What is the meaning of Leviticus 18:5? Keep My statutes God opens with a clear, positive command. “Keep” is not merely “know” but “guard and practice.” His “statutes” are the fixed boundaries He has set for our good. • Deuteronomy 4:1 urges Israel to “hear… the statutes… so that you may live.” • Psalm 119:33 asks, “Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I will keep them to the end.” • Jesus affirms the same heart in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” The verse in Leviticus calls every generation to treasure God’s revealed will and make it the rule of daily life. and My judgments “Judgments” (ordinances) highlight God’s wise decisions in specific matters. They show how His unchanging principles apply to real situations. • Psalm 19:9 celebrates that “the judgments of the LORD are true and altogether righteous.” • Deuteronomy 6:24-25 links obedience to God’s judgments with both well-being and righteousness. Because His rulings are just, obeying them keeps us aligned with His character and protects community life. for the man who does these things The promise is directed to “the man”—an individual, personal call. Obedience is not theoretical; it is something a person “does.” • Ezekiel 18:9 describes the righteous person who “follows My statutes and faithfully keeps My ordinances—he is righteous; he will surely live.” • Romans 2:13 reminds believers that “it is the doers of the law who will be justified.” God invites each of us to move from hearing to active, ongoing practice. will live by them “Live” points to fullness of life—safe dwelling in the land for Israel and, more broadly, true life before God. • Deuteronomy 30:15-16 sets life and good on one side, death and evil on the other, hinging on obedience. • Nehemiah 9:29 notes that refusing God’s law “would have caused them to live by them.” • Paul cites this line in Galatians 3:12 and Romans 10:5 to show the law’s standard of perfect obedience—pointing us ultimately to Christ, who fulfilled it (Matthew 5:17). While the law itself cannot grant eternal life to sinners, its principles still outline the path of blessing, and in Christ we find both empowerment and the promised life abundant (John 10:10). I am the LORD The verse ends with God’s covenant name, anchoring every command and promise in His unchanging character. • Exodus 20:2 begins the Ten Commandments the same way: “I am the LORD your God….” • Malachi 3:6 comforts us: “I the LORD do not change.” He alone has absolute authority; He alone guarantees the blessings attached to His word. Our obedience is a response to who He is. summary Leviticus 18:5 calls us to attentive, personal obedience to God’s statutes and judgments. Those who actively walk in His revealed will experience true life, because the commands flow from the One who is the LORD—unchanging, righteous, and utterly faithful. |
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