Chapter 18
Imagine someone gives you a brand-new iPhone, or better yet, a SAMSUNG FLIP! You love it, use it every day — but instead of using a phone case, you toss it around, let it drop, and leave it out in the rain. After a while, it stops working right.
Did the phone company mess up? No. You misused it — not because you’re evil, but because you didn’t protect what was valuable. That’s kind of what God is doing in Leviticus 18. He’s saying, “You’re valuable. The way you live, love, and treat your body — it matters. Don’t throw yourself around like you’re cheap. You’re not.”
Leviticus 18 is one of those chapters that can feel uncomfortable to read — it lists a lot of things not to do when it comes to sex, relationships, and moral choices. It’s detailed and direct. At first glance, it might seem like just a list of old, outdated rules. But when you slow down and think about why God gave this to His people, it starts to hit differently.
God had just brought Israel out of Egypt, a symbol of the world — out of slavery, oppression, and a culture that didn’t know Him. And He was leading them into Canaan — a land full of people living by different values, worshiping false gods, and doing things that God called harmful and destructive. Another dark place. But during this journey God was transforming them.
So what’s God saying here? “I don’t want you to live like where you came from…and I don’t want you to blend in with where you’re going. I want you to live like you belong to Me.”
Let’s be real: we live in a modern-day version of Canaan. Everywhere we turn — online, in music, on streaming platforms, even in conversations — we’re surrounded by messages about sex, identity, and freedom that are often the complete opposite of what God says is good.
- The world says, “Do whatever feels good.”
- God says, “Live in a way that brings life, not damage.”
- The world says, “Your body, your rules.”
- God says, “Your body is sacred — it’s Mine.”
Leviticus 18 isn’t about killing joy. It’s about holiness. It is about God wanting to get closer with us. It’s about protecting us, transforming us away from darkness — and from pain we weren’t designed to carry. It begins with respecting the body God has given us. About controlling the passions that were given to us by God, but trying to be manipulated by darkness.
Here’s the grace part: This isn’t about shame — it’s about healing. If you’ve made mistakes (and we all have), Jesus doesn’t cancel you — He invites you back. That’s the difference between religion and relationship: Religion says, “You broke the rules — stay out.” Jesus says, “You broke the rules — come to Me and I’ll make you new.”
God wanted Israel to stand out in Canaan — not because they were better, but because they were His. He wanted Israel to be the light in this new dark land. He wants the same for us today.
Leviticus 18 reminds us: Who you are matters. How you live matters. And you are not meant to blend in. You’re meant to reflect a different kind of life — one full of grace, truth, hope, and purpose.
Make no mistake, this chapter and book reveals the walk of every Christian. We were taken out of the world, and placed back into the world – but prepared and sharpened in our daily journey with Jesus to influence others toward the Lord.
Unlawful Sexual Relations
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the LORD your God. 3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4 You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God. 5 Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD.
6 ” ‘No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.
7 ” ‘Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her. [Mother]
8 ” ‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; that would dishonor your father. [Step-mother]
9 ” ‘Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere. [Half-Sister]
10 ” ‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you. [Grand-child]
11 ” ‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister. [Sister]
12 ” ‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative. [Aunt]
13 ” ‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative. [Aunt]
14 ” ‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother [Uncle] by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt. [Aunt by marriage]
15 ” ‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her. [Daughter-in-Law]
16 ” ‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother. [Sister-in-Law]
17 ” ‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness. [Your wife and her daughter from another union, or your grand-children by marriage]
18 ” ‘Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living. [marrying your sister-in-law while married to your wife]
19 ” ‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.
20 ” ‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife [Question: Who is your neighbor?] and defile yourself with her.
21 ” ‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. [Burning an infant to death]
22 ” ‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable. [Homosexuality]
23 ” ‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion. [Bestiality]
24 ” ‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. [“Do not conform to the patterns of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”(Romans 12:2)] 25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, 27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. 28 And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.
29 ” ‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things–such persons must be cut off from their people. 30 Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God.’ “
