Holy God, Loving Father
As a personal challenge, I recently committed to following one of the many Bible studies which cover the 66 books of the Bible over a year. Secretly, I hoped to complete this task in less than a year. Familiar with the Old Testament stories, having been introduced to many of them over the years in Sunday school and through personal bible study, I charged full speed ahead through the book of Genesis, the story of creation, the fall of man, the flood and Noah’s Ark, the life of Abraham, ending with the story of Joseph. With little pause in my momentum, I barreled through the book of Exodus and the story of Moses and the burning bush, God’s call to Pharoah to release His people, the Israelites, from the atrocity of slavery, miracles, and plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the Ten Commandments and Israel’s disobedience leading to 40 years of wandering in the desert.
Then, I reached the book of Leviticus, and the lightning pace with which I was navigating from one passage to the next, checking off verse after verse, my eyes set on completing the Old Testament in record time, turned into the clumsy crawl of an infant. Laboring through each detailed passage instructing the nation of Israel with regard to the rituals and the worship practices of the great Tabernacle, I reluctantly reconsidered my ambitious goal of completing the entire Bible in less than a year, considered jumping to the New Testament and finally settled on taking a more deliberate and studious approach to my task.
With that in mind, I continued through Leviticus to Numbers, an account of the gradual fulfillment of the promises God made to Abraham and his descendants, God’s presence with Israel in the cloud of fire over the Tabernacle, and Israel’s repeated disobedience and displays of disbelief.
Having finally completed the first four books of the Bible, one thing is painfully clear to me, our God is a Holy God, and He demands His people to be holy as well.
*Note the Old Testament includes the Ten Commandments along with an additional 613 “Mitzvot” (Commandments)
So, what does this mean for us today?
Leviticus 11:45 states, “For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy for I am holy.”
Much like the ancient Israelites, we all have our own Egypt, a place where we were kept in bondage, calling to the Lord for salvation. For us as Christians, we were in bondage to sin.
Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Galatians 5:1 adds, “For freedom Christ has set us free, stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
John 8:34 Jesus states, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”
But our Father in Heaven, out of his unwavering love, freed us from the bondage of sin through the death and resurrection of His son Jesus Christ. Having been freed from the chains of sin, much like the ancient Israelites of the Old Testament, we have been set apart and are called upon to be holy as he is holy.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9
Today, we as Christians are not held to the same rituals for atonement and worship as the Israelites of the Old Testament to have a relationship with a Holy God. However, we are called to live a life worthy of bearing the name of His son Jesus Christ.
Why? Because out of love, He purchased us with His blood through His sacrifice on the cross. We are His, and in Him, we are a new creation.
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
God’s nature requires us to be holy as He is Holy. Because of this, we can be thankful that our Holy God is also our loving Father. Out of love, He sent His son Jesus as a sin offering, fulfilling the Old Testament Law and paving the way for us to have a personal relationship with Him. Let our lives be a living testimony of His love and His holiness.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1
Amen,
Brad
