The phrase, “I am the LORD your God” occurs sixteen times in Leviticus with ten of those occurrences appearing in 18: 1 – 20: 7. The similar phrase, “I am the LORD” appears an additional twenty times in the book beginning with chapter 18. Thirty-six times God reminds us Who He is and Whose we are.
Perhaps you are aware that the Holman Christian Standard Bible like a number of other English translations typically translates the covenant name of God, YHWH (Yahweh) by capitalizing the words LORD or GOD. God is helping His people recall that the God Who speaks to them and commands their obedience is none other than the God of the Burning Bush and the God of the Exodus. He has every right to demand faithfulness from his people whether it is in matters of sexual conduct, personal holiness, the purity of the priesthood or any other matter.
Our world (and sadly even the Christian community within it) reacts violently to even a veiled attempt to declare our responsibility to an all holy God. Few congregations have the patience for a surgical sermonizer who invasively cuts deep into the heart muscles exposing sin and demanding his immediate removal. Screams of, “How dare you” and “Who do you think you are” are often fired like cannon blasts at such a preacher of purity and denouncer of depravity. But, insofar as the preacher faithfully applies the truth of Scripture the real objection is not to a man but to his God.
The God Who regulates our life through His Word is the God Who rescued us from our sinful past just as He delivered Israel from Egyptian tyranny. He is the God to Whom we owe all things not simply because He created us but because he recreated us as well. Make no mistake about it; He is still Yahweh (the LORD).
His claim is even deeper. He may describe Himself as your God. We know Him as others do not know Him. Moses could say to the next generation, For what great nation is there that has a god near to it as the LORD our God is [to us] whenever we call to Him? (Deut. 4: 7). Jesus prayed and said the very essence of eternal life is we may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent – Jesus Christ. (Jhn. 17: 3). We submit not as beggarly peasants but as intimate friends serving from the rich and rewarding motive of reciprocated love. His right to rule is not only about Who He is but Whose we are. We belong to Him and our behavior must reflect it. We are bound to Him by a love relationship that demands our all.