Prohibitions and Priest

Leviticus 20-22

Professor Carl Trueman gets right to the heart of what we see in our world today. He writes,

A society is defined much more by what it will not tolerate than by what it affirms. That which it condemns tells us what it considers to be evil, and that which it will not criticize tells us what it considers to be good.

We live in a time when the moral compass has been flipped upside down—when righteousness is ridiculed and sin is celebrated. And yet, this isn’t a new problem. It’s exactly what God warned His people about generations ago.

In Leviticus 20-22, a passage where God is defining His covenant people by what they are to reject—what they must not tolerate in their lives, homes, and community. God is saying to Israel, and to us today, that holiness isn’t just about what you believe in theory—it’s about what you flee from in practice. God addresses the people in Leviticus 18-20, then he addresses its leaders in Leviticus 21-22. 

In Leviticus 20, God lays out serious consequences for serious sins—idolatry, sexual perversion, child sacrifice. Why? Because these sins don’t just stain individuals—they defile a people. And God will not dwell among an unholy people. The God of Leviticus 20 is the same God we worship today—holy, just, and good. While we are not under the theocratic laws of ancient Israel, we are still called to be a distinct and holy people in Christ.

If a nation is defined by what it will not tolerate, by what it condemns, then the same is true for the church. What defines the church today? What defines our church? What defines your life? What do your prohibitions say about you? About us? Do our prohibitions match God’s prohibitions? Or have we become more tolerant of things not in line with God’s word? What have you we stopped condemning as evil and what have we stopped criticizing? And how does that define us?

The Purpose of God’s Prohibitions (Leviticus 20)

Leviticus 18-20 is one unit. God is establishing particular standards of conduct for Israel to distinguish them from the other nations. Leviticus 18:3,

You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, 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. 

And then at the end of this section in Leviticus 20:22–23

“You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them. 

God defines his people by saying “do this,” as in Leviticus 19:18, “Love your neighbor as yourselves,” and he defines his people by saying, “don’t do this,” as we see in Leviticus 18 and 20. Leviticus 18 and 20 are very similar in establishing what God prohibits, but Leviticus 20 heightens the prohibitions by adding the consequences for violating those prohibitions. Leviticus 20:1–3,

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. 

Child sacrifice was strictly prohibited for Israel making them distinct from those in Canaan.

And we see the consequence given for those who break the commandment, they shall be put to death for they are profaning the name of God. 

People today are not sacrificing their children to Molech but they are sacrificing their children through abortion to other little “g” gods. The god of comfort and convenience, the god of sex without consequences, and the god of reputation. And regardless of the reason for abortion, it is a practice that should be prohibited in the church. It dishonors God and profanes his name. Sadly, many historic mainline denominations have become like the nations in their support of modern day child sacrifice. The PCUSA, the Episcipal Church and the United Methodist Church have all become like the nations by not prohibiting or criticizing abortion.

And notice in Leviticus 20:4-5, that God is not merely concerned with those who practice child sacrifice but those who close their eyes to it in the community,

Leviticus 20:4–5,

And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.

If Israel does not address the sin in the camp, they will be liable as well. Paul says something similar in Romans 1:32 after laying out a long list of sins, Romans 1:32,

Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. 

Ignoring or closing one’s eyes to sin is tacitly approving it. And when people tolerate sin, they become more like the world and profane God’s holy name. God’s people must be holy for he who called us is holy. 

God continues outlining prohibitions as to further define the character and the conduct of his people,

Leviticus 20:6–9,

“If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you. For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.

A nation that allows disobedience and disrespect among their children will soon be a nation of disorder and chaos. Proverbs 13:24,

Whoever spares the rod hates his son,

but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. 

Proverbs 22:15,

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,

but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. 

Parents must discipline their children and address any and all forms of disrespect. To dishonor one’s parents was to dishonor God’s creative design. To dishonor one’s parents made them like the nations who did not know God. Have we tolerated the disobedience and disrespect of children? Have we normalized it? If so, what does that communicate about us?

Romans 1:28–30

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 

2 Timothy 3:1–4,

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 

Parents, discipling your children is not optional. Discipline is a sign of love for even God disciplines the son he loves.

