God Calls Israel to Holiness in Sexual Conduct

18:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 18:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘I am the Lord your God! 18:3 You must not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you have been living, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan into which I am about to bring you; you must not walk in their statutes. 18:4 You must observe my regulations and you must be sure to walk in my statutes. I am the Lord your God. 18:5 So you must keep my statutes and my regulations; anyone who does so will live by keeping them. I am the Lord. 18:6 “‘No man is to approach any close relative to have sexual intercourse with her. I am the Lord. 18:7 You must not expose your father’s nakedness by having sexual intercourse with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have intercourse with her. 18:8 You must not have sexual intercourse with your father’s wife; she is your father’s nakedness. 18:9 You must not have sexual intercourse with your sister, whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she is born in the same household or born outside it; you must not have sexual intercourse with either of them. 18:10 You must not expose the nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter by having sexual intercourse with them, because they are your own nakedness. 18:11 You must not have sexual intercourse with the daughter of your father’s wife born of your father; she is your sister. You must not have intercourse with her. 18:12 You must not have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister; she is your father’s flesh. 18:13 You must not have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s flesh. 18:14 You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s brother; you must not approach his wife to have sexual intercourse with her. She is your aunt. 18:15 You must not have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife. You must not have intercourse with her. 18:16 You must not have sexual intercourse with your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s nakedness. 18:17 You must not have sexual intercourse with both a woman and her daughter; you must not take as wife either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to have intercourse with them. They are closely related to her – it is lewdness. 18:18 You must not take a woman in marriage and then marry her sister as a rival wife while she is still alive, to have sexual intercourse with her. 18:19 “‘You must not approach a woman in her menstrual impurity to have sexual intercourse with her. 18:20 You must not have sexual intercourse with the wife of your fellow citizen to become unclean with her. 18:21 You must not give any of your children as an offering to Molech, so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord! 18:22 You must not have sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman; it is a detestable act. 18:23 You must not have sexual intercourse with any animal to become defiled with it, and a woman must not stand before an animal to have sexual intercourse with it; it is a perversion. 18:24 “‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things, for the nations which I am about to drive out before you have been defiled with all these things. 18:25 Therefore the land has become unclean and I have brought the punishment for its iniquity upon it, so that the land has vomited out its inhabitants. 18:26 You yourselves must obey my statutes and my regulations and must not do any of these abominations, both the native citizen and the resident foreigner in your midst, 18:27 for the people who were in the land before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become unclean. 18:28 So do not make the land vomit you out because you defile it just as it has vomited out the nations that were before you. 18:29 For if anyone does any of these abominations, the persons who do them will be cut off from the midst of their people. 18:30 You must obey my charge to not practice any of the abominable statutes that have been done before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the Lord your God.’”

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

The Lord tells Israel not to copy the sexual and religious sins of Egypt or Canaan. He gives clear commands about forbidden sexual relations, child sacrifice to Molech, male-male sexual activity, and bestiality. These sins defile people and the land, and they bring covenant judgment. The passage is addressed to Israel under the Mosaic covenant, so later application must be made with care.

This chapter begins with the Lord speaking to Moses. He tells Israel not to live like the people of Egypt or Canaan. Instead, they must keep the Lord’s statutes and ordinances. The repeated line, “I am the Lord your God,” shows that these commands come with God’s own authority.

The passage then lists forbidden sexual relations. These include close relatives, a father’s wife, a sister, grandchildren, an aunt, a daughter-in-law, a brother’s wife, a woman and her daughter, and a woman’s sister as a rival wife while she is still alive. It also forbids sex during a woman’s menstrual impurity, adultery, giving children to Molech, male-male sexual intercourse, and bestiality.

These acts are called unclean, detestable, or perverse. The Lord says the nations in Canaan were defiled by these things, and the land itself drove them out. Israel must not do the same. If they practice these abominations, they will be cut off from their people. The warning is serious: sin defiles both persons and the land, and covenant disobedience brings judgment. This warning is given to Israel under the Mosaic covenant, so later readers should handle application with biblical-theological care.

• The Lord is the source of Israel’s covenant commands.
• Israel must not copy the practices of Egypt or Canaan.
• God’s commands set boundaries for family life, marriage, and bodily holiness.
• The passage condemns the listed sexual sins, child sacrifice to Molech, male-male sexual intercourse, and bestiality.
• Sin defiles people and the land.
• Persistent practice of these sins brings covenant judgment and being cut off.
• The passage is addressed to Israel under the Mosaic covenant.

• Warnings: Do not copy the ways of Egypt or Canaan; do not commit the listed sexual sins; do not give children to Molech; do not defile yourselves or the land; those who do these things will be cut off.
• Commands: Keep the Lord’s statutes and ordinances; walk in his ways; obey his charge.
• Promise: Anyone who keeps the Lord’s statutes will live by them in the covenant setting of God’s people.

This passage belongs to Israel’s life under the Mosaic covenant before entering Canaan. It shows that the Lord required holiness from his covenant people as they lived in the land he was giving them. It also fits the wider Bible story by showing that God judges defilement and calls for a people set apart for him. Any application to later readers must respect the passage’s original covenant setting.

God’s people should not take their moral standards from the surrounding culture. The Lord cares about marriage, sexual conduct, family boundaries, and worship. This chapter warns that sin is not private only; it can defile households and communities. It calls for repentance, obedience, and steady loyalty to the Lord, while remembering that the passage was first given to Israel under the Mosaic covenant.

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