WEEKLY REFLECTION by Pastor Lap Dinh on Leviticus 19:9–18

This passage shows God’s holiness is not abstract spirituality, but concrete. It comes down from the altar and walks into the street. It is God forming a people whose worship can be seen in ordinary life—fields, wages, speech, courts, and neighborhoods.

In verses 9–10, God commands His people to leave margins: don’t harvest to the edges; don’t squeeze every last drop from the vineyard. Why? So the needy and the sojourner can eat. As we can see, holiness is not only about “don’t touch what is unclean,” but also, “make room for the vulnerable.” God puts mercy into socio-economic and business practices. He teaches His people to live open-handed and not tight-fisted.

In this text, integrity says ‘no’ to stealing, lying, and false dealing (19:11–12). You cannot take God’s name on your lips in worship and then use your mouth to deceive. To swear falsely is to drag His holy name into your sin. So God protects the community not only from outward violence, but from the slow poison of dishonesty.

Next, God’s law instructs His people (19:13–14) to treat workers fairly, specifically by paying on time. Don’t oppress. And don’t take advantage of those who cannot defend themselves—the deaf, the blind. God sees what we do when the other person cannot hear our insult or detect any possible trap. “Fear your God” means that we have to live as if God is watching, because He is. Holiness is measured by how we treat the powerless.

About justice (19:15–16), God does not like partiality. He commands that His people should neither show pity-justice for the poor nor power-justice for the great. No slander. No standing by when someone’s blood is at stake. Love does not work with injustice or keep silent.

The climax (19:17–18) is the heart of holiness. Don’t hate in your heart. Don’t take vengeance. Don’t keep grudges. Instead: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Notice, love here is not soft sentiment. It includes honest rebuke—truth spoken so sin does not quietly grow and destroy. True love protects, warns, and restores.

In the New Testament, Jesus does not minimize this, but maximizes it. He calls this command central—one of the two that summarize the Law. Christ deepens it to the heart, teaching that our anger, contempt, and hidden hatred need to be exposed. He extends “neighbor” beyond comfort zones. And in all the New Testament letters, the same holiness is applied to church life, that is, saying a big ‘no’ to favoritism. No withheld wages. No empty words. Genuine and holy agape love must become action.

So this is the gist: our holiness is God’s love for us and others with boundaries. Mercy without manipulation. Truth without cruelty. Justice without favoritism. Correction without hatred. And the Gospel does not cancel God’s law, but fulfills and empowers it. We love because God first loved us. We leave margins because God left mercy for us. We speak truth because Jesus is the Truth. We forgive because we have been forgiven.