Hebrews 12:7–11,

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 

Notice that God disciplines his children to share in his holiness. We discipline our children so that they may share in God’s holiness as well. God is holy and his people are holy. He has given discipline to the family and the church to address sin so that we may share in his holiness. 

Leviticus 20:10-21 again addresses various forms of sexual immorality. God’s people cannot give themselves to the immorality of the age, but abstain from all forms of sexual immorality.

1 Thessalonians 4:3–5,

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 

Those who live in the passion of lust are like those who do not know God. And God prohibits all forms of sexual immorality. 

Beloved, these commands are so clear. If you are engaging in any form of sexual immorality, you must repent. You must turn from those desires. You must run to the Lord. The consequences of sexual immorality is death. 1 Corinthians 6:9–10,

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 

Revelation 21:7–8,

The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” 

Matthew 5:27–30,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. 

This is a matter of heaven and hell. The Bible cannot be more clear. If you are struggling with sexual immorality, let me plead with you to run from it. Confess it to a brother or sister in the church or one of the elders. Let us help you find freedom in Christ. The consequences could not be more serious. 

God has always prohibited sexual immorality. Our world celebrates and tolerates what God hates. We see that in our own city as the streets yesterday were filled with people celebrating Pride Month. The world will do what the world does, but God’s people must be different. When the world screams acceptance and tolerance to sexual immorality and perversions, God’s people must hold God’s standards. As the people of Israel were about to enter the Promised Land, they were told to not walk in the customs of the nations, so too are we.

Leviticus 20:22–26,

“You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them. But I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples. You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.

We can hear these commands as harsh and restrictive, but that would be a mistake. Don’t miss the purpose in these prohibitions. When we hear prohibitions we tend to focus on what we lose rather than what we gain. But notice the Lord’s purpose in these prohibitions,

Leviticus 20:26,

You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. 

“That you should be mine.” God wants us with him. He wants us to be a people of his own possession. 

Beloved, this is the heart of the gospel. God sent Jesus Christ to make us his own. We train ourselves to live holy lives because Jesus Christ gave us himself. Titus 2:11–14,

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. 

Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us for himself. He died so that we would be his. Israel fought for holiness because God redeemed them for himself through the blood of the lamb in the Exodus so we also fight for holiness because God has redeemed us for himself through the blood of the Lamb of God. 

Our motivation for holiness is Jesus Christ. We have been redeemed. He died for us. He was raised for us. He did it all so we would be his. Paul lays this out again in Philippians 3:12

Not that I have already obtained this (the righteousness of God) or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 

We were bought with a price. This is why we should want to be holy. And if we stop pursuing holiness, we stop pursuing Jesus. The purpose of all the prohibitions in the Old and New

Testament are given so that we would know we belong to God. He has made us his own.

And those distinctions clarify who belongs to God and who belongs to the world. 

Friend, do you belong to God? Have you been redeemed? We can know if we have been redeemed, in part, by what we prohibit or by what we choose not to tolerate in our lives. We could easily quote Carl Trueman as speaking to an individual and not a society, 

A person is defined much more by what he will not tolerate than by what he affirms. That which he condemns tells us what he considers to be evil, and that which he will not criticize tells us what he considers to be good.

What defines you? What do you not tolerate? What do you condemn as evil? Without God’s intervention all of us would choose to tolerate and celebrate sin. Romans 3:10–12

“None is righteous, no, not one;

no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one.”

We all need an intervention. We all need God to save us. And this is what he offers in Jesus Christ. Romans 3:22–24,

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

If you recognize your sin, and confess it to God, turn from it, receive Jesus Christ as your

Savior and Lord, you will experience his redemption. It is a gift, you can’t earn it, but merely receive it. Jesus laid down his life on the cross as a perfect substitute and was dead and buried, but three days later was raised from the dead. His death and resurrection was so that all who would believe in him would not longer belong to the world, but belong to God.

You would be his. You can be his today, by repenting of your sins and trusting in Christ.

