Scripture Passage for Today
Scripture Focus
“You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2 NIV)
Observation:
About this verse, Tyndale’s NIV Bible Commentary makes this observation:
“The character of God is behind his commandments. Among the sensual and foolish deities of antiquity, no god could ground all moral duty in his divine character; only the God of Israel could.”
It’s easy to forget the pantheon of man-made deities worshiped in Israel’s day by the nations. Some of these false gods and false practices are hinted at in Leviticus 18:3, where God says, “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.” These man-made gods reflect the foibles and failures of men. They are often emotionally driven, sensual and immoral, and quite easily manipulated by the right offering or vow from a worshipper.
By contrast, the God of the Scriptures, who reveals himself to Israel, does not reflect the foibles and failures of his worshippers, but rather, calls on his worshippers to reflect who He is! “You be holy because I am holy!” The challenges (if that’s the right word) of living out this life of faith—adherence to the kinds of moral living described in today’s chapters—are not the result of a God who looks for all the ways He can to limit and restrict human behavior, but rather, flow from His character of always operating out of love and giving Himself in ways that result in the best for others.
It is amazing how lightly many of the commands from today’s reading are lightly regarded—or brazenly violated—by contemporary American society. But the believer, who desires to honor God and express by his or her life appreciation for redemption, would do well to remember that these are not random restrictions but, rather, reflections of holiness—God’s holiness—the essence of who He is.
3 comments:
Even though the reading has been tough here lately. i mean just trying to read all the laws and offerings. i am glad to know what God wanted from his people back then.
I want to work everyday to be like God in everything I do even though I fail and get cought up in the things of this world like selfishness etc. I am glad Jesus loves us and gave His life for us so we can come back to him. Like the reading today God wanted to help us that he showed us when we do things against Him it leads us into worst things I just got finish watching the ten commandments and how all that God did for His people they still deidnt believe He cared so much for them. Praise God for His love and mercy too.
Kent you said a mouthful on that one. I know personally it is very hard sometimes to not want to go with the flow of what Americans believe is the norm. It seems with each generation our morals decline a little bit more and the average American gets a little more blind to what God would want us to do. Each day I wake up I say a little prayer to myself that God will guide my path and I will do the right thing. It doesnt always happen, but I hope that with each passing day as I submit to God I will get stronger.
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