31 "So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the LORD. 32 And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, 33who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD." (Leviticus 22:31-33)
Notice anything? Who is the Lord? These Jews would not be in the dark about this. God has been reminding them and reminding them all throughout the last few chapters. He gives them commands, most of them a bit awkward to read, but keeps calling them back to this truth. I am the LORD.
Why is this important?
God wants us to know that we are his. He has bought us with his blood. He has redeemed us. He has adopted us. We are his. Before all of this, he has created us. We are his creatures. He is the Lord, and we are his. Here is where the whole book is anchored, God's holiness.
Look at 19:2. Many consider this the central message of Leviticus.
2"Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy..." (Leviticus 19:2)
Our mandate to be holy is rooted in God's holiness. We must become like our God. Sounds good? No, it doesn't. We aren't holy. We are sinful. All of the laws about purity? We may be able to follow those, but we know we aren't pure. We are sunk.
But check this out, God has made a way. God, in his grace, created the system of jewish sacrifices and rituals. God picked a people out for Himself, and dwelt among them, and accepted sacrifices from them to allow them to draw near to Him. This is good news. For us, God has come down and dwelt among us and offered Himself as the sacrifice. He offers to come to us and dwell within us. He is truly a gracious God. Let us be holy as He is holy. Let us keep His commandments and be sanctified by Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment