Leviticus 20:23

My Notes

What Does Leviticus 20:23 Mean?

"And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them." God connects the command (don't imitate the Canaanites) to the REASON (they committed these sins and I ABHORRED them). The logic is: the nations I'm driving out committed these exact sins. I abhorred them FOR those sins. If YOU commit the same sins, I'll abhor YOU the same way. The precedent is set. The warning is: the judgment that fell on THEM will fall on you for the SAME behavior.

The phrase "ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation" (velo telekhu bechuqqot haggoy — you shall not walk in the statutes/customs of the nation) prohibits IMITATION: the 'walking' (halakh — to go, to live, to conduct life) in the 'manners' (chuqqot — statutes, customs, established practices) means adopting the LIFESTYLE-PATTERNS of the displaced nations. The prohibition isn't against CONTACT with Canaanite people. It's against CONFORMITY to Canaanite practices. The living-like is the sin. The imitating is the danger.

The "therefore I abhorred them" (va'aqutz bam — I was disgusted/loathed by them) uses the STRONGEST word for divine revulsion: aqutz means to loathe, to be disgusted by, to feel revulsion toward. God ABHORRED — was revolted by — the nations' behavior. The abhorrence produced the EXPULSION. The disgust produced the driving-out. The revulsion produced the judgment. The same sequence will apply to Israel if Israel replicates the behavior.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What surrounding cultural practices are you walking in that God has already judged in others?
• 2.What does God abhorring the nations FOR SPECIFIC SINS teach about judgment being behavior-based?
• 3.How does the precedent (they did it, I abhorred them) function as a warning (if you do it, same response)?
• 4.What 'walking in the manners' — what lifestyle imitation — needs to stop?

Devotional

Don't walk in their ways. They committed THESE things. And I ABHORRED them. The logic is direct: the nations being driven out did these exact sins. God was REVOLTED by them for those sins. If Israel does the SAME things, God will respond with the SAME revulsion. The precedent is the warning. The judgment that fell on them will fall on you.

The 'not walk in the manners' prohibits LIFESTYLE IMITATION: the danger isn't KNOWING about Canaanite practices. It's WALKING in them — adopting them, living them, making them your daily customs. The 'walking' (halakh) means the practices become your PATH — the direction you go, the way you live, the habits you adopt. The prohibition is against making their customs YOUR customs.

The 'they committed all these things' makes the WARNING SPECIFIC: the 'all these things' refers to the sexual abominations listed in chapter 18 and the idol-worship in chapter 20. The 'all' (kol) means the Canaanites didn't commit SOME of these sins. They committed ALL of them. The comprehensiveness of the sin produced the comprehensiveness of the judgment.

The 'I abhorred them' is the DIVINE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE: the word aqutz carries VISCERAL disgust — the physical revulsion that produces the expelling. God wasn't MILDLY DISPLEASED. He ABHORRED — was revolted, was disgusted, felt the revulsion that makes you PUSH AWAY what disgusts you. The driving-out of the nations was the BEHAVIORAL expression of the divine ABHORRENCE. The expelling was the abhorring made geographic.

What practices of the surrounding culture are you 'walking in' that produced divine abhorrence when others did them?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture