Leviticus 20.17

“If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity.”

Here is another example of how the home was designed to serve as a training-ground for moral living in society. Presumably, this statute would have been applied from the earliest stages of life, thus training children to live modestly and with respect for one another all the days of their lives. For a man then – teen-aged and above – to look upon his sister’s nakedness would be to violate both the seventh commandment and the fifth, for he would show disdain for his parents’ teaching by deliberately acting against what he had been taught all his life.

This offense was to be punished by the guilty party(ies) being “cut off” from the community, perhaps for a season, until they understood the gravity of their offense and came to repentance. As in the case of the man in Corinth, re-institution of an offender into the community was to be sought both by the guilty sinner and the community as a whole. The purpose of the Law is to create a good and just society. It guides the believing community in the standards of godliness; serves to bring conviction of sin; and, through the obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ, provides the righteousness for repentant believers to grow in grace.

We are now accepting registrations for the course, Spiritual Maturity 1: Revival. This free, six-session course by T. M. Moore allows you to study by yourself or with a mentor, and includes free resources from Patrick, Columbanus, Luther, and Edwards, among others. Visit The Ailbe Seminary for more information on this training opportunity.