Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20001129.htm

LEVITICUS: GOD'S CALL FOR A SEPARATED WITNESS
Part II: The Path Of Walking In Fellowship With God (Leviticus 11-27)
G. God's Call For Sexual Purity
(Leviticus 18:1-30)
  1. Introduction
    1. It should go without saying that one must be morally upright to fellowship with a holy God.
    2. However, with the "sexual revolution" of recent generations, questions have arisen as to what constitutes moral excellence. Same gender sexual relationships, not to mention numerous arrangements outside of a permanent, monogamous union between a man and woman abound, creating a need to define morality.
    3. Leviticus 18:1-30 is God's definition of this standard, and it is given with great force as follows:
  2. God's Call For Sexual Purity, Leviticus 18:1-30.
    1. At the opening and the closing of Leviticus 18 (18:1-2, 30c), God's claim that "I am the Lord your God" is supplied as an emphasis on Israel's accountability to the LORD regarding the chapter's instruction. Hence, what is supplied in Leviticus 18 is very important to GOD as He sees it!
    2. The chapter focuses on what constitutes immoral sexual relations, and how strongly God feels about it:
      1. Opposite what the pagans did in Egypt that Israel had just left, and opposite what the pagans in Canaan did in the land to which Israel was traveling, the people of God were to live differently, Lev. 18:3-5.
      2. Specifically, the people of Israel were not to have the following types of sexual relationships, 18:6-23:
        1. Sexual relations between close relatives was forbidden of the Lord, Leviticus 18:6.
        2. Specifically, one was not to have sexual relationships with his mother, Leviticus 18:7.
        3. Specifically, one was not to have sexual relationships with his stepmother, Leviticus 18:8
        4. Specifically, one was not to have sexual relationships with his sister or half-sister, Lev. 18:9.
        5. Specifically, one was not to have sexual relationships with his grandchildren, Leviticus 18:10.
        6. Specifically, one was not to have sexual relationships with his stepsister, Leviticus 18:11.
        7. Specifically, one was not to have sexual relationships with any of his aunts by birth, Lev. 18:12-13.
        8. Specifically, one was not to have sexual relationships with any of his aunts by marriage, 18:14.
        9. Specifically, one was not to have sexual relationships with any of his daughters-in-law, 18:15.
        10. Specifically, one was not to have sexual relationships with any sister-in-law, Leviticus 18:16.
        11. Specifically, one was not to have sexual relationships with his wife's close relatives, Lev. 18:17.
        12. Specifically, in an era when a man could have more than one wife at a time, one was not to marry his wife's sister while his first wife was still living, Leviticus 18:18.
        13. In keeping with the Law, one was not to have union with his wife during her menstruation, 18:19.
        14. Specifically, one was not to have sexual relationships with his neighbor's wife, Leviticus 18:20.
        15. Specifically, one was not to sacrifice his children to the god, Molech, meaning perhaps a prohibition against the giving of children to be cult prostitutes, Lev. 18:21, Bib. Know. Com., O.T., p. 201.
        16. Specifically, one was not to have sexual relationships with those of the same gender, Lev. 18:22.
        17. Specifically, one was not to have sexual relationships with an animal, Leviticus 18:23.
      3. Having laid out these details of sexual perversion, God then relayed how strongly He felt about them:
        1. The Lord revealed it was specifically because of these very sexual behaviors that He was driving out the Canaanites from the land for Israel to inherit it in their place, Leviticus 18:24.
        2. Indeed, God described the land as "vomiting out" its Canaanite inhabitants because of these lewd actions, revealing how deeply opposed He was to them, Leviticus 18:25.
        3. God warned that if Israel performed these acts of sin, He would "vomit them" out also, 18:26-28.
        4. Anyone performing these immoral acts was to be excommunicated from Israel, Lev. 18:29-30a,b.
Lesson: The ONLY sexual union condoned by God is that which is within proper marital union between a male man and his female wife. Any other arrangement, be it with strangers, relatives, with those of the same gender, with animals, etc. is detestable to God, and will be met with His wrath!

Application: As God asked Israel, we are to live SEPARATE from the immoral standards of the pagan world about us! We are to live HOLY lives in our sexual conduct to be pleasing to our holy God.