The Holiness of God revealed in Life
The Holiness of God in Everyday Life
Read Leviticus 11-12
"For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourself unclean."
How do you communicate truth to a culture where all information is transferred audibly rather than written? You connect spiritual truths to everyday activities and things to serve as an object lesson. You teach your children values and morals by connecting them to simple events. The common becomes the transmitter of the supernatural. The importance of building on a solid foundation (rock) rather than an unstable foundation (sand) becomes a lesson on how to structure our life on spiritual truth that remains solid and unchanging rather than the morality of our age, with is fluid and unstable. The rainbow becomes a lesson of God's promise not to destroy the world again with a flood.
For the modern reader, the rules for what is clean and unclean seem perplexing. Throughout Leviticus, we find portions of scripture that label some things clean and other things unclean. We are left wondering why God seemingly made some food clean and others unclean. Why did he make some permissible activities while being involved in other activities rendered the person unclean? It is especially perplexing when God made some natural and normal activities unclean. For example, God has given humanity the mandate to populate the earth, yet a woman who gives birth to a child is considered unclean for a time.
To understand the regulations of the clean and unclean, we need to understand the spiritual lessons they are designed to teach and the culture in which they were written. Some of the clean and unclean designations are related to the nature of the animal. Some animals are safe to eat, even when not properly cooked (thus, the rare beef steak becomes a delicacy), while other animals pose a health risk if not properly cooked (e.g., pork). As we read through the designation of clean and unclean, we see God establishing protective guidelines so food not adequately cooked could still be eaten. Thus we read of the prohibition of eating the unclean scavengers (the pig, the falcon, the raven, etc.) who would be carriers of disease.
Other clean and unclean designations were designed to prevent the people from engaging and adapting the cultic practices of the pagans around them. For example, designating the woman to be unclean after childbirth prevented the Israelites from adopting the fertility rights of the gods, who saw sex and childbirth as part of the gods bringing a bountiful harvest.
However, the ultimate purpose of the clean and unclean designation is that it meant to be a spiritual object lesson that the people of God were to be separate from the world around them and dedicated solely to the worship of God. Thus we read in 11:44, "For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am holy." Just as God was untouched by sin, so the people of Israel were to remain separate (that is, clean) from the sinful practices of the idolatrous (the unclean) people around them. Making a distinction between the unclean and the clean in the physical realm served as a reminder to the Israelites that they were to distinguish between the unclean and clean in the spiritual realm. So it also serves as a reminder to us today as we read through the book of Leviticus. In our salvation, God calls us to be consecrated to him. We are to obey him by following his commands so that we might also separate ourselves from the sin that mars our world and remain holy before God in all our actions. Paul echoes this call to a holy life in Romans 12:1-2. However, now instead of looking to the natural world, we have a perfect illustration to follow—the person and life of Christ. Leviticus reminds us that God's holiness governs our life, and we are to live in a way that reflects God's character and image in all aspects of life, even the mundane. Can people see Christ revealed in you by observing how you live and act throughout your day? Ask God to make you a living illustration of God’s character for others to see.
Read Leviticus 11-12
"For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourself unclean."
How do you communicate truth to a culture where all information is transferred audibly rather than written? You connect spiritual truths to everyday activities and things to serve as an object lesson. You teach your children values and morals by connecting them to simple events. The common becomes the transmitter of the supernatural. The importance of building on a solid foundation (rock) rather than an unstable foundation (sand) becomes a lesson on how to structure our life on spiritual truth that remains solid and unchanging rather than the morality of our age, with is fluid and unstable. The rainbow becomes a lesson of God's promise not to destroy the world again with a flood.
For the modern reader, the rules for what is clean and unclean seem perplexing. Throughout Leviticus, we find portions of scripture that label some things clean and other things unclean. We are left wondering why God seemingly made some food clean and others unclean. Why did he make some permissible activities while being involved in other activities rendered the person unclean? It is especially perplexing when God made some natural and normal activities unclean. For example, God has given humanity the mandate to populate the earth, yet a woman who gives birth to a child is considered unclean for a time.
To understand the regulations of the clean and unclean, we need to understand the spiritual lessons they are designed to teach and the culture in which they were written. Some of the clean and unclean designations are related to the nature of the animal. Some animals are safe to eat, even when not properly cooked (thus, the rare beef steak becomes a delicacy), while other animals pose a health risk if not properly cooked (e.g., pork). As we read through the designation of clean and unclean, we see God establishing protective guidelines so food not adequately cooked could still be eaten. Thus we read of the prohibition of eating the unclean scavengers (the pig, the falcon, the raven, etc.) who would be carriers of disease.
Other clean and unclean designations were designed to prevent the people from engaging and adapting the cultic practices of the pagans around them. For example, designating the woman to be unclean after childbirth prevented the Israelites from adopting the fertility rights of the gods, who saw sex and childbirth as part of the gods bringing a bountiful harvest.
However, the ultimate purpose of the clean and unclean designation is that it meant to be a spiritual object lesson that the people of God were to be separate from the world around them and dedicated solely to the worship of God. Thus we read in 11:44, "For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am holy." Just as God was untouched by sin, so the people of Israel were to remain separate (that is, clean) from the sinful practices of the idolatrous (the unclean) people around them. Making a distinction between the unclean and the clean in the physical realm served as a reminder to the Israelites that they were to distinguish between the unclean and clean in the spiritual realm. So it also serves as a reminder to us today as we read through the book of Leviticus. In our salvation, God calls us to be consecrated to him. We are to obey him by following his commands so that we might also separate ourselves from the sin that mars our world and remain holy before God in all our actions. Paul echoes this call to a holy life in Romans 12:1-2. However, now instead of looking to the natural world, we have a perfect illustration to follow—the person and life of Christ. Leviticus reminds us that God's holiness governs our life, and we are to live in a way that reflects God's character and image in all aspects of life, even the mundane. Can people see Christ revealed in you by observing how you live and act throughout your day? Ask God to make you a living illustration of God’s character for others to see.
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