SUBJECT:  Tattoos and Body Piercings

QUESTIONS:  What does the Bible Say about having Tattoos?

ANSWER:

In Leviticus 19:28 Moses dictated what God asked him to write. This chapter is addressed to the whole house of Israel. Many of us believe that this whole house of Israel is much larger than the few individuals who are living in or around Jerusalem in the modern state of Israel. God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that their seed would be uncountable like the stars in the sky or the sand on the seashore so they are not a small population ever. We believe that the modern nations of Israel are composed of the western industrialized nations of the world with the USA and the UK as the leaders. So if this chapter was written today it would be addressed to all of these people not just the practicing Jews.

God first of all is Holy, Clean and Pure and he says that his people are to be the same: holy, clean and pure. Most of the instructions in this chapter are not just for the priests either but for all of the children of Israel. They are practical commandments such as not to eat meat that has been around for three days since it is abominable. That makes sense for health reasons. (verse 6 and 7) And when a farmer reaps his land he should leave some for the poor at its edges. (verses 9 and 10) Well that makes sense for economic reasons. Then it discusses some moral commandments like not putting a stumbling block before a blind man to watch him fall (verse 14) or to not steal or bear false witness. (verses 11 and 12) Then in verse 27 it talks about how a man should wear his hair with further explanation in Ezekiel 44:20. I would suggest that you read the whole chapter to get the context and better yet the whole book.

Then comes the commandment about tattoos. In Leviticus 19:28 :

"Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” These things were done as a means to worship false gods that did not really exist. God says he is a Jealous God in Exodus 20:5. We are not to practice the way of the heathen when we worship Him. (Deuteronomy 8:19) The Hindus' do some of these things to this day.  Notice a commentary on Leviticus 19:28

Cuttings in your flesh for the dead - Compare the margin reference. Among the excitable races of the East this custom appears to have been very common.

 

Print any marks - Tattooing was probably practiced in ancient Egypt, as it is now by the lower classes of the modern Egyptians, and was connected with superstitious notions. Any voluntary disfigurement of the person was in itself an outrage upon God’s workmanship, and might well form the subject of a law. ~Barnes Notes

As far as body piercings go, this practice is mentioned in two places as ear piercings. It refers to the commandment regarding a slave or servant who does not want to leave his master. The master gives him a wife and they have children who belong to the master and the man wants to stay with his family so a pierced ear shows his loyalty and indemnity for as long as he lives. Otherwise the law would stipulate that he could be freed at the end of a seven year indenture if he wished with payment. If he went free he would have to leave his wife and children in servitude until they were redeemed and that could mean quite a long time. But if he chose to stay with his family and with his master, he must have his ear pierced to identify him as unredeemable. (Exodus 21:6 and Deuteronomy 15:17) There might be a symbolic meaning here too.

In a prophecy in Isaiah 3:18-24 it shows that there will be nose jewels that will be removed when this disaster comes which indicates to me that they were affixed in some way as they are today by body piercings. This does not however mean that God approves of them. It just means that is what they wore along with other ornamentation. And it is because of our stubborn refusal to obey these simple reasonable commands of God that He will be so upset and permit these disasters to happen to the people of Israel until we do respect them and obey them willingly. None of us can do this without the help God and that is why the Father sent his Son into this world to die like a man to pay for the sins we commit by our foolish disobedience. We owe him our lives. It is our choice to make whether to accept his sacrifice or not.

Now everything to this point has been from the Word of God, but as we know, this does not settle the discussion for this generation of disobedient, carnal, worldly, tolerant humans populating this planet.

How do they get around Leviticus 19:28?

Clearly, there it is. "Ye shall not. . .print any marks upon you. . ."

A lot of Christians when confronted with Leviticus 19:28, scream, "Hey dude, that’s not for today. Man, that’s the Old Testament. I’m under the New Testament".

Did you know that "bestiality" (sex with an animal) was ONLY forbidden in the Old Testament Levitical Law? Only in Leviticus 18:23 and Leviticus 20:15-16. Dude, only in the Old Testament Law. Does that mean a Holy God NOW – under the New Testament, approves of bestiality?

By the way, have you ever read Leviticus 19:29? The verse immediately AFTER the "it’s not for me" Leviticus 19:28?

Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.

Leviticus 19:29

This is the only place in the Bible that God directly forbids someone to prostitute their daughter. And since, it’s ONLY in the Old Testament Levitical Law (and "hey, dude, we’re NOT under the law") – it MUST be ok by the Lord for a parent to cause their daughter to prostitute.

Same sick, perverted, wicked, line of reasoning as the "it’s ONLY in the Old Testament-tattoo-bearer-wearer". Same reasoning. . . Same disobedience. . . Same perversion of the Word of God.

There are many other "moral laws’ that are ONLY forbidden in the Old Testament, such as the human sacrifice of children. No where in the New Testament is this forbidden. Does that mean that NOW under the New Testament, God Almighty endorses throwing babies into the fire as a human sacrifice?

And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. -Leviticus 18:21

Matthew Henry’s Commentary at the beginning of Leviticus 19 explains that most of Leviticus 19 (such as verse 19:28) are moral commandments that applies not only for Israel but for the New Testament Christian today.

"Some ceremonial precepts there are in this chapter, but most of them are moral. . . Most of these precepts are binding on us, for they are expositions of most of the ten commandments." ~Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible

Our Bodies are a Temple
If one is able, with slick argument, to sidestep the Old Testament Laws and admonitions, he will not be able to get pass the “Temple Argument.” 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

We are to be and act as the very image of God.  That is, we were made in His image.  The question is whether Christ would have ever had a tattoo Himself.  We are to use Him as our example.  We are to always ask:

1] What would Christ do?
2] What does the Bible say?
 

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