I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Leviticus 19-21.
There are a lot of very basic, good life rules in today’s passage.
- do not deceive and cheat
- do not twist justice to favor the poor or show partiality towards the rich I think it is worth noting that this command spells out our human tendency to twist justice in favor of the poor when we don’t twist it to gain favor with the rich and that both are wrong.
- Do not spread slanderous gossip
- help people when they are in danger
- do not nurse a grievance, instead confront the person directly whom you believe to have wronged you
All of these represent good rules to follow and are summed up by the one which Jesus listed as the second most important command (which is in this passage): Love your neighbor as yourself.
There are more rules that are worth noting in chapter 19, then I see a kind of transition and a series of rules with a different focus in chapter 20. While the rules in chapter 20 can also be summed up by loving others as you love yourself, I see a somewhat different common thread among them. I am not quite sure how to summarize these rules, but I think they are tied together. Here God forbids sacrificing children, attempting to communicate with the dead, dishonoring your parents, and a laundry list of sexual acts. All of these involve putting yourself and your own pleasure over the best interest of others.