Leviticus 19

The Lord is the definition of holiness. When Jesus came, holiness was born and dwelt among the people of Israel. Prior to that moment, the law of God was the best revelation of God's holiness. His coming provided a better revelation, not only of the mercy of God, but also of His righteousness.

God's holiness is not only a revelation of who God is. It is also a directive to those who are called to show our love for God by a sincere and devoted imitation of Him in every possible way. “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

Words like holiness and love cannot be left as vague generalities. We need more teaching that helps us to fill out the details of what a holy and loving life is like. More than anything else, we need to see an example of love and holiness in a person who is living out the details large and small in a way that meets God's standards.

Jesus did this. He revered his mother and his “father” Joseph, Mary's husband. He also showed perfect reverence for His heavenly Father, showing us what it meant to have a true devotion to God.

He kept the Lord's Sabbath. The Pharisees did not think so, but they had marred Sabbath observance with their unbiblical traditions. The Son of Man was Lord of the Sabbath. He perfectly displayed the heavenly wholeness of Sabbath rest in His healing ministry on that great day.

He kept Himself from all idols. This was a part of His holiness. He knew that God was not the creation of man. He became the peace offering for us, and He rose on the third day. He kept Himself far from every detestable practice, but He ate with tax collectors and sinners who were not careful in their observance of Old Testament ceremonies. His holiness found perfect expression with His love as He touched those whom the self-righteous avoided.

Jesus loved His neighbor as Himself. He was the good Samaritan. He paid everything necessary for our complete healing. He provided bread for thousands, not just the gleanings that God required Israel to leave for the destitute. Jesus gave His body and blood for the eternal well-being of millions. He came for the poor and for the foreigner, and He supplied everything necessary for them to have abundant life.

He did not steal in order to achieve His great storehouse of righteousness and peace. He never dealt falsely with anyone. He never lied. He came in the name of His heavenly Father, and His life was a perfect display of holy reverence.

We cannot follow Him by oppressing our neighbors, robbing them, and ignoring their needs. If we follow the one who gave sight to the blind, we cannot take advantage of those who cannot see or hear.

We cannot say we follow the King of kings and then use the court system in an unjust way. We follow the one who is the truth, so our public and private dealings must be true. We cannot prefer the poor at the cost of honesty. And we cannot prefer the rich in order to win a powerful friend or for personal gain.

We follow the Suffering Servant who faced the cross as “a lamb that was led to the slaughter.” He did not slander others. He did not bring a reviling accusation against anyone. He stood up for the life of His neighbor at great cost to Himself. Holiness and love met in Him. This was our salvation and the pathway of spirit-filled obedience for our lives.

Like Jesus, Israel was to be committed to loving God. Flowing from that first great commandment was a second that was like it, to love neighbor as self. In a fallen world, the love of neighbor could only be accomplished by being committed to working out our conflicts with others and putting off the hatred that leads to murder.

God's people needed to honor the Almighty in their hearts as Lord. They needed to keep His statutes. Some of these were parables of holiness that they needed to meditate upon. “You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.” The Israelite was to consider what these verses might mean for the consecrated people of God surrounded by people that did things in a different way.

The nations of the world would abuse slaves in every way, abuse the land to satisfy their impatient desires, and eat blood in their ravenous desire for food. They would rush to those who claimed to know the future because they needed answers about hidden things now. They would follow style more than substance, and deface their bodies to make a statement to others or to their gods. They would sell their daughters as a way to get money now. They would have no rest, no trust, no time to truly seek God and find Him, though in Him they lived and moved and had their being. They would act as brute beasts satisfying their eager desires, all the while turning to spiritualists to gain hidden secrets from the dead or from demons. They would withhold due respect from the elderly or ignore the needs of travelers passing through their lands.

Israel needed to be different. They needed to remember that God had redeemed them from Egypt. We have been redeemed from the cruel bondage of sin and death through the blood of Jesus. When He dwelt among Israel He lived the consecrated life of holiness and love. His people needed to receive Him and then to truly honor Him, setting Him apart in their hearts as Lord, and following Him in the details of the obedience of love. Christ has accomplished this for us. We honor Him best by following Him.