Boundaries and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Leviticus

522 Pages·2008·1.76 MB·English

BOUNDARIES AND DOMINION
An Economic Commentary on Leviticus
Volume 1
Gary North
Dominion Education Ministries, Inc.
Harrisonburg, Virginia
copyright, Gary North, 1999, 2007
This volume is part of a series, An Economic Commentary on the
Bible. At present, the series includes the following volumes:
*The Dominion Covenant: Genesis (1982, 1987)
*Moses and Pharaoh (1985)
*The Sinai Strategy: Economics and the Ten Commandments( 1986)
*Tools of Dominion: The Case Laws of Exodus (1990)
*Leviticus: An Economic Commentary (1994)
Boundaries and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Leviticus
(Full version of previous book, 1994, 2004) Edition:6/23/08
*Sanctions and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Numbers
(1997)
Inheritance and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Deuter-
onomy (3 vols., 1999, 2003)
Priorities and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Matthew
(2000, 2003)
Treasure and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Luke
(2000, 2003)
Sacrifice and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Acts (2000,
2003)
Cooperation and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Romans
(2001, 2003)
Judgment and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on First Corin-
thians (2001)
Hierarchy and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on First Timo-
thy (2003)
An asterisk notes a printed volume. These are also available for
viewing on www.freebooks.com. The other volumes are in PDF for-
mat, and may be downloaded here:
http://www.garynorth.com/public/department57.cfm.
This book is dedicated to my son-in-law
Joel McDurmon
who may be able to extend the kingdom’s boundaries
iii
Table of Contents
Volume 1
Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..vii
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..xxxviii
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1
Part I. Sacrifices (Lev. 1–7)
Introduction to Part I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
1. Sacrifice, Stewardship, and Debt (1:1–4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
2. Priestly Representation (2:1–3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
3. Leaven and Progressive Sanctification (3:1, 17). . . . . . . . . . .96
4. Corporate Responsibility (4:1–3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..143
5. Proportional Payments to God (5:6–7). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..235
6. Sacred, Profane, and Common (5:14–19).. . . . . . . . . . . . ..262
7. Guardian of the Civil Oath (6:1–7). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..334
Part II. Cleansing (Lev. 8–16)
Introduction to Part II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..382
8. Wine as a Boundary Marker (10:8–11). . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..384
9. Biblical Quarantine (Lev. 13:45–46). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..410
Part III. Separation (Lev. 17–22)
Introduction to Part III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..437
10. The Promised Land as a Covenantal Agent (18:24–29). ..439
iv
Volume 2
11. Gleaning: Charity Without Entitlement (19:9–10). . . . . ..467
12. Verbal Bonds and Economic Coordination (19:11–12). . ..520
13. Protecting the Weakest Party (19:13–14). . . . . . . . . . . . ..544
14. Impartial Justice vs. Socialist Economics (19:15). . . . . . ..581
15. Local Justice vs. Centralized Government (19:15). . . . . ..632
16. The State’s Monopoly of Vengeance (19:18). . . . . . . . . ..672
17. The Preservation of the Seed (19:19). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..702
18. Covenantal Fruit (19:23–25). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..751
19. Measuring Out Justice (19:33–37). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..781
20. Inheritance by Fire (20:2–5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..837
21. Inheritance by Separation (20:22–26). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..879
Part IV. Covenantal Acts (Lev. 23–24)
Introduction to Part IV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..900
22. Mutual Self-Interest: Priests and Gleaners. . . . . . . . . . . ..902
23. Blasphemy and Civil Rights (24:14–22). . . . . . . . . . . . . ..922
Volume 3
Part V. Inheritance (Lev. 25–27)
Introduction to Part V. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..945
24. The Sabbatical Year (25:1–7). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..953
25. Boundaries of the Jubilee Land Laws (25:8–13). . . . . . . ..984