God’s purpose in his prohibitions is that we would belong to him. We must not be like the nations, but like our God. And if the people are to be holy, so must their leaders be holy. 

The Purity of God’s Priests  (Leviticus 21-22)

Leviticus 21-22 lays out specific standards for the priesthood. Many of the things we see in these two chapters have already been laid out in Leviticus. Instead of working through these chapters in close detail, I want to put out a few verses that summarize both the chapters and show why I wanted to connect them to Leviticus 20. 

Leviticus 21:6; 7b

They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the LORD’s food offerings, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy…for the priest is holy to his God. 

The priest must be holy for they lead in offering sacrifices to God. They are set apart to represent God for the people. The priest is holy to his God. As you read these two chapters, all of the prohibitions for the priests lay out the same principle in the New Testament: they must be above reproach.

1 Timothy 3:1–2a

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, 

Titus 1:7a,

For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. 

There is a standard for the priests in the Old Testament and there is a standard for elders/pastors in the New Testament. Both are to be above reproach so that the people may be holy.

Leviticus 22:31–33,

“So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the LORD. And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD.” 

These two chapters directly address the priests saying they must not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. As a general rule, the people will reflect their leaders, therefore God’s leaders must be holy if the people are going to be holy. 

Throughout the history of the church, many pastors and theologians have communicated this principle, 

John Calvin - “The character of the people is often a reflection of the character of their rulers.”

Puritan Richard Baxter -“The people’s corruption is commonly the effect of their pastors’ negligence.”

Charles Spurgeon - “When the pulpit is sound, the pew is likely to be healthy.”

A.W. Tozer -“A church is never better than its leadership. The spiritual climate of the church will seldom rise above the spiritual temperature of its leaders.”

J.C. Ryle -“The spiritual character of a congregation will rarely exceed the character of the man who ministers to them.”

God establishes his leaders to be above reproach as examples and models to the congregation to be above reproach. 

If a nation tolerates sin in their leaders, the nation will become more sinful. A nation will reflect its leaders. One of the indictments of our nation is that we become tolerant of behavior that in previous generations would be unthinkable. And what is normalized in leadership is often normalized in the people. Israel often followed after the behavior of the kings who ruled.

1 Kings 14:16,

And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.

2 Kings 21:9,

But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel.

Leaders lead. People follow. 

God wanted priests to be above reproach so that his people would be holy. God wants pastors/elders to be above reproach so that his people would be holy. Hebrews 13:7,

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 

God expects the people to follow their leaders therefore people must expect their leaders to be above reproach.

Leviticus 22:31–33

“So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the LORD. And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD.” 

The command given to the priests was rooted in redemption. God says to the priests, “I am the LORD who sanctifies you.” The holiness of the leaders is an act of God. All sanctification is of grace. God sanctifies his leaders and God sanctifies his people. It is all of God. And this is why God grounds his commands in his redemption. 

I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD.” 

In the Old Testament, the great redemption was God freeing Israel from slavery in Egypt. They could do nothing to free themselves, it was an act of God. In the New Testament, the great redemption is the second Exodus when God freed his people from slavery to sin.

Jesus lived, died, and rose again to free us from bondage so that we would be holy. 

Sadly, the priests in the Old Testament were so often not above reproach as we have already seen in Nadab and Abihu. And we will continue to see it in Israel’s history. And sadly, too often pastors today are not above reproach. The ultimate hope is not looking to the character of the priests, but the character of the eternal High Priest. We don’t merely look at earthly shepherds, but the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep. Jesus Christ is the head of the Church. He is our leader and therefore our lives should reflect him. Our lives should reflect him in what we do not tolerate and what we condemn. Our lives should reflect him who gave himself for us so that we would be his people, a people for himself, who are zealous for good works. 

Leviticus 20-22 reveals what God prohibits and what he will punish.

They reveal what he wants his people to be and how he wants his people to live. God’s people are defined by what they choose not to tolerate and by what they choose not to condemn. Beloved, God wants us to be holy. He wants us to be like him. He sent Jesus to show us that He wants us to be his. Maybe a good question for us to ask is, “Do we really want him to be ours?” If so, how then shall we live?