Sermon Tone Analysis

Leviticus 19:32

Uncommon Courtesy

 

You shall stand up before the grey head and honour the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.[1]

Today marks the thirty-second year of legalised murder of the unborn in the United States.

Arising from the fatuous discovery of a “right to privacy” within the Constitution of the United States of America, four Supreme Court justices, with three concurring justices, justified slaughter of the innocent for reasons of convenience.[2]

The infamous decision known as “Roe verses Wade” has resulted in the death of over forty million unborn infants in that nation,[3] 246 abortions for every 1,000 live births (853,485) in 2001.[4]

That decision by the United States Supreme Court in 1973 has served as the foundation for an ongoing holocaust perpetuated in Canadian abortuaries.

The third Sunday of January is traditionally observed as the Right to Life Sunday.

The date was chosen by evangelical Christians to emphasise the fundamental right of all people to life since it is the Sunday closest to the date when the infamous decision was announced in the United States.

Accordingly, this is a day for us to remember that it is God who gives life, and to learn what God has to say concerning the life He gives.

At the time the moral tsunami known as Roe v. Wade was unleashed on an unsuspecting public and an unprepared church, a seminary situated on the West Coast of the United States invited me to provide a scientific assessment of the basis for the ruling.

That assessment was published as part of a position paper drafted by Dr. James L. Higgs.

I went beyond the requested assessment, addressing what I saw as an even more fundamental terror that would no doubt result from the judgement.

I opined then, and events seem to be lending credence to my concerns, that if we failed to respect life when it is most vulnerable, then as a society we would justify taking life at any stage.

If abortion became the law of the land, murder of the mentally incompetent, murder of the physically handicapped, and murder of the elderly would shortly be legalised.

Whenever a society fails to respect life at any stage, all life is jeopardised.

God surely understood this truth and emphasised the need to have a moral standard that was not subject to the whim of the moment or changed by the cause of the day.

Is morality fixed?

Or is morality determined on a sliding scale?

Are right and wrong determined by a standard that is unchanging?

Or are right and wrong determined by the voice of the majority?

We who are Christians are compelled to confess that morality is fixed.

In our text today, we discover that God has established an unchanging moral standard.

Few of us read the Levitical Law for enjoyment.

Many of us consider the Book of Leviticus to be a literary wasteland.

We resolve each year that we will read through the Bible; and we enjoy Genesis, perhaps we even make it all the way through Exodus (or at least we read through the Ten Commandments), and then skip to Deuteronomy, or we possibly even skip to Joshua so that we can get a little action.

To anyone reading the *nineteenth chapter of Leviticus*, it appears as if God has included a collection of unrelated laws simply thrown together because they do not fit anywhere else.

It seems almost as if Moses was looking for a place to park these laws.

We almost get the impression that he breathed a sigh of relief when he had at last found a place for inclusion of these miscellaneous laws.

There is a theme for the chapter, however, and in the midst of the collection of sixteen various regulations is one that speaks pointedly to the theme of respect for life—the theme for this particular Sunday.

Honouring the Elderly Honours God — I want to return to that issue of whether morality is fixed or mobile.

We should ask ourselves whether a list of musty ceremonial laws can really be vital to our well being as Christians?

Surely, there is nothing of value for us in this outdated recitation of covenantal law, living, as we do, in the Twenty-First Century?  Whenever you read a chapter of the Bible, you should take note of the phrases that are repeated.

You should carefully note key words that occur.

Ask yourself what God’s purpose might have been in including that passage in His Word.

One thing I observe as I read this chapter is the repetition of one phrase at the conclusion of each new command.

Sixteen times Moses represents God as concluding a particular law by saying either, I am the Lord your God, or by simply saying, I am the Lord.

The theme of the chapter is found in *verse two* and repeated by Peter in *1 Peter 1:15, 16*.

As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

The emphasis, therefore, is upon the need for God’s people to distinguish themselves from the pagans of the world.

God’s people distinguish themselves from the pagans by reflecting His holy character in the way they live.

We do not live as the world lives because we remember that we serve God and because we know that we represent Him before the world.

Our manner of life matters!

As God presents these numerous commands, He restates the Ten Commandments.

The *First* and *Second Commandments* reminded people to worship God only; *verse four* repeats those same commands.

The *Third Commandment* enjoins respect for the holy Name of God; *verse twelve* teaches the identical truth.

The *Fourth Commandment* demands a day for worship and refreshment of the soul, and the *third verse* expects the same observance.

