James Read Leviticus 19

The plenary divine inspiration of Scripture is frequently established in Scripture itself by internal clues and the overwhelming unity of the message.

Even when the testaments assert their transition, God’s guiding hand can be observed effecting the change and explaining the process. Where conflicts might be expected, they are absent. In fact, New Testament writers display an impeccable knowledge of the Law of Moses and respectfully allow it to influence their exposition of the will of Christ.

James, for one, evidently used the nineteenth chapter of the book of Leviticus liberally in developing the short letter that bears his name. 

He cautions, “But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation” (5:12). His brother had taught something similar in the sermon on the mount: “Do not take an oath at all … Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil” (Matthew 5:34-37). Both had reference to Leviticus 19:12: “You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”

James complained to the rich, “Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts” (5:4). Moses had commanded, “The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning” (Leviticus 19:13).

Moses and James both pleaded with their brethren to “show no partiality” (James 2:1,9; Leviticus 19:15). Favoritism toward one’s own class or to a class he wishes to join makes a mockery of justice and is even more objectionable when committed by a supposedly enlightened Israelite or Christian.

Moses forbade God’s child to “go around as a slanderer,” where James urged him not to “speak evil against one another” (Leviticus 19:16, James 4:11). Slander is the propagation of falsehoods with the malicious intent of destroying another’s reputation or prospects.

When James read Leviticus 19:18 – “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge” – he was inspired to write, “Do not grumble against one another” (5:9). Mercy and forgiveness should always be the coin of Christ’s realm, not treasuring up bitterness toward his brethren.

Even that most famous adages – “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” predates the ministry of Christ (Leviticus 19:18). James imitated the infinite Son in applying the zenith of the kingdom code for ethical conduct. 

James’s familiarity with Leviticus 19 is instructive. So much truth is foreshadowed in the tablets and scrolls of the Hebrew Scriptures.