Leviticus 18:1-5 ESV And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the LORD your God. 3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. 4 You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD... Leviticus 18:26-30 ESV But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you 27 (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), 28 lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.”
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do"? Not hardly. God speaks sternly to the people to tell them they are NOT to do what the pagan nations do. "You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes."
Exodus 23:22-25 ESV “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 “When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, 24 you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. 25 You shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.
God saw that the Israelites had learned idolatry, evil pagan practices and sexual immorality. What the Egyptians, and the pagan nations in Canaan, were doing were such abominations God had to judge them. He had brought wrath against Egypt. He would bring wrath against the nations in Canaan and give the land to the Israelites. That's how bad their immorality, idolatry and evil practices were! We are not to think these nations living in Canaan were some innocent people groups who lived in peace and harmony. Those who would sneer at a Christian God who wiped out those "poor, innocent nations" should think again. These nations had become so repugnant and evil they deserved to be wiped out. God told the Israelites to kill them all, genocide. "Oh, what a horrible God to commit genocide against nations" ?!?!? Before you, in your human arrogance, try to judge God, read history and learn how bad these nations were. They deserved judgment, wrath, and being wiped out. God had given them hundreds of years to either turn from their wicked, cruel, disgusting ways and repent or to fill up their cup of wrathful judgment. They chose to fill up their cup of wrath.
What about individuals who weren't "that bad" among these nations? What about children in these nations? Do you really think God doesn't know those people, of any nation, tribe, tongue or culture, who have a heart for Him? In His infinite wisdom and knowledge, if He found even one person among these evil pagans, who had a heart towards Him, He would bring them out and take care of them. For instance, we shall see how God saved Rahab and her family, when the Israelites finally made it to Canaan. She was a pagan but she had a heart towards the only true God and God rescued her. Ruth was not a Jew, but she had a heart toward the only true God and she ended up coming to Bethlehem with her Jewish mother-in-law and marrying Boaz and being in the line of Jesus!
God is aware of any human being who has a heart that leans toward Him, looks for Him, wants to know Him. And God makes sure, no matter where they are, they learn about Him and can have relationship with Him. God also knows every heart so hardened that they will never want Him and never bow the knee to God.
So don't worry about the heathen, pagan nations that God displaced and His commands to commit genocide by wiping out those evil nations.
To be real, people groups and nations, tribes and civilizations, come and go. They are cycles. They may even begin as a good thing in this world. But, over time, the wicked begin to take advantage and then take over. Judgment comes because the nation, civilization, group, organization, tribe becomes so evil that they have to be wiped out in order for the rest of us to have some safety, security, prosperity. When these groups of people become so corrupt, evil, deviant, perverted, devilish, wicked, murderous, thieving, hate filled, idolatrous... begin looking for the judgment of God to come and destroy the group. If there be any within the group that doesn't like what they are living in and want God, God can reach them right where they are. But for those who have become so hardened and evil that they will never acknowledge God, God has righteous judgment coming. America may have come to that place of judgment. God will take care of His People in America. But America is filling up it's cup of wrathful judgment with evil, idolatrous, murderous, immoral ways. America faces the same righteous judgment Sodom and Gomorrha faced; that Egypt faced; that the Canaanites faced. A righteous and holy God will only be merciful for a time. He is a loving God and gives chance after chance. But it can only go on for a time before He has to judge and His judgment is right, true and perfect. Nations and men have no defense. They fully deserve what they get.
Thank God for Jesus Christ! I, too, deserve God's righteous judgment. I was born a sinner and I've sinned over and over again. I would have no defense if God called me to stand before Him in my sinfulness. BUT FOR JESUS CHRIST!!!! He cleansed me with His Blood. He redeemed me and now my sins are "as far as the east is from the west". God only sees me now as His holy child and I face no wrath from the Father. Thank You Jesus!!!!!!
