Below is an excerpt from a paper I wrote this summer -
LEVITICUS:
GOD IS HOLY, THERFORE…
“Speak unto all the congregation of the
children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your
God am holy.” Leviticus 19:2 (KJV)
The
19th chapter of Leviticus provides us with an exposition on the
practice of holiness. The holiness of God is revealed in relationship to the
redemption of Israel out of Egypt. Consequently, it is not until after the
exodus that God calls upon His people to live holy lives. The Mosaic Covenant
is established so that Israel would be a holy nation.
While there are hints at how holiness is to be
practiced by the people of God earlier in the Pentateuch, it is in the 19th
chapter of the Book of Leviticus that holiness is defined in great detail.God
speaks to Moses and instructs Moses what to tell the community of faith. God
says, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”
The
second half of this statement is easily grasped, the first half, not so much.
We feel at home singing “Holy, holy, holy” when our focus is God. We often
begin prayers with the words, “Holy God” or end them with “In your holy name,
we pray.” Holy is an adjective that naturally attaches itself to God. What shakes
us up is that God begins by saying that we are to be holy.
In
Terence Fretheim’s book, “The Pentateuch”, Terence writes, “…the people are
recognized as holy by God, as were the priests by the people and they were to
treat themselves as holy just as God was to be. By virtue of this relationship
to a holy God and this calling, and by God’s sanctifying action the word “holy”
becomes a key reference for all the people of God, not simply the priests”
(pp134).
We
must approach this chapter with these things in mind, because there are several
factors, which might incline us to hastily conclude that this chapter is
irrelevant to 20th century Christians.
In
the first place there are some commands given here which are difficult to
understand, even as they relate to the Israelite. Secondly, there are some
commands that are clearly inapplicable to New Testament saints.
Leviticus 19 is a crucial chapter for Christians (as
well as the ancient Israelites) for a variety of reasons. First, Leviticus 19 is
important to us because of the prominence of its teaching in the New Testament.
Both our Lord and the apostles make a great deal of the two great commandments
that are given here: “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” (Lev.
19:2b). “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18b).
Second, Leviticus 19 is vitally important because of
the desperate need for the practice of holiness. As badly as
Christians misunderstand holiness, it is practiced even more pathetically. Holy
living is something, which is not characteristic of the last days, and it
surely is not characteristic of Christianity in our own days as well.
Third, it is important because of the
distorted perceptions of holiness. Holiness is a term
that is used more than it is understood. It is one thing for holiness not to be
understood; it is even worse that it is misunderstood. There are many
misconceptions in Christian circles as to what holiness really is. In the King
James Version of the Bible, the terms “holy” and “holiness” do not occur until
the Book of Exodus.
Fourth, many Christians, who were very sincere, have
gone astray seeking an unholy holiness. Many Christians who
have been sidetracked into one of the cults have pursued a false conception of
holiness. People generally do not join a cult in order to forsake holiness, but
to attain it.
There
are some necessities of holiness found in the first primary commandment. Here
are some factors relative to this command.First, the necessity of holiness is seen by the fact that the entire
nation of Israelites is commanded to be holy. Thus, holiness is not an option,
but an imperative.
Second, the command also provides a motivation for
holiness.
The holiness of God is manifested in the deliverance of His people from Egypt,
and by the manifestation of His glory from Mt. Sinai. Thus, the people should
have been motivated to live a life of holiness, based on their gratitude for
the redemption God had accomplished.
Third, there is also a provision for the holiness,
which God required, of His people. The law, which was
given as a part of the Mosaic Covenant, was God’s standard of holiness, and
obedience to this law was the means to holiness. God did not command His people
to be holy without telling them how to be holy.
Finally, God Himself provided the pattern for
holiness.
God is holy, which is the basis for Israel’s holiness. The holiness of God is
thus the pattern for Israel’s holiness. Israel was not only to be holy because
God is holy; they were to be holy as (like) God is holy. The actions that God
required were those that He had already performed on behalf of His people.
We
have seen that holiness is a necessity for the people of God, but it remains
for us to discern the nature of this holiness. I’ve often wondered what this
holiness, that God required, was to be like.
Holiness involved obedience to the commandments of
God.
God did not leave His people in the dark as to what holiness consisted of. The
bottom line was that holiness consisted of obedience to the laws of God,
obedience to His commandments.
Holiness involved sacrifice, in that it is costly.
Holiness entails sacrifice. Of course, holiness required sacrifices—those
outlined in the early chapters of Leviticus. But more than this, every act of
obedience to the commandments of God was a sacrificial act. Obedience to God’s
commandments was costly. Abstaining from eating the fruit from one’s trees for
five years and observing the Sabbath days was also costly. Holiness was a
sacrifice.
Holiness was more than a matter of observing
religious rituals—it was intensely practical piety, involving a wide variety of
actions as a part of one’s everyday life. True, holiness
involved those special ceremonies and special holy days and going to that
special place, the tabernacle, where rites were performed by a special priestly
class. But chapter 19 describes a very practical, everyday, kind of holiness,
of honoring parents, of honesty and kindness and compassion and justice.
Holiness is the imitation of God.
In the ultimate sense, living a holy life is the imitation of God, who alone is
holy. Thus, when our Lord came to the earth and lived “under the law,” fully
keeping the law, He manifested the holiness of God to men.
Holiness was here to be revealed positively, rather
than negatively. God’s holiness was manifested by His
compassion on the Israelites when they were afflicted in Egypt, and when He
delivered them from their bondage. So, too, holiness is to be manifested by the
people of God by their kindness, grace, and compassion on others, especially
the needy and the afflicted.
Finally, loving one’s neighbor as one’s self
practices holiness.
It
is not that only one loves one’s neighbor, but it is here emphasized manifests
holiness that holiness must include an active love for one’s neighbor. Thus,
just as God’s holiness is seen in His love for Israel in the Old Testament, and
for the world in its weakness and need in the New, so God’s people must
demonstrate God’s holiness as they show love for their neighbors, especially
those in need.
Holiness is certainly about doing concrete actions to care for
others, and not doing things that would harm them. But it goes beyond that — it
is a way of acting that comes from a pure heart, of doing what is right and
good because it is right and good, not only out of fear of being caught.
Holiness is holistic.
It
is important to stress that Israel’s holiness is a reality; it is not something
to be aimed at or striven for, or to be associated only with worship. The call
to “be holy” is a call to be true to the relationship in which the people
already stand.
We see that the holiness described in Leviticus 19, and the
holiness that bears fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23) is not mutually
exclusive. Indeed, Leviticus 19 cannot make someone alive (Galatians 3:21). But
following the commandments in Leviticus 19 can transform a life, as the laws
listed there can — even today — be markers for holy living.
Through
Moses, God says to us, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”
And the place to begin is with love.
