除了要求全國百姓聖潔的規條之外，上帝還給以色列另        一些律法，是關於個人在家庭、親族及社會中如何保守自己的聖潔。因為若有人不順服，上帝即命人立刻懲治這個違背律法的人，上帝嚴謹的生活標準，反映出祂要祂的子民成為聖潔，惟獨屬於祂。

        今天讀的經文實在不是使人輕鬆愉快的章節，因為你會從其中發現人性的墮落已到了什麼樣的地步：亂倫、殺子祭鬼、娼妓、獸淫、同性戀……等等。
        一千四百多年以後，保羅描述人性時，用了一些令人驚惶失措的字眼：「不虔……不義……可羞恥的情慾……存邪僻的心……裝滿各樣的邪惡……嫉妒……詭詐……捏造惡事的。」(羅1；18－32)也許這一連串的罪正符合今日的標題，因為幾世紀以來，人性未曾改變。
        人有太多機會迷失方向，是否因此上帝才要為祂的子民訂下各種規條，免得他們染上迦南人的外邦惡習呢？上帝希望祂的子民因為與祂來往有所改變，而不是與世界同流合污。
        你的看法如何？是想藉著愛上帝來改變自己，還是想順從世界呢？(或想腳踏兩條船，把自己弄得狼狽不堪呢？)在一張細長的紙上寫下你已經順應世界潮流、需要改進的層面(如：衣著、活動、個人生活、言談……等等)，然後把它當做書籤夾在聖經裡，提醒你：「按著聖經標準而活」是上帝對我們的寄望！

        熟悉的十誡出現在不同的地方
        上個月你研讀出埃及記二十章一至十七節，這段經文中記載著十誡，你可曾知道十誡中大部份的命令又出現在利未記十九章？去看看全章中你可以找到多少？祝你好運！

基督徒的屬靈健康情形與他對上帝的忠誠度成正比。

English

        In addition to the regulations governing national holiness, God provides Israel with laws governing personal conduct and purity in matters pertaining to the family, community, and society in general. Because of the central importance of obedience, God requires that violators be punished promptly and in a manner appropriate to the crime committed. God's strict guidelines for living reflect His desire that His people be holy and uniquely His.

        The chapters you read today are not pleasant, for in them you will discover the depths to which fallen human nature is capable of sinking: incest, child sacrifice, prostitution, bestiality, homosexuality.
        More than 1,400 years later, Paul described human nature in these dismaying words: "ungodliness . . . unrighteousness . . . vile affections... reprobate mind ... filled with all... wickedness ... envy, murder ... deceit... inventors of evil things" (Romans 1:18-32). Perhaps these lists look like today's headlines, for human nature has not changed over the generations.
        With so many ways to go astray, is it any wonder that God must lay down so many rules for His children to follow before He can turn them loose in pagan Canaan? God desires that His people be transformed by their relationships with Him—not conformed to their world.
        How about you? Are you transformed by godliness, or conformed to worldliness? (Or are you deformed by trying to be both?) Write down on a strip of paper those areas of your life in which you may be too much of a conformist (activities, personal life, speech). Use that as a bookmark in your Bible to remind you that "living what you read" is the transformation God desires.

        Ten Familiar Commands in an Unfamiliar Place
        Last month you read Exodus 20:1-17, the passage containing the familiar Ten Commandments. But did you know most of the 10 are also contained in Leviticus 19? Go prospecting through the chapter to see how many you can find. Happy hunting!

A Christian's spiritual health is exactly proportional to his devotion to God.