Psalms 106:34-48 ESV (Parenthesis mine) They (Israelites) did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them, 35 but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. 36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them. 37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; 38 they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. 39 Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the whore in their deeds. 40 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage; 41 he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them. 42 Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power. 43 Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity. 44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. 45 For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 46 He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive. 47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. 48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the LORD!
We are called out of the world, through Jesus Christ. We are not to be corrupted by the world, the peoples around us, no matter where we are. Just because they do evil does not mean we have an excuse. For we are no longer of this world. We are citizens of Heaven, children of God, adopted into the Family of God!
John 15:18-19 ESV (Jesus speaking) “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
Romans 12:2 ESV Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Ephesians 4:17-24 ESV Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
1 John 2:15-17 ESV Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
James 4:4 ESV You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Let's read this next passage in several versions:
Leviticus 18:4-30 MKJV You shall do My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them. I am Jehovah your God. 5 And you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live in them. I am Jehovah. 6 None of you shall approach to any who are near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness. I am Jehovah. 7 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife. It is your father's nakedness. 9 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother, born at home or born away. Their nakedness you shall not uncover. 10 The nakedness of your son's daughter, or of your daughter's daughter, you shall not uncover their nakedness. For theirs is your own nakedness. 11 You shall not uncover the nakedness of the daughter of your father's wife, begotten of your father. She is your sister. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister. She is your father's near kinswoman. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister. For she is your mother's near kinswoman. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother. You shall not approach his wife. She is your aunt. 15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife. You shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife. It is your brother's nakedness. 17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shall you undertake to uncover her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter. They are her near kinswomen; it is wickedness. 18 And you shall not take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life. 19 Also you shall not approach to a woman to uncover her nakedness in the impurity of her uncleanness. 20 And you shall not lie carnally with your neighbor's wife, to defile yourself with her. 21 And you shall not let any of your seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shall you profane the name of your God. I am Jehovah. 22 You shall not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is abomination to God. 23 And you shall not lie with any animal to defile yourself with it. And a woman shall not stand before an animal to lie down to it. It is a perversion. 24 Do not defile yourselves in any of these things. For in all these the nations are defiled, which I cast out before you. 25 And the land is defiled. Therefore I visit its wickedness on it, and the land itself vomits out those who live in it. 26 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, neither the native, nor any stranger that lives among you. 27 For the men of the land who were before you have done all these abominations, and the land is defiled. 28 You shall not do these so that the land may not spew you out also when you defile it, as it spewed out the nations that were before you. 29 For whoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls who commit them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 And you shall keep My ordinance, so as not to do any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves in them. I am Jehovah your God.
Leviticus 18:4-30 ESV You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD. 6 “None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the LORD. 7 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness. 9 You shall not 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. 10 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter or of your daughter's daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. 11 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, brought up in your father's family, since she is your sister. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is your father's relative. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's relative. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife; it is your brother's nakedness. 17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity. 18 And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive. 19 “You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. 20 And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her. 21 You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23 And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion. 24 “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, 25 and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you 27 (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), 28 lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.”