26. Economic Oppression by Means of the State (25:14–17).1038
27. Food Miracles and Covenantal Predictability (25:18–22).1071
28. The Right of Redemption (25:23–24). . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1088
29. Poverty and Usury (25:35–38). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1118
30. Promise, Adoption, and Liberty (25:39–43). . . . . . . . . ..1142
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Foreword
31. Slaves and Freemen (25:44–46). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1175
32. Mandatory Redemption Upon Payment (25:47–55). . . ..1212
33. Nature as a Sanctioning Agent (26:3–6). . . . . . . . . . . . ..1231
34. Limits to Growth (26:9–10). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1268
35. God’s Escalating Wrath (26:13–17). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1295
36. The Priesthood: Barriers to Entry (27:2–8). . . . . . . . . ..1305
37. The Redemption-Price System (27:9–15). . . . . . . . . . . ..1334
38. Tithing: Benefit of the Doubt (27:30–33). . . . . . . . . . . ..1361
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1368
Appendixes
Appendix A: Sacrilege and Sanctions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1399
Appendix B: Rushdoony on the Tithe: A Critique. . . . . . . ..1417
Volume 4
Appendix C: Leaven as Exclusively Evil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1491
Appendix D: The Church vs. Socialism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1516
Appendix E: Greek Mythology: The Myth of Classical Politics1556
Appendix F: The Covenantal Structure of Judgment. . . . . ..1583
Appendix G: Rushdoony on “Hybridization”:
From Genetic Separation to Racial Separation. . ..1611
Appendix H: Malthusianism vs. Covenantalism. . . . . . . . . ..1641
Appendix I: Conspiracy, Forgery, and Higher Criticism. . . ..1692
Appendix J: Critics of the Five-Point Covenant Model. . . . ..1710
Scripture Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1750
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1775
vi
FOREWORD
In the fall of 1991 I began a series of sermons on the first several
chapters of Leviticus. My decision to preach on an obscure and
difficult book (in the morning service, no less!) runs against the grain
of contemporary pastoral theory. . . . Early on in my series, in fact,
I spent most of one sermon explaining why a study of Leviticus is
valuable for Christians. I am convinced that Leviticus is not only
valuable but essential to a proper understanding of the New Tes-
tament. But anyone who preaches on Leviticus to an American con-
gregation at the end of the twentieth century owes somebody an
explanation.
Peter J. Leithart1
The Book of Leviticus, more than any other biblical book, has kept
readers from getting to the biblical books that follow it. Leviticus calls
to mind the old Negro spiritual: “So high, you can’t get over it; so
low, you can’t get under it; so wide you can’t get around it.” But we
should recall the conclusion: “So, hear the word of the Lord.” The
problem is, Leviticus has to be taken as a unit. It is a very difficult
book. Therefore, lots of people quit reading. Some make it through
the five types of sacrifice. Others actually get through the consan-
guinity laws. But not many people finish the book. Many are called,
but few are chosen.
Boundaries and Dominion is the full-length version of Leviticus:
An Economic Commentary, which was published in hardback in 1994.
This book is about the same size as Tools of Dominion (1990) and
Inheritance and Dominion (1999). It serves as the back-up for
Leviticus, with more detailed arguments. Perhaps I should have pub-
lished the full version in hardback. But electronic publishing makes it
1. Peter J. Leithart, The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the
Church (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 1993), p. ix.
vii
Foreword
possible to do both.
Why an Economic Commentary?
You may be thinking: “Why should anyone write an economic com-
mentary on the Bible?” My answer: “Because there is no neutrality.”
This is another way of saying that all knowledge is based on some
view of morality, which in turn provides a concept of historical cause
and effect. The Bible teaches that God brings positive sanctions in
history to those who obey His law (Lev. 26:3–13). Our knowledge
advances, individually and corporately, as we increase both our
understanding of His law and our covenantal obedience to His law:
word and deed. This is also the basis of our success in history, long
term. But the modern church only rarely preaches this message.
