I have been reading in Leviticus for the past couple of days. Oh my goodness, how monotonous and demanding this all can be. It is just a great big book of laws and regulations. Then as I got to the 20th chapter, something occurred to me, "for I am the LORD, who makes you holy; I am the LORD," kept appearing. God was making Himself known to all of the people. He wanted His people to realize that they were to obey and follow Him, and He wanted others to see that His followers were different.
Leviticus 18-22, "I, the LORD, am your God. So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life... for I, the LORD, am your God. If you obey My laws and regulations, you will find life through them. I am the LORD...I am the LORD...You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy... I, the LORD, am your God... for I, the LORD, am your God... I am the LORD... So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I, the LORD, am your God. Keep all my laws and obey them, for I am the LORD, who makes you holy... You must carefully obey all My laws and regulations; otherwise the land to which I am bringing you will vomit you out. Do not live by the customs of the people whom I will expel before you. It is because they do these terrible things that I detest them so much. But I have promised that you will inherit their land, a land flowing with milk and honey. I, the LORD, am your God, who has set you apart from all other people... You must be holy because I, the LORD, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own... I am the LORD... because I, the LORD, have made him holy... I am the LORD who makes them holy... I am the LORD... I am the LORD! ... I am the LORD... I am the LORD... I am the LORD... I am the LORD, who makes them holy... I am the LORD... I am the LORD... It is I, the LORD, who makes you holy... I am the LORD."
As I read this morning, this is what kept leaping off of the page, into my heart. I am the LORD, set yourself apart, for I am your LORD. How often have I even heard the book of Leviticus mentioned and my mind dulls. It is so redundant. Law after law was given and it seemed so hard. How could anyone obey so many laws and regulations? From what you can eat, to the kind of clothes you can wear, to... it does not matter, everything had a law. But then I realized, it really was not about all these laws, but about Him. God wanted His people to realize who He was. They had been living in a land so defiled by pagan living that He had to help them. Any alcoholic will tell you that if they take one drink, they are gone. They cannot even have one sip of what they crave. God was being merciful to His people, He had to make everything so strict, because of how they lived in the past.
He is still the same LORD. He still expects us to be set apart from our society. He wants us to love, only Him. The only difference is that He desires to live in you, instead of being your commanding officer. I do not have to offer a bloody animal sacrifice, for Christ has been that beaten bloody sacrifice for me. Every whip, every scare that I should have taken for my sins, He took for me. Every day I should be going to the alter, providing a sin offering to the LORD, instead, He goes for me. All that he expects from me, is for me to set myself apart for Him. He wants others to find their LORD. He expects me to live a different life from my society.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, this morning reads, "Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself... Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself... True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it."
I was raised knowing who God was, but I never truly gave myself to Him. I thought that I could find happiness and fulfillment outside of His laws. What I discovered, was more pain than I should have ever tasted. Through His laws and through His love, I found true life and true joy. It was not until I completely gave myself to Him, that I found life. Have you given yourself over to the cross of Christ, so that you can feel His love? You will know if you have, by the fruit that you produce and the desires that drive you. Do you know the LORD?
2 comments:
It sounds like you have grasped the purpose of the book of Leviticus; it was not written for our entertainment, but to show us the holiness of God, and our dire need for a Savior. Praise Him for His provision in Jesus!
We, as a church our going through the book of Leviticus, and even though I was hesitant in the beginning, it a been a good reminder of our need for Christ. Our works, our sacrifices, could never be enough to get us into heaven.
I praise God that He sent us a Savior, whom He sacrificed, so that we could be forgiven.
This part;
It is I, the LORD, who makes you holy...
is beautiful! He makes me Holy, there is nothing that I can do to make myself Holy, it is only in Christ.
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