The Encourager
“Obeying God's Commands - by Jeff Curtis”
Obeying God’s Commands
by Jeff Curtis
In Leviticus chapter 19, it begins with the words: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (v.2). About halfway through, the chapter says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord” (v.18). It concludes with “You shall thus observe all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them; I am the Lord” (v.37). To be holy, one had to love his neighbor; and to love his neighbor, he had to obey God’s commands.
What commands? The chapter repeats most of the Ten Commandments and may imply others which are not specifically stated.
The first of the Ten Commandments required the Israelites to have no other God but the Lord, and the second forbid them to make or worship idols (Exodus 20:3,4). Leviticus 19:4 says, “Do not make for yourselves idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am the Lord your God.” The third commandment forbade taking the Lord’s name in vain (Exodus 20:7); and Leviticus 19:12 says, “You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of Your God. I am the Lord.” The fourth commandment required God’s people to keep God’s people to keep the Sabbath (Exodus 20:9-11), and Leviticus 19 twice reminded the Israelites to keep God’s Sabbaths (vv.3, 30).
The fifth commandment is “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). Leviticus 19 says; “Everyone of you shall reverence his mother and father.” The sixth commandment is “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Leviticus 19 doesn’t specifically forbid murder, but it does say, “You are not to act against the life of your neighbor” (19:16) – and that sounds like a law against nature.
The seventh commandment forbids committing adultery (Exodus 20:14). Again, there is no specific law against committing adultery in Leviticus 19, but the chapter shows that God was concerned about sexual behavior of the Israelites, for it contains and deals with the punishment deserved by a man who had sex with a slave woman (vv.20-22).
The eighth commandment is “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15) and the ninth is “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). Leviticus 19:11 covers both commands when it says, “You shall not steal, nor lie falsely, nor lie to one another.” The tenth commandment is “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17). No verse in Leviticus 10 forbids coveting, although the chapter requires fairness and generosity toward all (v.9, 10, 35, 36).
Loving a neighbor as oneself begins with keeping God’s commandments, especially those found in the Ten Commandments. With the exception of the Sabbath command, all of these are also found in the New Testament. The principle of love is obvious in the last six of the Ten Commandments, which deal ourselves, we will not murder them, commit adultery with their husbands or wives, steal from them, lie to them, or covet what belongs to them.
Less obvious is the idea that worshipping the Lord alone, refusing to make or worship idols, and not taking God’s name in vain are also ways of showing love toward our neighbors. The first and second commandments are closely linked; those who follow the Lord treat other people right (1John 4:21 – “And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”)