Leviticus 18:4-30 ISV Obey my ordinances and keep my statutes by living by them. I am the LORD your God. 5 "Keep my statutes and my ordinances, which a person is to obey in order to live in them. I am the LORD. 6 "A person is not to approach a near blood relative for sexual relations. I am the LORD. 7 "Neither your father's nakedness nor your mother's nakedness is to be exposed. She's your mother, you are not to have sexual relations with her. 8 "You are not to have sexual relations with your father's wife. It's your own father's nakedness. 9 "You are not to have sexual relations with your sister, whether she's your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she's born in your home or outside your home. You are not to have sexual relations with them. 10 "You are not to have sexual relations with your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter. You are not to have sexual relations with them, because their nakedness is your own nakedness. 11 "You are not to have sexual relations with the daughter of your father's wife. Born of your father, she's your sister, so you are not to have sexual relations with her. 12 "You are not to have sexual relations with your father's sister. She's your father's near blood relative. 13 "You are not to have sexual relations with your mother's sister. She's your mother's near blood relative. 14 "You are not to expose the nakedness of your father's brother by having sexual relations with his wife. She's your aunt. 15 "You are not to expose the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She's the wife of your son. You are not to have sexual relations with her. 16 "You are not to have sexual relations with your brother's wife. She's the nakedness of your brother. 17 "You are not to have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter. "You are not to have sexual relations with her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter. They're near blood relatives. It's wickedness. 18 "You are not to marry a woman and then have sexual relations with her sister as a rival when your wife is still alive. 19 "You are not to approach a menstruating woman to have sexual relations with her. 20 "You are not to have sexual relations with your neighbor's wife and thereby become ceremonially unclean with her." 21 "You are not to present any of your children to Molech as a sacrifice. That way, you won't defile the name of your God." 22 You are not to have sexual relations with a male as you would with a woman. It's detestable." 23 "You are not to present yourself to an animal in order to have sexual relations with it and by doing so to defile yourself. Even a woman is not to present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it. It's detestable. 24 "You are not to defile yourselves by doing any of these things, since all of these nations that I'm casting out before you have defiled themselves this way. 25 The land has been defiled, so I brought the punishment of its iniquity to it. As a result, the land is vomiting out its inhabitants. 26 "Therefore, keep my statutes and ordinances. You are not to do any of these detestable things—this applies to the native born and the resident alien who lives among you— 27 because the inhabitants of the land did all of these detestable things and by doing so defiled the land before you. 28 So you are not to let the land vomit you up because of your uncleanness as it is vomiting the nations that were here before you. 29 Anyone who does any of these detestable things—whoever the person may be—is to be eliminated from contact with his people. 30 Therefore keep my injunctions so that you won't practice these detestable things that have been done before you, and so that you won't be defiled in them. I am the LORD."
Leviticus 18:4-30 ERV You must obey my rules and follow my laws. Be sure to follow my rules because I am the LORD your God. 5 You must obey my rules and my laws, because whoever obeys them will live. I am the LORD. 6 "You must never have sexual relations with your close relatives. I am the LORD. 7 "You must never have sexual relations with your father or mother. She is your mother, so you must not have sexual relations with her. 8 You must not have sexual relations with your father's wife, even if she is not your mother, because that is like having sexual relations with your father. 9 "You must not have sexual relations with your sister. It doesn't matter if she is the daughter of your father or your mother. And it doesn't matter if your sister was born in your house or at some other place. 10 "You must not have sexual relations with your granddaughter. It doesn't matter whether she is the daughter of your son or the daughter of your daughter—they are all a part of you! 11 "If your father and his wife have a daughter, she is your sister. You must not have sexual relations with her. 12 "You must not have sexual relations with your father's sister. She is your father's close relative. 13 You must not have sexual relations with your mother's sister. She is your mother's close relative. 14 You must not have sexual relations with the wife of your father's brother. You must not go near your uncle's wife for sexual relations. She is your aunt. 15 "You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife, so you must not have sexual relations with her. 16 "You must not have sexual relations with your brother's wife. That would be like having sexual relations with your brother. 17 "You must not have sexual relations with a mother and her daughter or her granddaughter. It doesn't matter if this granddaughter is the daughter of this woman's son or daughter. Her granddaughters are her close relatives. It is wrong to do this. 18 "While your wife is still living, you must not take her sister as another wife. This will make the sisters become enemies. You must not have sexual relations with your wife's sister. 19 "You must not go near a woman to have sexual relations with her during her monthly time of bleeding. She is unclean during this time. 20 "You must not have sexual relations with your neighbor's wife. This will only make you filthy. 21 "You must not give any of your children through the fire to Molech. If you do this, you will show that you don't respect the name of your God. I am the LORD. 22 "Men, you must not have sexual relations with another man as with a woman. That is a terrible sin! 23 "Men, you must not have sexual relations with any animal. This will make you filthy. And women, you must not have sexual relations with any animal. It is against nature! 24 "Don't make yourself unclean by doing any of these wrong things! I am throwing nations off their land and giving it to you because they did those terrible sins. 25 They made the land filthy. Now the land is sick of those things, and it will vomit out the people who live there. 26 "So you must obey my laws and rules. You must not do any of these terrible sins. These rules are for the citizens of Israel and the people living among you. 27 Those who lived in the land before you have done all these terrible things. So the land became filthy. 28 If you do these things, you will make the land filthy. And it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were there before you. 29 Whoever does any of these terrible sins must be separated from their people! 30 Other people have done these terrible sins, but you must obey my laws. You must not do any of these terrible sins. Do not make yourself filthy with these terrible sins. I am the LORD your God."
