Torah Studies · Study 21
Set Apart for God
Connecting the Torah and Jesus
Day 21 · Leviticus 20
Read Leviticus 20 in its covenant setting. Discover the seriousness of sin, God’s call to holiness, and the new life He offers through Jesus.
In this study
Let’s begin together
Father, help us read difficult words with care. Teach us to turn from evil, protect others, and live as people who belong to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Leviticus 20 includes severe penalties within ancient Israel’s covenant and national life. We should neither hide those words nor treat them as instructions for a church to carry out today. We will hear the chapter’s call to holiness and then listen to the teaching of Jesus and His apostles.
Main truth: God calls His people away from evil and into a life that belongs to Him.
1. Do not look away from harm
Leviticus 20:1-6 King James Version
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
3 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
4 And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:
5 Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
Giving children to Molech was a deadly betrayal of worship and of children. God also held the community responsible if it deliberately ignored the practice. The passage warns against seeking spiritual guidance from mediums. Worship of the Lord required loyalty, and the community could not excuse serious harm simply because someone called it religion.
Leviticus 20:7-8 King James Version
7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.
God tells the people to set themselves apart, and He also says that He is the One who makes them holy. Their response mattered, but holiness began with belonging to Him. Obedience was not a costume worn for worship. It was a daily response to God’s claim on their lives.
2. These commands carried serious consequences
Leviticus 20:9-16 King James Version
9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
11 And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
12 And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.
13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
14 And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.
15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
16 And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
These laws address cursing parents and several forbidden sexual acts, with severe penalties. They belong to Israel’s ancient legal order. Their presence in Scripture calls for careful reading, not personal revenge. No reader receives permission here to attack, threaten, or kill another person.
Leviticus 20:17-21 King James Version
17 And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
18 And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
19 And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister, nor of thy father’s sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.
20 And if a man shall lie with his uncle’s wife, he hath uncovered his uncle’s nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.
21 And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.
The chapter continues with boundaries involving close relatives and ritual uncleanness. Different consequences are named. Read them as the stated covenant laws, without deciding that every modern illness or family sorrow must be punishment for a secret sin. This passage does not give us that knowledge about another person.
3. Belonging to God shapes a people
Leviticus 20:22-27 King James Version
22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.
23 And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.
25 Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.
Israel was warned that disobedience could lead to removal from the land. The distinctions about food also reminded them of their covenant identity. Verse 26 gives the purpose: “that ye should be mine.” Being set apart was a call to faithfulness. It was not a reason to feel superior to everyone else.
4. Jesus teaches the character of His kingdom
John 18:36 King James Version
36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
Before Pilate, Jesus explains that His kingdom does not come from this world’s power. His servants were not to fight to prevent His arrest. We cannot take Israel’s ancient penalties and turn them into a mission of religious violence. Following Jesus calls us to His way of faithful witness.
1 Peter 1:13-16 King James Version
13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Peter repeats the Torah’s call to holiness for believers in Jesus. He calls them to clear thinking, hope, and obedient living. Grace does not make evil harmless. Grace gives us a new direction: learning to live in a way that reflects the holy God who called us.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 King James Version
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Paul describes new creation and reconciliation through Christ. Reconciliation means a broken relationship being restored. God brings us near through Jesus and gives us a message of peace with Him. We respond by trusting Christ and letting that new relationship change how we live.
Talk it over with friends
1. Why must we read these penalties within ancient Israel’s setting?
2. How does “you belong to Me” help explain holiness?
3. What change might new life in Christ bring to your week?
Put it into practice
Bring one wrong habit honestly to God. Choose a specific step away from it and toward a good action. Ask a trustworthy believer to encourage you.
A verse to carry with you
2 Corinthians 5:17 King James Version
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
In Christ, a changed life is possible.
Let’s pray together
Father, thank You for calling us to belong to You. Give us courage to turn from evil and humility to receive Your mercy. Shape our thoughts, choices, and relationships through Jesus. Make us people who speak truth and bring peace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
I love you, my friends.
Scripture and sources
Scripture text was checked against the King James Version published by eBible.org. Complete verses retain the historical wording; editorial footnotes are omitted. Scripture references link to the source chapter.