Leviticus 20: Group Study Handout

How to use: read Leviticus 20 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

Yahweh spoke to Moses, instructing him to tell the children of Israel about the prohibition against idolatry. Anyone who gives their offspring to Molech shall be put to death by stoning (vv. 2-5). If the people ignore this act, they will face consequences. Those who consult mediums or wizards will also be cut off from their people (vv. 6-7).

Key verse

“You shall be holy to me; for I, Yahweh, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine.”
Leviticus 20:26 (WEB)

Outline

Leviticus 20:1–5 Prohibitions Against Idolatry
Leviticus 20:6–11 Consequences for Immoral Behavior
Leviticus 20:12–21 Sexual Immorality Defined
Leviticus 20:22–27 Call to Holiness and Distinction

Discussion questions

What does Yahweh say must happen to anyone who gives their offspring to Molech in v2?
In v9, what consequence does the law prescribe for someone who curses their parents?
In v23, why does God say He abhors the customs of the nations being cast out?
What does the phrase 'for I, Yahweh, am holy' in v26 suggest about the nature of God's expectations?
When have you felt the need to distinguish between what is 'clean' and 'unclean' in your own life?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Leviticus 20: Leviticus 18, Leviticus 19, 1 Peter 1.

Before next time: read Leviticus 21.