"You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness."
As we've seen in reading the various translations, the term "uncover the nakedness" means sexual acts.
"To uncover his nakedness: This phrase (used 17 times in this chapter) is an euphemism for sexual relations. It has less to do with nudity (especially casual nudity) than with sex. However, the term uncover nakedness is broad enough to include the idea of inappropriate activity short of actual sexual intercourse. It would also include molestation and inappropriate fondling." - David Guzick's Enduring Word Commentary
"Intercourse is forbidden (1) with a mother, (2) with a step-mother, (3) with a sister or half-sister, (4) with a granddaughter, the daughter of either son or daughter, (5) with the daughter of a step-mother, (6) with an aunt, the sister of either father or mother, (7) with the wife of an uncle on the father's side, (8) with a daughter-in-law, (9) with a sister-in-law, or brother's wife, (10) with a woman and her daughter, or a woman and her granddaughter, and (11) with two sisters at the same time. No special reference is made to sexual intercourse with (a) a daughter, (b) a full sister, (c) a mother-in-law; the last, however, which is mentioned in Deuteronomy 27:23 as an accursed crime, is included here in No. 10, and the second in No. 3, whilst the first, like parricide in Exodus 21:15, is not expressly noticed, simply because the crime was regarded as one that never could occur. Those mentioned under Nos. 1, 2, 3, 8, and 10 were to be followed by the death or extermination of the criminals (Leviticus 20:11-12, Leviticus 20:14, Leviticus 20:17), on account of their being accursed crimes (Deuteronomy 23:1; Deuteronomy 27:20, Deuteronomy 27:22-23). On the other hand, the only threat held out in the case of the connection mentioned under Nos. 6, 7, and 9, was that those who committed such crimes should bear their iniquity, or die childless (Leviticus 20:19-21). The cases noticed under Nos. 4 and 5 are passed over in ch. 20, though they no doubt belonged to the crimes which were to be punished with death, and No. 11, for which no punishment was fixed, because the wrong had been already pointed out in Leviticus 18:18." - Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
There were two institutions that were established by God BEFORE the fall of Adam and Eve: keeping the sabbath and marriage. Marriage is a divine institution. It's honor is to be protected. A husband is to be protected, and a wife is to be protected, from anything that would damage them, and thus the marriage. Sexual infidelity is the most damaging and sex with a family member is the worst of the worst. A man, or woman, was not to even "approach" a family member with sex in mind. No flirting, no double intendres, no fantasies... incest was wrong on so many levels.
A lot of royalty lines were incestuous. They didn't want to marry outside the royal line. This goes way back but we can also look at Europe and the incestuous marriages in certain royal lines.
