This chapter provided a whole array of ways to practically live out what it means to be holy.
When I read Leviticus 19, it reminds me of a caring mother giving final instructions to her child before he heads to summer camp, or a thoughtful father warning his daughter going off to college. There are so many details to cover, and sometimes they seem to tumble out in an almost random order. Can you hear them? “Don’t forget to say thank you. And call home when you can. Oh, and I packed some warm clothes, just in case…” The parent is thinking of every possible issue that might face the child in their new environment and what they will need to know and do to avoid possible problems. Certainly God is the ultimate caring Father. Fifteen times in these 37 verses, we read “I am the Lord” or “I am the Lord your God.” The main point is caught in the introduction: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (v 2). But mixed into Chapter 19 are all ten commandments in one form or another, the basis of all right behavior. In addition, there are all sorts of topics. Concerning the peace offering, they could eat the leftovers, but not leftovers of leftovers (vv 5-6). When they harvested, they must not “wholly reap the corners of your field” (v 9) so as to leave some for the poor; God had work-fare, not welfare for the poor in Israel. Then there is a long section on not bearing grudges or mistreating the disadvantaged, but of loving others (vv 11-18). There’s a verse about not mixing things up and confusing God’s order (v 19). There are instructions covering everything from not practicing the occult (vv 26, 31) to not getting tattoos or decorative haircuts (vv 27-28)! He concludes: honor the aged and strangers (vv 32-34), and be honest in business (vv 35-36). Don’t ever think the Bible is out of date!