Leviticus 6
If you are like me, then when you look at chapters like Leviticus 6 you are very tempted to just flip right past it and move on to something more...well...interesting? I mean, why do we need to know all about the different kinds of offerings? But of course that thought is fleeting. As I read this chapter, I was struck by the use of one word: holy. The author uses that word over and over again. I cannot help but think that this is an important thing to catch for us. God desired His people to be holy, which means "set apart." These offerings and the other rules mentioned throughout the first several books of the Old Testament are partly what set apart the Israelite people from the rest of the world. In Exodus 19:6, God declares that He wants Israel to be a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Leviticus 6 shows us just a few of the practical ways for the Israelites to live in order to fulfill that command.
The focus on the word holy reminded me of my "life verse." When I was 13, my dad took me to dinner for my birthday and gave me a ring to wear on my left ring finger, asking me if I would take on the responsibility to remain pure (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) until marriage. He explained why this was such an important covenant to make with the Lord. I accepted and after doing so, my dad handed me the ring and on the inside he had inscribed "1 Peter 1:15-16," which says "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'" This has been my life verse ever since. God desires us to be holy just like the Israelite people we read about in the Old Testament. He wants us to be set apart and we are to be a kingdom of priests even today (Rev. 1:6).
This chapter challenged me to take a deeper look at my life. Am I really living set apart for the Lord? Does my life look different from the people I pass on the street? I believe it should. I know that the Lord has convicted me to rediscover the practice of living a HOLY life before Him, in all aspects of life, not just the easy ones. I pray for you as well as myself as we read Leviticus, that God will show us areas in our lives that need to be holy, just like He is holy. It's a tall order, to be sure! Thankfully, we have the power of the Holy Spirit with us that will help us!
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