Charles II of Spain was unable to speak at all until he was four, and unable to walk until he eight. He was the son of Philip IV of Spain (1605-1655) and Mariana of Austria (1634-1665) who were uncle and niece. But they too were the results of inbreeding in the Habsburg family, especially the Spanish line. By the time of Charles II it culminated in his birth defects. He suffered violent convulsions and hallucinations, a malformed jaw, called the "Habsburg jaw", that made eating and talking nearly impossible. He had an enlarged head. He had uncontrollable diarrhea, vomiting and bloody urine. They believe he had pituitary hormone deficiency and distal renal tubular acidosis. Charles II was married twice to Marie Louise of Orleans and Maria Anna of Neuburg, but fortunately he never conceived a child. He was probably sterile. He was unable to rule for long and retired young. He became completely immobile due to edema swelling in his legs, abdomen and face. He died at the young age of 38 and they did an autopsy. It stated his body “did not contain a single drop of blood; his heart was the size of a peppercorn; his lungs corroded; his intestines rotten and gangrenous; he had a single testicle, black as coal, and his head was full of water”. Source: The Dangers Of Royal Inbreeding by Charlie Evans, 4/18/2019
" Queen Victoria married her first cousin who was also a carrier of the fatal disease. When the two sets of genes combined in their children the disease fired into action and the pair subsequently spread the condition throughout European royalty, to Spain, Germany and Russia. One of Victoria’s own children died from complications due to haemophilia, while a further five grandchildren succumbed in the following decades. " Source: The Dangers Of Royal Inbreeding by Charlie Evans, 4/18/2019
George III (6/4/1738-1/29/1820) was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. He was the son of George II, the eldest son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. He was very smart and extremely well educated. His father died suddenly in 1760 at 77 years old. This made George King. He married Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, whom he met on their wedding day, and two weeks later they were crowned. They had a happy marriage until his mental illness struck. They had 15 children, 9 sons and 6 daughters. He was very religious and spent hours in prayer. He was appalled by his brothers' loose morals.
He was the King of England during the problems with his American colonies. There were no American seats in Parliament and thus, Americans objected to "taxation without representation". The years 1763-1775 showed King George to bow to Parliament and his cabinet's decisions and thus exonerate him from most of the responsibility for the American Revolution. He had hoped for a political solution but the colonies declared their independence in July 1776. Among the offences of King George to the American colonies was "He has abdicated Government here... He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns and destroyed the lives of our people". The King was determined "never to acknowledge the independence of the Americans, and to punish their contumacy by the indefinite prolongation of a war which promised to be eternal." America won it's independence in 1780.
King George had a mental illness characterised by acute mania, which was possibly a symptom of the genetic disease porphyria. Porphyria is a group of liver disorders in which substances called porphyrins build up in the body, negatively affecting the skin or nervous system. The types that affect the nervous system are also known as acute porphyria, as symptoms are rapid in onset and short in duration. Symptoms of an attack include abdominal pain, chest pain, vomiting, confusion, constipation, fever, high blood pressure, and high heart rate. The attacks usually last for days to weeks. Complications may include paralysis, low blood sodium levels, and seizures. Attacks may be triggered by alcohol, smoking, hormonal changes, fasting, stress, or certain medications. If the skin is affected, blisters or itching may occur with sunlight exposure. Most types of porphyria are inherited from one or both of a person's parents and are due to a mutation in one of the genes that make heme. These diseases primarily affect the nervous system, resulting in episodic crises known as acute attacks. The major symptom of an acute attack is abdominal pain, often accompanied by vomiting, hypertension (elevated blood pressure), and tachycardia (an abnormally rapid heart rate). The most severe episodes may involve neurological complications: typically motor neuropathy (severe dysfunction of the peripheral nerves that innervate muscle), which leads to muscle weakness and potentially to quadriplegia (paralysis of all four limbs) and central nervous system symptoms such as seizures and coma. Occasionally, there may be short-lived psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, confusion, hallucinations, and, very rarely, overt psychosis. All these symptoms resolve once the acute attack passes.
