ago. And notice in Isaiah 45, verses 18 and 19. For thus says the Lord, Isaiah 45, 18, The Lord who created the heavens, He is God who formed the earth and made it. He established it. He did not create it empty. He formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord and there is no other. I did not speak in secret in a land of darkness. I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, seek me in vain. I, the Lord, speak the truth. I declare what is right. Congregation, it is the Lord who speaks the truth. It is the Lord who declares what is right. It may not be popular. It may not be our personal opinion. It may not be the majority consensus. But whatever God declares, that is right. And that is the truth. and let all of the idols and opinions of our hearts be crushed by what the Word of God declares. Now, turning back to Leviticus 18, we see he begins, the Lord, with this statement of his relation to his people. He is the sovereign authority. Notice in verse 3, God's prohibition for his people. He says, you shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you live, 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 statues. Here, the prohibition is a word of separation. You're not to live like the people you were among Before you came out of Egypt, you weren't to live like them. And you're not to live like the Canaanite peoples, which you are headed to. You're simply to do what I say. It is a command, a separation from all of the various perverted practices of the pagan peoples. A congregation That is true for God's people today as it was way back in the days of Moses. We are called today to live lives of separation. We are called to not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Romans 12 and verse 2. We are not to be unequally yoked We are, as Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 6, we are to come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord. This is our duty. This is our responsibility, just as it was in the Old Testament. We are to live in separation from our Christless, corrupt, disintegrating culture. Notice, if you will, please, in verse number four, from the prohibition, you have the obligation. What are they to do? You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord, your God. There it is repeated again, who God is. Verse five, you shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules. This was the duty for God's people in this instance. They were to obey the Word of Almighty God. Again, we could say this is our duty as well. It is just as true for us as it was for them. We no longer live under the Old Covenant. We no longer live under the various dietary, ceremonial, and those judicial aspects of the law. And yet, God's moral law, we are still to submit to. God's word, His revealed will, we are to obey. Those are our rules. Those are our statutes that we are to keep and walk in. They are for us, today, the people of God. Notice at the very end of verse 5, you have this motivation for God's people. If a person does them, he shall live by them. I am the Lord. What does this mean, he shall live by them? If he does them, he shall live by them. I think the idea is the idea of living that life which is abundant, enjoying the life under his pleasure and as he wishes his people to live. This is seen in other places. In fact, if you would turn with me over in Deuteronomy chapter 4, this language about living. Deuteronomy 4 in verse 1, it's a similar kind of statement. We read in verse 1, Deuteronomy 4 says, And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them that you may live. and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you. Do them that you may live. Notice again in Deuteronomy turn over to chapter 8 and notice this is a statement in a phrase that's found repeated in the law of God. Deuteronomy 8 and verse 1 the whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do there's that command to obey me that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore you may go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers so here again is that idea of living It is this idea of obedience that leads to life. It is that idea that disobedience leads to not life, but it lives to slavery and it lives to destruction if you do not obey the Lord. And so here we see, now turning back to Leviticus 18, God declares who He is, God tells his people to live in separation from those other people's? Don't live like the Canaanites. Obey what I say and you will live life with the joy under the very precepts I have provided. Now in verses 6 through 18, this long section in this chapter, you have It's all the subject is the issue of incestuous relationships. Listen to what Dr. Sprinkle says in his commentary on this section. He gives a little bit of the historical and the cultural background. I think it's helpful. He says, quote, the ancient Egyptians practiced incest, especially among the royalty by the Hellenistic times. brother-sister marriages in the Egyptian royal families had become so commonplace in Egypt that it, that is, the nation, Egypt, came to be known as the, quote, cradle of incest. It was not a one-off type of situation. It was very, very common, so much so that they were, according to Dr. Sprinkle, called cradle of incest. Well, that was not exclusively the practice of the Egyptians. That was a concern in light of the Canaanites and the other people groups in the land. And God told his people, you are not to engage in these unlawful incestuous relationships. One of the phrases you will note is look at verse number six. It says, none of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord. The phrase there to uncover nakedness is, is basically a euphemism for having intimate relations. That's what that means. But it's, it's styled in that way as it's revealed in this passage. I say that at the beginning, because we're going to see that language throughout this particular passage. Well, what kind of relationships were prohibited? Well, God is very explicit. Number one, a man's mother. Someone was not to marry his mother. Notice verse seven, you shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother. You shall not uncover her nakedness. So that's the first of these various categories. Secondly, notice in verse eight, the prohibition against marrying your stepmother. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife. It is your father's nakedness. Notice in verse nine, the prohibition against your sister or your half sister. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father's daughter, or your mother's daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home. Notice this is stated again in verse 11. