What is the meaning of Leviticus 18:4? You are to practice My judgments - “Judgments” are God’s settled decisions about right and wrong. They show up in places like Exodus 21–23, where the Lord renders verdicts on real-life situations. - Putting them into practice means letting His decisions guide ours every day: • Choosing honesty because Proverbs 11:1 says “dishonest scales are detestable to the LORD.” • Treating people impartially because Deuteronomy 1:17 insists, “Do not show partiality in judgment.” - When Israel obeyed these judgments, God promised “that it may go well with you” (Deuteronomy 6:18). The same principle remains: His rulings protect us and bless others. and keep My statutes - “Statutes” are fixed ordinances—commands meant to be safeguarded, not edited. Think of Deuteronomy 6:17: “You must diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God and the testimonies and the statutes He has given you.” - Keeping them involves: • Guarding the truth (Jude 3) so it isn’t distorted. • Passing them to the next generation (Psalm 78:5-7). • Obeying from the heart, as Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). - God never treats His statutes as temporary suggestions; they flow from His unchanging character (Malachi 3:6). by walking in them - “Walking” pictures a lifestyle, not a one-time act. Deuteronomy 5:33 urges, “Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live.” - Daily steps matter: • Planning: “In all your ways acknowledge Him” (Proverbs 3:6). • Speech: “Let your conversation be always full of grace” (Colossians 4:6). • Relationships: “Walk in love” (Ephesians 5:2). - New-covenant believers still walk this path, empowered by the Spirit: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). I am the LORD your God - The command rests on who He is. He reminds them, “I am the LORD”—Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God who delivered them from Egypt (Exodus 20:2). - Because He is: • Sovereign (Isaiah 45:5), His word is final. • Holy (Leviticus 11:44), His people are called to be holy. • Personal—“your God”—He desires relationship, not mere rule-keeping (Jeremiah 31:33). - Revelation 1:8 echoes the same authority: “I am the Alpha and the Omega… the Almighty.” The foundation of obedience is always His identity. summary Leviticus 18:4 calls God’s people to live out His settled judgments and guard His fixed statutes by making them the pathway of everyday life. Obedience isn’t abstract; it’s a walk empowered by the One who declares, “I am the LORD your God.” His character undergirds His commands, and following them lets the world see who He is through how we live. |
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