Leviticus 19:32-20:27
THE SAME authority of the Lord which forbad the practices of the heathen, called upon the Israelite to honor the hoary head and the face of the old man, and with this was coupled the fear of “thy God.”
We live in times when there is little respect for old age, and there is a special word here for us who are children of God, for everything in God’s Word is important. No matter what the occasion might be, we should never speak disrespectfully to an older person. Even if an older one does make a mistake, as everyone does at times, still we should always speak in a courteous and respectful way. This applies especially to our parents whom the Lord tells us we should honor at all times.
“The stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Not only was he not to be interfered with, but to be loved as one of their own. It is very touching to see how here the remembrance of their oppression in Egypt was not to be an occasion for the Israelite to show resentment against the stranger, but rather compassion. This was indeed grace.
“Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment,... in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights,... shall ye have.” This would remind us that as Christians we are called to be upright and honest in all our dealings and business affairs. “I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.” His eye is upon the least things of daily life. We can seek to please and honor Him in all our circumstances.
In chapter 20 we have further warnings against the fearful evil practiced by heathen nations. Israel was soon to enter the land of the Canaanites and the Lord would warn them beforehand lest they fall into their idolatrous and wicked ways. And we as Christians need to be warned against adopting the ways of the world around us, for our hearts are no better than theirs. Sometimes boys and girls, and older people too, act as though God did not see them, but He knows all the secrets of our lives for “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Heb. 4:13. He can see what we do in the dark as well as what we do in the light; and because He is patient and does not act in judgment at once, let us not suppose that He does not see and know (Eccl. 8:11). “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap... Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Gal. 6:7, 9.
It is well for us to bear in mind that holiness is according to the relationship in which one stands. Israel were a people in the flesh, but the place and condition of the Christian is altogether different. We “are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in us.” The Lord Jesus has not only died for us to put our sins away, but He has gone back to heaven and brought us into the same heavenly position as He is. He could say in John 17:19: “And for their sakes I sanctify [set apart] Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” So with us it is more than simply refraining from evil and what is contrary to God’s will here below, but our standard of Christian holiness is heavenly in character, according to that place where we now know Christ to be, the same place that He has won for us.
ML-07/16/1972