Coming to my annual foray into Leviticus (reading through the Bible each year), I thought I would try to summarize in my own words what is written, to help me make sense of it, and maybe it will be beneficial to you, too.
Chapter 18
Sexual relations with close relatives, people of the same sex, and animals is forbidden. (The ritual child sacrifice to Molech also involved highly sexual rites.) These sins are a large reason for God revoking their right to the land of Canaan. Israel, don't do what they did or the land will vomit you out, too.
Chapter 19
This chapter elaborates ways in which to love your neighbor, the principle given in verse 18. Honoring parents (3), avoiding idolatry (4), generosity (9-10), honesty, impartiality, and not exploiting the exploitable (11-16) are all elements of this. Verses 17-18 are for those who think the Old Testament was a purely external, ritual religion. No, God forbids hatred and grudges in one's heart; He commands love for our neighbor.
After verse 18, we return to some ceremonial or detailed rules, designed to set the nation of Israel apart. Don't mix livestock, seeds or types of cloth. The firstfruits of a planted tree is its fourth year of fruit, given to God. The 5th year the planter can eat of it. Don't shave your beard or tatoo your body. Don't prostitute your daughters for money. Keep the Sabbath. Honor your elders. Don't seek the future through psychics or fortune-tellers. Don't treat refugees as second-class; you used to be refugees in Egypt. Use honest currency in trade.
Chapter 20 mainly rehearses the primary sins of chapters 18-19, prescribing the death penalty for most of them. (Not much analysis here, but I do think on the basis of John 8:1-12 that these penalties are abrogated because of Christ, though the principles defining sin in these laws are still in effect.) We also see the principle explicit, that the nations in Canaan do all these things, and God wants Israel to be different (holy) and avoid those sins (22-26).
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