You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:17-18
Have you ever seen something you never noticed in a familiar place? I think that everyone who is a faithful student of God’s Word can understand that experience. Sometimes that thing we notice is just the answer to a question we’ve been wondering about. I have had some questions that have lingered long in my mind about Scripture, and I’ve discovered some answers in recent weeks in a surprising place—the Pentateuch. The five Books of Moses might not be the first place we would turn to discover answers to Bible questions. If you’re like me, the Pentateuch, and especially the latter four books in the collection, often seems to raise more questions than it answers. But I found answers to some nagging Bible questions right there.
I’ve had the privilege of having eight years of formal Bible education, but despite all of that, it took an open Bible to find some gems of self-discovery. Now, it’s quite possible that some of my readers will say, “We’ve known this for years,” but for me, these were fresh insights. So please bear with me as I share with you what I’ve learned in recent weeks over the course of the next few Monday Musings.
Today’s musing focuses on a text in Leviticus that provides rich insight regarding the question of how we are to relate to one another. If you’re like me, you’ve often thought that in order to discover biblical guidelines for interpersonal relationships, the New Testament is the place to go. Then I came to this text in Leviticus. Even though God spoke the words that comprise the text of this Scripture to His people Israel, the principles they contain are timeless. The same sentiments are expressed throughout the New Testament.
The first thing that stands out in today’s passage is that God told His people Israel that they were not to hate their countrymen. That’s a danger for all of us. We may not be part of ethnic Israel, but if we believe in Jesus Christ, we are part of God’s new work He began in Acts 2—the church. Though we may seldom consider the sharp feelings of ill will we have toward others in Christ’s body as hate, that is what they are, regardless. God is not pleased with those types of attitudes among His children.
The text becomes even more direct in its second phrase. It says that we may reprove our neighbor, but ought not incur sin because of him. Jesus said something very similar in Matthew 18 when He instructed His followers to express to one another any grievances they have. The idea is that the way to deal with a wrong done to us, whether real or perceived, is to reprove or confront our brother or sister about it. To instead harbor the negative feelings and bitterness is sin, from God’s standpoint. Heartfelt forgiveness is in view here.
God goes farther. He says that we ought not attempt to take vengeance. When we are done wrong, what’s natural for us is to retaliate. God says that this is exactly what we are not to do (Romans 12:19). What’s more, He even forbids the bearing of a grudge. God takes the relationships between His people very seriously and insists that hard feelings not be retained over real or perceived wrongs.
Finally, although we might have thought Jesus was the first to say it, we read in Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” God is not content for us to live in some sort of relational neutrality. He calls us, as He did Israel of old, to love one another actively and genuinely, from our hearts.
Is living the way Leviticus 19:17-18 lays out always easy? Hardly. But notice the last phrase in the text. God says, “I am Yahweh.” This is the God who forgives wrongdoing. He has given us the example. He calls us to follow suit. Instead of hating, taking vengeance, or bearing a grudge, He tells us to love.
The next time we feel we’ve been wronged, consider turning to Leviticus 19 for a God-ordained response.
