Homosexuality in the Old Testament

 

Part 1: What does the Old Testament say about homosexuality?

Leviticus 18:22-30 “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. (v.23) Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. (v.24) Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: (v.25) And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. (v.26) Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: [v.27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)] (v.28) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. (v.29) For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. (v.30) Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

Can a stronger case for sexual purity in a heterosexual relationship be made? God himself makes the case and gives the commandment without reservation or apology. In verse 22 you find “Thou shalt not…” as the introduction to the topic. A phrase of this type leaves no room for opinion or discussion. In fact, the whole idea of choosing one thing over another for any reason at all is eradicated. You will only choose to obey God or to disobey God. And that decision brings with it eternal reward or consequence beyond human comprehension. Disobedience to this command reveals the condition of the human heart which was summed up in Psalm 14:1 “The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” Anyone committing the sin talked about in this passage is doing something which is ‘toebah’ (from the Hebrew meaning, a disgusting thing, abomination, abominable).

So then, what is this act which is so disgusting or abominable? Paul mentions it in Romans chapter one as a primary cause for God lifting his hand of blessing and allowing men to fall into the deepest depravities of their own hearts, Romans 1:26-27 “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: (v.27) and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly.” This is the same sin which is recorded in Leviticus 18:22 “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” In case there is any doubt read the entire chapter and you will see that all sexual sin is in view. We are told in Leviticus 18 to stay away from any form of sexual sin. However, special notice is given (no less than 5 verses) to sexual relationships which involve men with men or women with women. And included with that concept is what most would agree is vile and that is humans with animals. But make no mistake, homosexuality is included with bestiality and viewed as equally vile. Yes, I did just say homosexuality and bestiality are equally repugnant and viewed before God on precisely the same level. One is the same as the other in God’s eyes.

Now look at the results of such actions. Today we have legislated this vulgar act of depravity into a laudable condition to be praised and embraced. But no amount of human legislation will ever remove the consequence of sin.  The lives of those people was affected not only individually with the judgment of God on their lives but also as a nation. Look closely at the verses again. This time I have removed some words in order to cut-to-the-chase and clarify the point.

[All parenthetical statements were added by me.]

Verse 24, “…for in all these (sexual sins) the nations are defiled which I cast out before you.”

Verse 25 “And the land is defiled (by homosexuality): therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.”

Verse 27 “For all these abominations (homosexuality, bestiality)…the land is defiled.”

Verse 28 (my paraphrase) Because of homosexuality and other sexual sin the land itself refused to produce and they were forced to leave.

Verse 29 “For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations… shall be cut off….”

Verse 30 “Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance…(and) defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.”  

Homosexuality is the beginning of the ruin of a nation. All lands (not just Sodom and Gomorrah) before the Jews in this passage were destroyed as a result of such vile sexual sins. And now they are warned of impending judgment for the very same reasons. In Romans Paul warned that it was this very sin that finally caused God to lift his hand and allow mankind to fall into such spiritual and moral degradation as they had never known before. Today we embrace this same sick behavior and dare to stand in the face of God and say He is wrong for ever condemning homosexuality. Men take his Word and attempt to distort it so that we can classify homosexuality as an ‘alternate’ lifestyle. Where is the fear of the judgment of a holy and righteous God?  Romans 3:18 says of fallen man, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

If there were no other passage in the Bible standing against homosexuality this one should surely be sufficient. However, it does not stand alone. A few others to consider are: Leviticus 20:13; Deuteronomy 23:17-18; I Kings 14:22-24; 15:11-12; 22:44-46; II Kings 23:6-7.

Remember, virtually every reference to homosexuality in the Bible is met with Divine judgment.

How does America become so foolish as to believe God will turn His head this time?