God gave a warning to His people in this chapter to avoid the practices of the sinful culture surrounding them. They had been delivered from such a culture when they fled Egypt, but soon they would experience a similar one where they were going. Both Egypt & Canaan had similar sinful practices which were addressed:
Lev. 18:2-3 “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.”
1. Incest
V6 “None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.”
2. Abortion
V21a “And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech,”
3. Blasphemy
V21b “neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.”
4. Homosexuality
V22 “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”
5. Bestiality
V23 “Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.”
LESSON - Here is proof that mankind has struggled with the same sins from the very beginning. Nothing is new! God cautions us to avoid these things by maintaining our focus upon things which feed our spirit rather than our flesh.
V30 “Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.”
DON’T think this can’t happen to you! If you flirt with sin, it will overtake you and destroy your life.
V27-29 “For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.”
~Mike