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter brought up in your father's family since she is your sister. So there again, the prohibition against marrying your sister or your half sister. Notice in verse 10, the prohibition against a granddaughter. You should not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter or of your daughter's daughter for their nakedness is your own nakedness. Notice in verses 12 through 14, you were not to marry your aunt on either side or by marriage. Verse 12. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister, she is your father's relative. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's relative. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife, she is your aunt. So here again, very specific as it relates to one's aunt. Verse 15 has to do with your daughter-in-law. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife. You shall not uncover her nakedness. Verse 16, sister-in-law is in view. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife. It is your brother's nakedness. Verse 17 has to do with your stepdaughter or step-granddaughter. You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter to uncover her nakedness. They are relatives. It is depravity. And then finally, verse 18, you are not to have relations with your wife's sister as a rival wife while your wife still lives. Verse 18 says, You shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive. So here you see very explicit, detailed words related to the issue of incestuous relationships. God wanted to make it very clear on the front end this was against His will, His word, and His ways. Now, you may be interested to note, in our confession, the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, we actually have a chapter that deals with the subject of marriage. And let me ask you just to go ahead and take your hymnal out. And if you would, please turn with me to page 683. I just want to real quickly read. And it is a short chapter. It only has four paragraphs. And really the only one that we are wanting to concern ourselves with is that last paragraph. This is on page 683 in the hymnal. And as you look there at paragraph number four, let me just read to you that paragraph. Marriage ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity forbidden in the word. Nor can such incestuous marriages ever be made lawful by any law of man or consent of parties, so as those persons may live together as man and wife." That phrase there you are not to marry within the degrees of consanguinity. That's a very fancy and arcane word that speaks about your descendants, your ancestors, those related to you. We would say you're not to be marrying your kin. That's not right. It's not according to God's law. Unfortunately, because of the space constraints in your hymnal, you don't have the scriptural proof text which the writers of our confession attach to each of these paragraphs. What is interesting is that that first phrase there about the issue of incestual relationships, what do you think the proof text is for this? It's Leviticus 18. Now that was an easy question. You should have got that one. It is right from our chapter in Leviticus. that tells us something about the writers of our confession and how they viewed these laws in the book of Leviticus. They certainly not look at all of these laws and stipulations and say, well, none of that stuff really matters anymore because we're in the new covenant. No, whenever they thought about what was lawful in terms of marriage, They're referencing Leviticus 18 on the subject of incestuous relationships. So I think that's very instructive. God said, this is not right. It is against my will and word. It is the kind of practices that the pagan people engage in, but you are not to engage in these kind of things. So moving from that subject, the prohibition against incestuous relationships, Beginning in verse 19, down to verse 23, you have another series of prohibitions. It's various unlawful and immoral practices. And there are five which are listed. The first one is in verse 19, and that is to have relations during menstruation. Verse 19 says, You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. And then after that one, verse 20 has to do with adultery. Verse 21 has to do with child sacrifice. Verse 22 has to do with homosexuality. And then verse 23 has to do with bestiality. And we'll read those verses in just a minute. If you're like the common reader, you might say to yourself, well, you know what? One of these don't sound quite as bad as the other four. When you think about bestiality, homosexuality, adultery, child sacrifice, and relations during a menstrual cycle. Why is it that this first one is grouped in that list where it seems like one of these is not like the others in terms of severity? Well, that is a question that has been asked and answered and wrestled with by commentaries. Those who look at the scriptures and study it in its context here, they would say to us that this is given this weightiness here because this prohibition has already been stated in the book of Leviticus. You may recall it is in Leviticus 15 verse 24. And so what is going on in verse 19 is not a simple case of uncleanness, of being unclean ceremonially. Dr. Alan Ross in his commentary says that this here, because the law had already been stated is a reference here to a willful, defiant disregard of God's law. That is, someone has the Word of God given to them, it has been clearly communicated to them, and then there is this willful, deliberate act in defiance of it. So that makes it a much more serious issue. Dr. Ross says this, quote, it is no longer simply a matter of contamination, ceremonial uncleanness, but of rebellion against God. So what's going on here, according to him and others, is that this is just a statement of rebellion against the Lord. Verse number 20, of course, deals with the issue of adultery. You shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife, and so make yourself unclean with her. This, of course, is echoing the seventh commandment, Exodus 20 and verse 14, relations with a married person. Verse 22 has to do with child sacrifice. You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Malik and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. Melech was one of those gods, small g, a god of the Amorites. Yes, child sacrifice was involved in their worship. They're not too engaged in this. Notice verse 22, having to do with homosexuality. You should not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. This, of course, is a sin that is prohibited in many places in Scripture. We're going to see it again in Leviticus 20, verse 13. And, of course, there are several other places that we could reference. We could talk about Sodom and Gomorrah, Romans 1, 27, 1 Corinthians 6, and verse 9. It is an abomination. It is a detestable act because it is against nature, and that's what makes it so detestable. And then verse 23 is the prohibition against bestiality. You shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it. Neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it. It is perversion. This, of course, you say, well, that is very bizarre. This was actually a part of the Canaanite fertility cult. And so God says here, don't engage in any of these wicked, perverted acts which is like the wicked people we are going to drive out. Now, finally, in verses 24 through 30, you come to this concluding exhortation. God begins and says, I am your God, you are to obey, and you will live if you do. And then you have all of these prohibitions, and then you have this concluding exhortation. Verse 24 and 25, he says, the Canaanites were defiled by all of these practices. And thus they were to be expelled from the land because of their abominations. 