“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, “I am the Lord your God. You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God. So, you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord.” – Leviticus 18:1-5
You may find the book of Leviticus difficult to read. It speaks of practices that are foreign to us in modern times. What are burnt, grain and restitution offerings anyway? What does the duties of priests, purification rites, clean and unclean foods have to do with us today? Why do we need to know how to handle skin infections if there is no priest or tabernacle in our world? These are legitimate questions.
Remember, Moses wrote the Torah with instructions he received from God. The judgments, statutes, sacrifices, festivals, priestly duties, laws, etc. all come from heaven and all had significant meanings. As we read these commands, we cannot forget the fact that everything Moses was instructed to write pointed to Christ, the ultimate redeemer of mankind. In the above pericope of Scripture, and in the entire book of Leviticus, the message is clear and simple, be set apart as holy because God is holy.
Notice God instructed the Israelites not to do what the Egyptians did where they once lived and not to do what the Canaanites do in the land where they are going. In other words, they were not to be influenced by the cultures in which they were planted. God wanted them to be different in more ways than one. He wanted them to be influenced by God. They were to live their lives in reverence and fear of their Creator, to look to Him for provisions, protection and prosperity. He, and only He, was to be their sole source of influence.
The same can be said of us who live on the other side of the cross today. God calls us all to be sanctified, set apart from worldly influence to live a life of righteousness and holiness for God. The very word New Testament writers chose to call us, ekklesia, means called out ones (ek meaning “out of” and kaleo meaning “to call”). We are called out to be different than the world in every aspect of our lives; our employment, our recreation, our finances, our marriage, the raising of our children, etc.
The reason for God calling His chosen ones out of the world is simple. He desires to express His character, His love, His forgiveness, everything about Himself, to others in the world through His people. We, His chosen ones, are to imitate Him (Ephesians 5:1) in everything we do so that those who don’t know Him can see Him in us. It is one way He calls people to the cross, through our righteous living.
Finally, we must recognize that holy living is a product of the Holy Spirit living inside us. We simply do not have the capacity to live a righteous life without being filled with God Himself. He is the source of our righteous living and He is the reason we live. Every day we must rely upon the indwelling power of God to energize our wills to live according to His will. This is one of the reasons we must constantly be immersed in His Word because His Word instructs us how to live a righteous life. His Spirit empowers us to live that life.
“Be holy because I am holy.” A simple mandate from God to rest in Him every day and allow His Spirit to transform us into the righteous image of His Son, Jesus Christ. May those we surround ourselves with see His righteousness in us and be influenced to give their lives to Him.
In Christ,
Dave
Additional Reading Related to this Topic:
The Jewish Wedding and Redemption
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