What is the meaning of Leviticus 19:14? You must not curse the deaf The command is strikingly practical. Someone who is deaf cannot hear insulting words, yet God says those words still matter. • Words spoken in secret still reach the Lord who “looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). • Slandering the defenseless is condemned elsewhere: “You shall not mistreat any widow or orphan” (Exodus 22:22). • Proverbs warns, “Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker” (Proverbs 17:5). • James reminds us that blessing God while cursing people made in His likeness is hypocrisy (James 3:9-10). God’s people are called to integrity even when there seems to be no earthly accountability. or place a stumbling block before the blind The second prohibition broadens the theme from speech to action. Putting an obstacle in a blind person’s path is both cruel and cowardly. • Deuteronomy 27:18 repeats the warning and adds, “Let all the people say, ‘Amen!’” • Jesus applies the principle spiritually: “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck” (Matthew 18:6). • Paul tells believers, “Make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way” (Romans 14:13). • In matters like food offered to idols, “Be careful…that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak” (1 Corinthians 8:9). Whether physical or moral, exploiting another’s weakness is sin. but you shall fear your God This phrase supplies the motive. We treat the vulnerable with honor because we answer to God. • “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). • Israel was to “fear the LORD your God, walk in all His ways, love Him, and serve Him” (Deuteronomy 10:12). • Paul tells servants to obey “with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord…knowing that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord” (Colossians 3:22-24). Reverence for God restrains hidden sins; His presence makes every act public. I am the LORD. The command closes with God’s covenant name, reminding the listener Who is speaking. • Repeated through Leviticus 19 (vv. 2, 4, 10, 12, etc.), this seal shows the law flows from God’s own character. • “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14) grounds every ethical demand in His eternal, unchanging nature (Malachi 3:6). • Revelation opens with the same assurance: “I am the Alpha and the Omega…who is and was and is to come” (Revelation 1:8). Because the Lord is unchanging, His standards remain steady and His watchful care over the powerless endures. summary Leviticus 19:14 calls believers to guard both speech and action toward those who cannot easily defend themselves. Words whispered against the deaf and obstacles laid before the blind expose hearts that do not truly fear God. Genuine reverence for the LORD produces compassion, honesty, and protection for every person made in His image, knowing that the ever-present “I AM” sees and judges righteously. |
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