Leviticus 18:25

23 Nor shall you mate with any ^aanimal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.

24 ^a‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; ^bfor by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you.

25 For ^athe land is defiled; therefore I ^bvisit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land ^cvomits out its inhabitants.

26 ^aYou shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you

27 (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled),

28 lest ^athe land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

29 For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be¹ cut off from among their people.

30 ‘Therefore you shall keep My¹ ordinance, so ^athat you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: ^bI am the Lord your God.’ ”

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

<< Leviticus 18:24

Leviticus 18:26 >>

What Does Leviticus 18:25 Mean?

Leviticus 18:24-25

This brings together two factors: Sin and God's sovereignty. Because the earth requires maintenance and therefore dominion, and because God gave dominion to mankind, the rest of creation shares in the way mankind lives. Thus, when mankind sins, nature will be affected and react to some extent. In verse 25, God personifies the land as a living creature that violently rejects what it dislikes.

The context shows the iniquity to be spiritual and that God is personally involved in what happens when mankind sins. This confronts us again with whether God actively governs this world. Has He, as it appears in Leviticus 18, set limits on the evil mankind can do?

Suppose man is totally free to choose as he pleases, and it is impossible to compel or coerce him without destroying this freedom. If so, it follows that man is sovereign, doing as he pleases—the designer and architect of his destiny. Given man's history, we can have no assurance whatsoever that morality will not gradually disappear, and that anarchy, barbarism, and eventual genocide will not arise in its absence. It is absolutely imperative that God be sovereign to govern the antics of the very creatures He created! His reaction in the Flood and at the Tower of Babel is strong evidence of this.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Sovereignty of God: Part Four

Related Topics: God's Involvement | God's Maintenance | God's Sovereignty

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Leviticus 18:25:

Exodus 20:13
Ezekiel 9:3-4
Ezekiel 20:12-13
Amos 8:7-8
Galatians 6:7-8
Revelation 3:14-18

<< Leviticus 18:24

Leviticus 18:26 >>

Join 137,228+ readers

A Verse and a Thought,
Every Morning

Consistent Bible study is hard to start.

The Berean gives you the starting point: one scripture and a focused commentary in your inbox each morning — read it in minutes, or go as deep as you like.

Free, daily, and spam-free. We never share your address. Unsubscribe anytime.

What Does Leviticus 18:25 Mean?

A Verse and a Thought,Every Morning

A Verse and a Thought,
Every Morning