Leviticus 18 This chapter begins with a reminder of the covenant between Israel and the Lord.. "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ' I am the Lord your God.' "   

The Lord gave Israel His statutes and judgements regarding personal relationships.  He called out His people to be holy.. "You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes." 

The Lord's  statutes would lead Israel away from immorality.. which seemed rampant among all the other nations at that time. God was establishing His people as a nation that would be different than all the rest, living by a moral code that He established and they were commanded to keep.. " so that the land may not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you. For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among the people. Thus you are to keep My charge, that you do not practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so not to defile yourselves with them; I am the Lord your God." ( v28-30)

Before the flood, Genesis 6 tells us, mankind multiplied on the earth and they became more and more corrupt.. "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (v5).  They "married" whoever they wanted.. there was corruption in every place.. and there was much violence.  Jesus said, "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. for as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah enter the ark." ( Matthew 24:37-38)  

Here in Leviticus we see God's plan for marriage.. as He separates the holy, moral, and perfect marriage relationship.. from the unsanctioned, corrupt, and immoral relationships that had become common among the nations of the earth. 

The Word given by the Lord is very precise when it comes to what a right marriage relationship is in His sight and what is not acceptable.  He declares that any sexual relationship outside of one man and one woman who are not "blood relatives".. is condemned.  This includes marriage or sex with a parent or step-parent, a sibling or step-sibling; an aunt or a child or grandchild; an in-law of any kind;  a relative of your spouse.. or a neighbor's wife... an animal.. or someone of the same sex.. which the Lord calls an "abomination".   There is no doubt left here for God's people.  

This moral code was established by God. It is His will and desire for His people and I do not believe that He has changed His mind!  Are things here in our times as bad as it was in the times of Noah?  We are getting closer and closer to that amount of corruption.. if not more.  Immorality  flourishes in our country and around the world.. violence has broken out all over.  If we saw even a small part of what God sees we would be devastated and fall on our faces. What we see is bad enough.. sex trafficking.. abortions.. rape and murders.. killing for no reason.. fraud and lies.. and on and on.. but God sees the hearts of everyone and surely this statement is still true.. "the wickedness of man [is] great upon the earth and every intent of the thoughts of his heart [is] only evil continually." 

Father in heaven,  we grieve over the wickedness of our world.. as we grieve over the wickedness in our own homes.. in our families.. in our own hearts.  Thank You for sending us a great Redeemer who sets us free..Who cleanses us from all of our sins and makes us holy and righteous before You.  We can not stand before You and claim any holiness on our own part.. but we can stand on Christ Jesus, the Rock of our Salvation! Hallelujah!  He is a wonderful Savior and He is our coming King.  Oh Lord, may we be ready for that day when Christ returns.. let Your will be done in us.. let Your grace and mercy overflow in our lives.. and may Your Kingdom come into many more hearts today we pray.. in Jesus' powerful name, Amen.