The 18th chapter of Leviticus seems to be an exhaustive list of who’s nakedness one can and cannot reveal. Most of revealings listed seem to us to be common sense and redundant. If you should shouldn’t have sexual relations with your dad, you would think that not having sexual relations with your mother would be the next logical place to go. However, just about the entire line of kin is discussed  sexually and found to be unkosher.

Clearly, as 21st century Christians and readers of scripture, we can throw this passage out and label it a passage about the sexual guidelines of  an unevolved, barbaric people. However, I would like to suggest, that when taken in the context of the surrounding chapters, this is a passage about the nature of the holy community that God is attempting to create. This passage begins to probe the depths of what we would culturally consider complete sexual depravity, but we have to remember we are talking about a people group practicing endogamy. This greatly narrows down your options when choosing a spouse. These laws are not only about religious purity, but as modern science shows, it also greatly cuts down on the genetic mutations and disfunctions that come out of various forms of incest (See this article from “Current Anthropology” that discuses the relation between incest and exogamy). That covers the practical aspect of chapter 18, but there is something more that God is calling for in the late teens of Leviticus.

If you move to Chapter 19 we find one of the few sections in the whole book that protestants feel comfortable preaching from. Here we learn to love our neighbors and leave plenty of our yield to the poor. Here we find guidelines given to foster the growth of God’s holy community. However, a lot of this chapter looks much different from the rest of the “Law” given in the book. These commandments are concerned with being set apart as a holy community by treating each other well. Much like the laws on sexual relations, one might think that the blanket statement of “love your neighbor as yourself” might cover the concept. But there is a deeper level of “[God’s] statutes.” There is something above and beyond the cultural norm that God requires; A code of conduct that is as life giving as it is defining.