Don't Leviticus Someone

I doubt you have ever seen the word "Leviticus" used as a verb before, have you? Well, now you have. There is a trend that has been going on for a long time and it's getting worse. So many people are using the verses in Leviticus to either attack the people living in sin or attack the people in the church. And neither of these two groups are right in doing so.

What do I mean? When certain topics come up such as homosexuality or immigration, people will quote certain verses from Leviticus or another Old Testament book to either condemn someone. For example, what if someone was trying to use the Bible to condemn a gay man and quoted Leviticus 18:22 (ESV) — 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.? Or what if someone was trying to promote immigration and quoted Leviticus 19:34 (ESV) — 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.? (These are just two examples but there are so many other topics that could be used here...)

These two examples are so wrong. First of all, ask yourself who these words from the book of Leviticus were directed to? All nations? No. These words were written to the people of Israel around 1,400 years before the birth of Christ. If you are going to use these verses from the book of Leviticus to defend your case, you have to use all of them such as the following...

1. Do you eat bacon or sausage? Leviticus 11:7 (ESV) — 7 And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you.

2. Have you ever worked on the Sabbath day? Leviticus 23:3 (ESV) — 3 “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places.

3. Do you observe the Passover? Leviticus 23:4–5 (ESV) — 4 “These are the appointed feasts of the LORD, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. 5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD’s Passover.

4. Have you ever committed adultery? Leviticus 20:10 (ESV) — 10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

5. Have you ever blasphemed the name of Lord? Leviticus 24:16 (ESV) — 16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

The Bible is not to be used as a weapon against others. Yes, it is true that we are to call people to repentance but we are not supposed to clip and paste certain verses that we want to use in our argument with someone. Another problem with this approach is the fact that some of the people who are using these verses to condemn someone don't know what the Bible actually says about that topic. Both of the topics listed above are dealt with in the Bible but quoting from Leviticus when you don't obey the rest of that book does not give you a foundation to stand on.