📊 Leviticus 19:18 | Being a Neighbor

together with Tim Tebow

Happy Tuesday, {{first_name| everyone}}!

I’m excited to keep digging into Leviticus today! It’s a book of adventure and wonder when you consider the context we discussed yesterday.

Plus, Tim Tebow just released a new book I can’t wait to read. More on that below!

In today’s email…

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You shall not take _________ or bear _ ______ against the sons of your ___ ______, but you shall love your ________ as _______: I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:18

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A meaningful gift for families and loved ones, If the Tree Could Speak helps keep Christ at the center this Easter and long after.

Leviticus 19 is one of the clearest chapters in the Old Testament for understanding what "holiness" looks like in everyday life.

The chapter begins with God's command: "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy" (Leviticus 19:2). From there, the chapter lists many practical instructions covering family life, business practices, sexual practices, justice, and relationships.

One phrase appears again and again throughout the chapter: "I am the LORD." This repeated reminder shows that every instruction is grounded in God's authority and character.

But it's worth pausing on why God keeps saying it. These weren't new commands to people who had never heard them. They were reminders to people who had heard them…and still weren't living it out. In other words, the repetition is corrective, like a parent repeating their instructions to their child.

More than wanting the Israelites to “follow rules,” God wanted them to reflect who He is.

In the Old Testament, holiness was closely connected to order, integrity, and "wholeness." God created the world with purpose and order, and Israel was called to live in a way that preserved that order.

That’s why some laws warn against improper mixing (Leviticus 19:19) or bodily disfigurement (Leviticus 19:27–28). These instructions reinforced the idea that God's people should live lives of integrity and completeness rather than confusion, corruption, or compromise.

Holiness meant being whole in other senses too, like living with consistency, honesty, and faithfulness rather than "double-dealing." And the specific section where our memory verse appears (Leviticus 19:9–18) focuses on how people treat their neighbors.

God instructs the Israelites:

Instead of holding grudges or seeking revenge, God commands:

These instructions show that holiness is deeply connected to how we treat other people.

Think about what you want from the people around you — fairness, patience, mercy, and someone to come through when you're in a bind.

God's command is simple: give that to others.

Many of these teachings in Leviticus 19 are immediately recognizable because Jesus later highlights them as central to God’s law.

When Jesus summarizes the law, he includes the exact phrase in our memory verse: loving your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31) is the second greatest commandment.

That phrase we associate so naturally with Jesus goes back right here to Leviticus. Written centuries before Christ walked the earth. This wasn't a new idea Jesus introduced to upgrade an older, harsher religion. It was a reminder. God was calling his people back to something he had already given them, something they had heard and were still not living.

Which raises an uncomfortable question: If it's been part of God's heart from the beginning, why do we treat it as optional?

Leviticus 19:34 roots God’s command to love the stranger in something specific: memory.

We already know how we want to be treated by God and by others. With mercy and compassion.

The command isn't complicated, but it is costly.

📖 Reflect: Re-read Leviticus 19, especially verses 9-18. Who is someone you haven't been treating the way you'd want to be treated? What would it cost you to change that this week?

🤝 Act: Do something for someone this week that they haven't earned. That might look like picking up the tab for a coworker who's been hard to like, or finally texting that family member you've been avoiding.

🙏 Pray

Father, shape my heart to reflect your holiness. Help me to see every neighbor and stranger as someone made in your image, worthy of care and compassion. Teach me to lay aside my own desires so that I can faithfully love others as you have commanded. Amen.

Click one of the options below to choose your answer. Let’s see how you do…

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:18