Leviticus 19 Devotional

Holiness Looks Like Neighbor Love

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”Leviticus 19:18 (BSB)

The call at the heart of the book opens this chapter: God's people must be holy, because he is (19:2). What follows is surprisingly down to earth. Leave the edges of the field and the fallen grapes for the poor and the foreigner (19:9-10). Pay a hired worker before morning (19:13). Do not curse the deaf or trip the blind (19:14). Keep honest weights (19:35-36). Over and over, God signs the commands with his own name (19:3, 10, 12).

In the middle stands the command to love a neighbor the way you love yourself, and a few verses later the same love is required toward the foreigner, since Israel had once been foreigners in Egypt (19:18, 34). Jesus named this the second greatest commandment (Mark 12:31). Holiness here is not withdrawal from people but God's character showing up in fields, wages, and markets. The LORD who signs each command first rescued a nation of foreigners and slaves, and because he did, your next ordinary transaction can carry his kindness.

To think about: In which ordinary transaction or relationship this week could God's holiness show up as practical love for your neighbor?