Holy God

 All the rules and regulations presented in the book of Leviticus, right from chapter one, on, show up what seems like a very strict God.  One small infraction and you are in big trouble.  Yet, from all of these we can ascertain the holiness of God and that He means business.  

If the children of Israel still didn't get this aspect, He reiterates more than once, do this because,

"I, the LORD your God, am holy" (Leviticus 19:2; 11:44 NIV).

These decrees and laws would bring them life when they obeyed them (Leviticus 18:5 NIV).  After all, God was (and still is) the LORD, their God.  He's holy and the places where He is, are also holy ground.

When we read all of these standard rules for living we can get a bit of an idea of how holy God is.  We must enter His presence with reverence and awe and fear.  He is Almighty God.  He was doing all this so that the Israelites would know He was the one and only true God.  He had their backs, actually, and out of love for them, and because He cared for them, He wanted them to know Him.

He was their powerful God who brought them out of Egypt and showed up the comparison to the idols of the Egyptians that could not help them. They could get to know their God through all these governing laws to keeping themselves healthy and "clean" and "holy" so that they could approach God as He travelled with them, to worship Him and offer their sacrifices to Him.

Nowadays, we have been made 'holy' by God through our personal faith in Jesus Christ's redemption but we must live it out too.  Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:15-17 especially 16, quoting the Old Testament writer,

"...for it is written:  "Be holy becaue I am holy" (NIV).

So we can review the laws and degress the Israelites had, to get a 'feel' for such holiness, and then read the New Testament.  Look at Paul's epistles and what he charged his letter recipients to do or not to do.  For example, abstaining from sexual immorality, slander, drunkenness and more.  This is what their lives had been, before faith in Christ.  They needed to put all that off.  Instead, they needed to "put on forbearing with one another," have the love and care of one another, speak the truth and so on.

James taught about the words of our mouths bringing blessing and not curses; to have self control.  His letter is chock full of that which would show our faith and holiness.

Thank-God, He has imputed His righteousness to us and has given us His Holy Spirit to help us in the process of becoming more sanctified and holy.  Pray for yourselves and your brothers and sisters-in-Christ, that they too will pro-actively seek a holy life, living and being holy as God is.

                                                          ~ERC  August 2021~

Based on Leviticus 1-20 NIV.