A study of samples of the King's hair published in 2005 revealed high levels of arsenic, a possible trigger for the disease. The source of the arsenic is not known but it could have been a component of medicines or cosmetics. The King may have had a brief episode of disease in 1765, but a longer episode began in the summer of 1788. At the end of the parliamentary session, he went to Cheltenham Spa to recuperate. It was the furthest he had ever been from London—just short of 100 miles — but his condition worsened. In November of that year, he became seriously deranged, sometimes speaking for many hours without pause, causing him to foam at the mouth and his voice to become hoarse. George would frequently repeat himself and write sentences with over 400 words at a time, as well as his vocabulary becoming more complex, possible symptoms of bipolar disorder. In 1804, George's recurrent illness returned. In late 1810, at the height of his popularity, already virtually blind with cataracts and in pain from rheumatism, George III became dangerously ill. In his view, the malady had been triggered by stress over the death of his youngest and favourite daughter, Princess Amelia. The Princess's nurse reported that "the scenes of distress and crying every day ... were melancholy beyond description." He accepted the need for the Regency Act 1811, and the Prince of Wales acted as Regent for the remainder of George III's life. Despite signs of a recovery in May 1811, by the end of the year George had become permanently insane and lived in seclusion at Windsor Castle until his death. He developed dementia, and became completely blind and increasingly deaf. He was incapable of knowing or understanding that he was declared King of Hanover in 1814, or that his wife died in 1818. At Christmas 1819, he spoke nonsense for 58 hours, and for the last few weeks of his life was unable to walk. He died at Windsor Castle at 8:38 pm on 29 January 1820 at 81 yrs old, six days after the death of his fourth son Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. His favourite son, Frederick, Duke of York, was with him. George was succeeded by two of his sons, George IV and William IV, who both died without surviving legitimate children, leaving the throne to Victoria, the only legitimate child of Prince Edward. - Wikipedia
"Victoria is also believed to have bequeathed porphyria to some of her descendants, most dramatically the German House of Hohenzollern (already descended from George I of Great Britain) where it may have contributed to Kaiser Wilhelm II’s erratic behaviour in the years leading up to the First World War. In November 1908, Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher – courtier and confidant of Britain’s Edward VII – speculated as much, writing in his diary, 'I am sure that the taint of George III is in his blood.'” Source: The Dangers Of Royal Inbreeding by Charlie Evans, 4/18/2019
What about Adam and Eve's children marrying their siblings? We must remember that there were no other humans available at that time so, in order to obey God's command to "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth", they had to marry their siblings. We must also remember that Adam and Eve were created absolutely perfect. Sin caused them to age and die. But their children would have inherited, not only the sin stain, but the near perfect genes. Remember they lived hundreds of years before The Flood. As yet, there were no obvious, or dormant, recessive genes that were mangled and mutated so their progeny should be pretty healthy. God, early on, commanded monogamous fidelity within the sanctity of marriage (remember, He sanctified marriage between Adam and Eve before the Fall). He also forbade incest as an abomination, along with other sexual perversions. In this chapter, God calls these sexual sins "abominations". The people, who practice these things "defiled the land" which would "vomit the nations that were before you". He commands them not to practice these abominations, "so as not to do any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves in them".
So according to this chapter, the Israelites were not supposed to commit incest, or even "approach" (a family member) to uncover (their) nakedness".
Leviticus 18:20, the Israelites were not to sleep with their neighbor's wife either. She was not a family member. But when you live next door to someone, you have a certain neighborly relationship that should not be violated. Their marriage should remain sacrosanct, as well as, your marriage.
Leviticus 21, the Israelites were not to sacrifice their children to Molech. The
"worship" of Molech included heating a bronze statue of the idol with outstretched arms. They would then place a living child in the superheated arms of the idol to die a horrible death in sacrifice to this idol. So God specifically tells them NOT to sacrifice their children to this heathen God, it is profanation.
Leviticus 18:22 God forbids homosexuality between men and between women. He declares it an "abomination". There is no other way to look at it. The word translated as "abomination" is toebah.
Abomination - toebah - H8441
Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries
eminine active participle of H8581; properly something disgusting (morally), that is, (as noun) an abhorrence; especially idolatry or (concretely) an idol: - abominable (custom, thing), abomination.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Dictionary
1) a disgusting thing, abomination, abominable
1a) in ritual sense (of unclean food, idols, mixed marriages)
1b) in ethical sense (of wickedness etc)
Part of Speech: noun feminine
Finally, in Leviticus 18:23 God forbids bestiality, having sex with an animal. It is called a "perversion", unnatural, a confusion.
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