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 and the land became unclean so that I punished its iniquity and the land vomited out its inhabitants. So God says here, this is why they're being driven out. Notice verse 26, to the end of the chapter, he says now, just as that is so for the Canaanites, be forewarned, my people, the Israelites, if you do likewise, you will be judged as well. He says, verse 26, but you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations. either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you, for the people of the land who were before you did all these abominations, so that the land became unclean. As the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you, for everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people, 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." So you have this exhortation. Don't do as they did, do as I say. Congregation, as we conclude tonight, we note from this chapter that God's people are called to live differently. than the people of this world. Now that is an Old Testament principle. It is a New Testament principle. It's a contemporary principle for us tonight. The values of our world are decidedly different than Christ's commands and His values. We live in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation. Now, that's not unique to our generation, as if we're the only generation that had to deal with sinners around us. That's been true throughout human history since the fall. But as a people of God, we are to be in the world, we are not to be of the world, we are to be salt and we are to be light. That's exactly the instructions of Jesus. Salt has that preserving influence, just as they would preserve meats from going bad with salt. We are to have that influence in the midst of a generation that is perverted, that is decaying and rotting. We can have a preserving testimony by pointing people to the truth. In the midst of a world in darkness, we are to shine forth as light. We are not to hide it under a bushel, we are to declare the truth of God's Word that calls for a humble boldness and a conspicuousness in our world. Sometimes we can get kind of cowered under and say, you know, this world is going to hell and we just need to kind of mind our own business and not say anything and not get engaged because after all, this is going to make people mad and rubble feathers. But we must speak the truth with love and we must declare the truth to sinners because how else are they going to hear the truth unless we are salt and light. and expose and declare the truth of God's word. Secondly, God is our creator and we see in chapter 18 that he alone has the authority to set sexual standards and norms for his creatures. This is very clear throughout this book, whether it has to do with issues of incest or adultery or homosexuality or bestiality or you fill in the blank. God alone has the right to determine what is right and what is wrong, what is marriage and what is not marriage. That's a big issue in our day-to-day. People think that they can just pass some laws and say, that's marriage now. It's not marriage. Marriage is what God defines as marriage. And sins related to relationships are in accordance with what God says, not in accordance with what personal opinion or majority consensus might say on any given day what is right or what is wrong. Thirdly, to turn and rebel from God's order, which God warns His people here in the concluding section, is to bring confusion and destruction upon one's head. How we've seen that in America today, as we have turned from His Word, as we have turned from what God says about marriage, and about purity, and about intimacy, and what do we see? We live in a generation of absolute confusion. People don't even know whether they're a boy or a girl today. And we live in that kind of confusion because we have this very unclear, corrupt opinions that are diverse and that contradict and are not in accordance with the clear teaching of the Word of God. That confusion leads ultimately to destruction. How many of these folks who were kind of encouraged and coddled to entertain the notion, transgenderism, and whether you're a boy or a girl. And then you see them interviewed years later, many of them having committed suicide, but those who are still alive. And many of them, they're saying, I can't believe how I was robbed. I got involved in these chat rooms, and I was prodded and encouraged and coddled to go, yes, go ahead, explore that, entertain that. And now they've mutilated themselves and their lives are destroyed as a result of it. And there's this regret and remorse and the suicide rates are unbelievable in that subsection. Congregation, God's word makes clear what relations are to be like. And we as his people are not to be timid or just say, well, I don't want to say anything because it might offend. We need to speak the truth. because we live in a sea of lies. God declares to his people, do what I say, obey my word, and if you don't, you too will be judged and spit out of the land. Let's bow together in prayer. Heavenly Father, as we bow before you tonight, we recognize that you are our authority. and that we turn to you and we find in your word absolute truth. You declare what is truth. You declare what is right. Help us, Lord, to live by it. Help us, Lord, to share it. Help us, Lord, if needs be, to die for that truth that you have declared. We pray, Father, that we would maintain purity in our relationships. and that we would declare that truth to others that they all, we all, have a creator and that we are accountable to you. Help us to be salt and light. Help us to be in this world but not of it. And point others to the saving power of the gospel and the wonderful delivering power found in Jesus Christ. and in Him alone. Father, we pray this in Christ's precious name. Amen. Amen.