Leviticus 19:3-19 (NLT)
“Each of you must show great respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest. I am the Lord your God. “Do not put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God. “When you sacrifice a peace offering to the Lord, offer it properly so you will be accepted by God. The sacrifice must be eaten on the same day you offer it or on the next day. Whatever is left over until the third day must be completely burned up. If any of the sacrifice is eaten on the third day, it will be contaminated, and I will not accept it. Anyone who eats it on the third day will be punished for defiling what is holy to the Lord and will be cut off from the community. “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God. “Do not steal. “Do not deceive or cheat one another. “Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the Lord. “Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. “Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay. “Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord. “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly. “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. “Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the Lord. “Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin. “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. “You must obey all my decrees.
Reflection
Right after the Lord tells Moses to tell the people to “be holy,” the Lord gives some specific examples of laws they should obey. Using biblegateway.com, when you look up this passage, the subheading shows the following: “Holiness in Personal Conduct.”
Read the passage again. A lot of what you read in this passage should sound familiar. A lot of what is documented here are commands from the Ten Commandments found in Exodus.
Have you ever heard that commandments 1 – 4 are about loving God and commandments 5 – 10 are about loving neighbor? Remember that Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was and He said “Love God…and love neighbor.”
Rate yourself on a scale of 1 – 10 (1 being not at all, 10 being all the time) on how you are being holy based on the above decrees that God says we should “obey.”
