Uncover Nakedness תְגַלֶּ֖ה עֶרְוָתָֽן

We are in chapter eighteen of Leviticus with our word for today which is a phrase. תְגַלֶּ֖ה עֶרְוָתָֽןּ uncover nakedness. It is used 23 times in the Old Testament, 16 times in our chapter. Every time it is used in the Bible it is used in a negative context. Isaiah 47:3 תִּגָּל֙ עֶרְוָתֵ֔ךְ Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one. Our chapter today uses our phrase to start off with one of the several ways a person can sin against God, others and themselves sexually. Let’s look at this first one. Leviticus 18:6-18 “None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives לְגַלּ֣וֹת עֶרְוָ֑ה to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord. You shall not תְגַלֶּ֖ה עֶרְוָתָֽהּ uncover the עֶרְוַ֥ת nakedness of your father, which is the וְעֶרְוַ֥ת nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. You shall not תְגַלֵּ֑ה uncover the עֶרְוַ֥ת nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness. You shall not תְגַלֶּ֖ה עֶרְוָתָֽן uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home. You shall not תְגַלֶּ֖ה עֶרְוָתָ֑ן uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or of your daughter’s daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. You shall not תְגַלֶּ֖ה עֶרְוָתָֽהּ uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, brought up in your father’s family, since she is your sister. You shall not תְגַלֵּ֑ה uncover the עֶרְוַ֥ת nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s relative. You shall not תְגַלֵּ֑ה uncover the עֶרְוַ֥ת nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s relative. You shall not תְגַלֵּ֑ה uncover the עֶרְוַ֥ת nakedness of your father’s brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. You shall not תְגַלֵּ֑ה uncover the עֶרְוַ֥ת nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife, you shall not תְגַלֶּ֖ה עֶרְוָתָֽהּ uncover her nakedness. You shall not תְגַלֵּ֑ה uncover the עֶרְוַ֥ת nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. You shall not תְגַלֵּ֑ה uncover the עֶרְוַ֥ת nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter לְגַלּ֣וֹת עֶרְוָתָ֔הּ to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity. And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, לְגַלּ֧וֹת עֶרְוָתָ֛הּ uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive. Our phrase is used to deal with incestuous relationships. These regulations are based on the fact that, in marriage, the man and woman are one flesh. A person who had relations with his stepmother, for example, would be “uncovering the nakedness” of his father; for the father and stepmother would be one. Most modern societies prohibit incestuous marriages, not because of what the Bible says but because of the consequences of such unions. There is a tendency for their children to inherit the recessive detrimental genes and bring out the worst in the family tree rather than the best. When talking about sexual sin God emphasizes that there are consequences to them. At the same time God reminds us that the corrupted culture around us teaches that there are no consequences to sin. This is why God started our chapter with the warning of not being influenced by Egypt and Canaan. We will look at these consequences in the next few days as we look at more of the details in the rest of the chapter. I’ll close with these great reminders. Matthew 19:4-6 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.