How does this verse connect with the commandment to love your neighbor? setting the scene Leviticus 19 is a tapestry of commands that spell out what loving God and loving people look like in everyday life. Verse 18 famously states, “love your neighbor as yourself,” while verse 29 zooms in on one specific practice that violates that love. the immediate command in Leviticus 19:29 “Do not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.” • “Do not defile” shows that prostitution is spiritual and moral corruption, not merely an economic choice. • The command targets parents—those entrusted with care—to prevent them from exploiting the vulnerable for personal gain. • The warning goes beyond the family: if this sin proliferates, “the land will… be filled with wickedness.” Personal sin always ripples out into community decay. linked by love: verses 18 and 29 in the same chapter • Verse 18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” • Verse 29 explains one concrete way that command is honored—by refusing to commodify another human being. • Love safeguards dignity; exploitation destroys it. • God places sexual purity and neighbor love side by side because both are about valuing people as His image-bearers. protecting human dignity is loving your neighbor • Sexual exploitation treats a person as an object; love treats a person as a sacred life. • By commanding parents not to profit from their daughters’ bodies, God defends the weakest and most easily pressured. • Neighbor love always includes: – guarding others from harm, – refusing to benefit from their vulnerability, – promoting purity that reflects God’s holiness (Leviticus 19:2). echoes in the wider canon • Deuteronomy 23:17-18 extends the ban to Israel’s sons and daughters alike, showing the principle is universal. • Matthew 22:37-40—Jesus unites “love the Lord your God” and “love your neighbor” as the twin pillars on which “all the Law and the Prophets hang.” Leviticus 19:29 is one of those very laws hanging on love. • Romans 13:10—“Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Prostitution wrongs the neighbor; abstaining fulfills the law. • 1 Corinthians 6:18-20—Believers are “bought at a price,” so bodies are not for sexual immorality but for glorifying God. practicing the principle today • Reject every form of sexual exploitation—pornography, trafficking, coercive relationships—because each one denies neighbor love. • Champion policies and ministries that rescue and restore those trapped in the sex trade. • Model purity in personal choices, guarding both heart and eyes (Job 31:1). • Teach children early that every person’s worth is anchored in being created by God, not in what they can provide or perform. • When culture normalizes commodification, stand apart by treating people as treasures, not products. Leviticus 19:29 may seem narrowly focused, yet it vividly illustrates the wider command to love your neighbor. Love refuses to exploit; it protects, honors, and uplifts, mirroring the heart of God for every human being. |
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