I am in a group going through the "Truth Project" that was produced by Focus on the Family. Last night we looked at the section called "Whose Story." To simplify the message it is that God's story, history, is a metanarrative. What is a metanarrative? It is the grand, over arching story that makes sense of all the smaller stories throughout history. If you remember I shared Ken Easley's summary of the whole Bible with you, that is a summary of God's metanarrative.
"The Lord God through his Christ is graciously building a kingdom of redeemed people for their joy and for his own glory."
Why do I keep bringing that up? Because it is so easy to get bogged and lost in books like Leviticus. As you and I prayerfully read God's awesome Word, we must keep the big picture in heart and mind!
Le 11:44-45 For I am the Lord your God, so you must consecrate yourselves and be holy because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any swarming creature that crawls on the ground. 45 For I am the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, so you must be holy because I am holy.
Le 19:2 “Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
Le 20:7 Consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.
We have to remember that everything that they are being instructed to do is for them to be set apart, holy to the Lord! Remember that everything that they are being instructed to do is POINTING TO JESUS!
You have to wonder how did this strike the Israelites? Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. Did they say, "sure, no problem." Or was it more like, "Lord have mercy, I saw what YOU did to Aaron's sons, Lord I don't know how to be holy, Lord have mercy, help me...please!"
Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit quotes this passage from Leviticus, and he admonishes his hearers to be holy, to be set apart, to live in a manner worthy of the CALLING...see in verse 15..."as the One who called you is holy, you are also to be holy."
1 Pe 1:13-21
13 Therefore, get your minds ready for action, being self-disciplined, and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance 15 but, as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.
17 And if you address as Father the One who judges impartially based on each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during this time of temporary residence. 18 For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things, like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. 20 He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the times for you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
In Isaiah 62:12 we see that God's people are called, sought and redeemed, “The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord”; And you will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.” This is really good news, it sounds like in the same way God moved to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, HE is moving to bring HIS children out of slavery to sin, death and Satan. Check out 1 Peter 2:9.
1 Pe 2:9-10 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
I love the way Mark moves action packed through the life of Jesus...we see our LORD like this incredible ultimate fighting super hero of super heros. He is calming storms with a word, casting out legion of demons without raising a finger, HE heals a woman who has been sick for 12 years and now defeating our ultimate foe...DEATH! 1 Co 15:55-58 O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting? 56 Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 58 Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Jesus calls and she gets up! Jesus speaks a word and there is life!
Mk 5:35-43 While He was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?”
36 But when Jesus overheard what was said, He told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.” 37 He did not let anyone accompany Him except Peter, James, and John, James’ brother. 38 They came to the leader’s house, and He saw a commotion—people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.”
40 They started laughing at Him, but He put them all outside. He took the child’s father, mother, and those who were with Him, and entered the place where the child was. 41 Then He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” ). 42 Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was 12 years old.) At this they were utterly astounded. 43 Then He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this and said that she should be given something to eat.
This is awesome awe-striking news...if Jesus calls you out of darkness into HIS marvelous light, if HE calls you who were dead in your sins and trespasses and MAKES YOU ALIVE together with CHIRST...the same ONE who calls you, will sanctify you and make you holy unto the LORD.
We see this in Romans 8:28-32
28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified. 31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He did not even spare His own Son, but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything?
I don't know if you feel the incredible tension here...on the one hand we are commanded to be holy and it sounds and feels like it is up to us to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling," while on the other hand it sounds and feels like God does it and it is all up to HIM. I believe that this is a tension that we have to learn to live with, recognizing that we are commanded to live holy lives and we are responsible and accountable for every sin we commit. At the same time we cry out to God because we know that it is "Christ in us the hope of glory" that will complete and finish the good work HE began. Someone has well said, that we work and labor like it all depends on us and we walk in faith and we pray like it all depends on God.
As I close let me leave you with some words of wisdom from Warren Wiersby commenting on our reading from Leviticus.
Love,
m
If the Jewish people were to keep themselves clean and pleasing to the Lord, they had to exercise discernment; this meant knowing God’s Word, respecting it, and obeying it. Fathers and mothers had to teach their children the law and warn them about the things that were unclean (Deut. 6:1–9). The priests had to teach the people and remind them of the commandments of the Lord. It was when the nation of Israel neglected the Word of God and refused to obey it that the people began to follow the abominable practices of the heathen nations around them, and this is what led to Israel’s discipline and defeat.
Jews who exercised spiritual discernment would “walk in love” (Eph. 5:2), and their love for the Lord would motivate them to obey His law. Each morning, the orthodox Jew would recite “The Shema,” the official Jewish confession of faith: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:4–5, NIV). That is still the first great commandment (Matt. 22:34–40).
One of the marks of maturity is the ability “to make a difference” (Lev. 11:47) and distinguish between right and wrong. As a pathologist looks through his or her microscope, he or she can see a difference between a healthy cell and a cancerous cell. The expert musician can hear the difference between the right note and the almost-right note, and the expert writer knows the difference between “any word” and the right word. Likewise, mature believers can exercise discernment, identify that which is unclean, and avoid it. Remember, children are prone to walk into the mud and get dirty. When we “walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8), we won’t stumble over some carcass in the darkness; for God’s Word is the light that directs us (Ps. 119:105).
What the Prophet Hosea said about Israel in his day is true of many professed Christians today: “You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you . . . My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:5–6, NIV). “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Heb. 5:14, NIV).
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1994). Be holy. "Becoming 'set apart' for God"--Cover.; "An Old Testament study--Leviticus"--Cover. (Le 11:44). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.