The Bible speaks authoritatively in every area of life. This means
that every area of life must be explored and then disciplined in terms
of revelation in the Bible. We need specialized commentaries that
apply biblical law to specific tasks: our occupations (jobs) and our cal-
lings (unique services) before God. As we study the Bible from the
perspective of modern academic disciplines, we will increase our
knowledge of the Bible and also these academic disciplines. We will
gain insights that were unavailable to commentators in earlier eras.
That is to say,t here is supposed to be intellectual and moral progress
in history. (Any widely heralded “biblical world-and-life view” that is
not supported by detailed Bible commentaries on applied theology is
either a sham or is in the very early development stage: a slogan rather
than a reality.
The church’s knowledge of the Bible is not static. This is why we
should expect biblical exegesis to improve as time moves forward.
The church will become progressively more alert to the interaction of
biblical texts with specialized knowledge in all fields of study, but
viii
Foreword
especially those dealing with man and his institutions. As history
advances, our knowledge regarding our personal and corporate res-
ponsibilities will increase. With greater knowledge comes greater res-
ponsibility (Luke 12:47–48).2
This means that the church’s knowledge of the Bible cannot remain
static. Only by sealing off culture from biblical ethics could the
church’s knowledge of the Bible remain static. This is an impossible
goal, for the ethics of the world that surrounds an ethically isolated,
culturally defensive church eventually makes inroads into the thinking
of its members. Ecclesiastical isolation is therefore an illegitimate goal.
Nevertheless, a sealed-off church and a sealed-off external culture are
the twin cultural goals of pietism3. Pietists seek to place an exegetical
boundary around the arena of Christian responsibilit.y The narrower
this boundary is, the pietist believes, the better.
What this commentary is designed to show is that the church as an
institution and Christians as individuals have far more responsibility
than Protestant pietistic churches have taught for over four centuries.
More to the point, these responsibilities will grow over time. But so
will God’s grace in history. This is the meaning of progressive sanc-
tification, both personally and corporately.
There are a lot of laws in Leviticus. As in the case of my previous
commentaries, I ask two questions of each law that I consider: (1)
How was this law applied in ancient Israel? (2) How should it be
applied today, if at all? A few commentators ask the first question
about a few Mosaic laws. Hardly anyone since the year 1700 has
bothered to ask the second, let alone answer it clearly. The art of
2. Gary North, Gary North, Treasure and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on
Luke, 2nd electronic edition (Harrisonburg, Virginia: Dominion Educational Ministries,
Inc., 2003), ch. 28. This is posted on-line at www.garynorth.com.
3. J. Gresham Machen, “Christianity and Culture,” Princeton Theological Review, XI
(1913), pp. 4–5.
ix
Foreword
Christian casuistry faded: applying God’s law to specific cases.
This Book Called Leviticus
In a humorous book about psychologically afflicted people who
cannot resist buying books, especially used books – I am one of these
people – the author provides a brief history of what book reviewing
might have been like before the invention of the printing press. Here
is how he imagines an early book industry report on the sales of Lev-
iticus:
Highly publicized diet book published under the titleL eviticus. Sales
flop. “Too many rules, too depressing, not enough variety, not enough
attention to cholesterol,” cry the critics. “And for crying out loud, give
it a decent title.”4
This parody is not too far from the opinion of the average reader who
has started but not finished Leviticus. He sees it as a kind of “healthy
living” diet book. It isn’t.
Then what is Leviticus all about? It is a book about limits: boun-
daries. There are a lot of boundaries laid down in the Book of Leviti-
cus. Some of these limits are liturgical. Others are familial. Some are
tribal. Some are dietary. There are also limits that have to do with the
status of the Promised Land as God’s holy place of residence. Finally,
a lot of these laws establish economic limits. I discuss these applica-
tions at considerable length, especially the economic ones. That is why
this commentary is even longer than Tools of Dominion.
I offered several pages of reasons to justify the length of Tools of
4. Tom Raabe, Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction (Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum,
1991), p. 39.
x