The *Fifth Commandment* teaches respect for one’s parents, and the *third verse* demands the same respect.

The *Sixth Commandment* condemns murder; the *sixteenth verse* demands the same respect for life.

The *Seventh Commandment* proscribes adultery, and the *twenty-ninth verse* addresses the same sin.

The *Eighth Commandment* warns against theft, and *verse eleven* warns against the same evil.

The *Ninth Commandment* debars false accusations, and *verse sixteen* also warns against such falsity.

The *Tenth Commandment* exposes greed as a sin, and *verse eighteen* warns against the same wickedness.

The repetition of the demand to remember who gave the command and the close association with the previous delivery of the Decalogue emphasises that we live in a world with fixed laws of morality.

We do not murder simply because we don’t want to be murdered; rather we do not murder because God says it is wrong to do so.

We do not steal simply because society has decided that it might disturb the Queen’s peace, but rather we do not steal because God says it is wrong to do so.

We do not sanction or engage in adultery because it might prove messy to seek a divorce, but rather we do not practise or condone adultery because God says it is wrong to do so.

Morality is not determined by a vote of parliament, by congressional ballot, or by a ruling from some court.

Neither is a moral standard instituted by a consensus of society.

God establishes moral standards.

Here, in the verses of this chapter, most of the standards presented are moral or ethical.

Even those that might be thought to be ceremonial at first prove to be moral and ethical upon closer inspection.

God expects His people to be holy, and holiness is nothing less than practical morality.

More carefully defined, holiness is separation from wickedness and separation to God.

Therefore, holy people make the effort to discover what actions and attitudes honour God.

Holy people worship God and exalt Him [*vv.

1-8*].

Holy people are concerned that the poor have a full share in covenant life [*vv.

9, 10*].

In the church, we would act to ensure that there are no cliques or classes among the people of God.

Holy people deal with their neighbours honestly, truthfully and in love [*vv.

11-18*].

Holy people are conscious of how their appearance and actions reflect upon the opinion others may have of God [*vv.

19-25*], and holy people separate themselves from pagan practises [*vv.26-31*].

The remainder of the chapter details that holy people demonstrate kindness and justice to others, especially when those others are vulnerable [*vv.

32-37*].

Holy people welcome strangers—not to practise and perpetuate wickedness among the people, but to respectfully welcome them to dwell peacefully within society [*vv.

33, 34*].

Holy people are ethical and fair in their business dealings [*vv.

35, 36*].

In *verse 32*, I discover that holiness is reflected through respect for the elderly.

It is not without significance that when presenting Himself as the Ancient of Days God specifically states that the hair of His head is like pure wool [see *Daniel 7:9*].

I conclude that this is in order to emphasise the dignity and honour that are due Him.

Likewise, the Risen Son of God appears to John with hair white like wool [*Revelation 1:14*].

White hair should be recognised as a distinguishing mark of dignity and honour.

Grey hair is a crown of glory;

it is attained in a righteous life.

[*Proverbs 16:31*]

 

Don't despise the hoary head; it is the glory of the aged.

God affirms old age as a time of glory and fulfillment.

If it is viewed as other than that in our day, it proves nothing more than a sad commentary on our own spiritual senility.

Consequently, that society that has lost respect for the elderly totters on the brink of destruction [see *Isaiah 3:5*].

Silver white hair is not the symbol of decrepitude or undesirability, but rather it is the symbol of mercy from God to that generation among which the grey haired live.

Unlike our own myopic era, the author of Scripture asserts that old age is not a time of despair, of failing strength or withering away of powers; but he sees that time as one of reward.

Andrew Bonar, in commenting on this verse, wrote, “Age, even apart from its qualities, has in it solemnity.

The Lord would thus solemnise us in the midst of our pursuits.

‘Lo! the shadow of eternity!

For one cometh who is almost in eternity.

His head and beard white as snow, indicate his speedy appearance before the Ancient of Days, the hair of whose head is as pure wool.’”[5]

Every individual that is vulnerable seems to demand our care, for it is through ministering to such individuals that God’s grace is most clearly revealed.

When the helpless are relieved, God is honoured.

In God, the orphan finds mercy [*Hosea 14:3*].

God protects foreigners and helps the fatherless and the widow [*Psalm 146:9*].[6]

The Lord heals the broken-hearted [*Psalm 147:3*].

Therefore, honouring the elderly honours the Lord our God.

How shall we honour the aged?