Torah portion: Leviticus 19:1-20:27
Kedoshim (Holy ones)
The key command in this week’s portion is in the second verse of chapter 19: “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.”
To be holy, a person must be like God in mind, heart and action. Just as God is separate and different from the fallen world, so must his people be.
We were created in his image at the beginning of time, but mankind fell away due to the first act of disobedience of Adam and Eve. The tendency of mankind since then has been to rebel against God and form their own ideas of how to live, resulting in a life separate from the Creator. All the world’s philosophies, false religions, political movements and resulting division, strife and warfare are evidence of this.
A Character Like God’s
God’s character is shown through his requirements. Simple as they are, many of these things are set out systematically in the chapters that we are studying this week. For example:
- A family life pleasing to God
- Keeping the Sabbath
- Keeping away from false gods and idols
- Giving unto God from the willingness of the heart
- Being generous with produce from the land (income)
- Being honest
- Bearing good witness of the Lord
- Caring for the poor and needy
It would be a good exercise this week to complete the above list by studying the portion and laying the list out prayerfully before God.
But How?
We know that in keeping the law the Israelites failed. We would too, if we tried to achieve holiness through our own will-power. Jesus’ sacrifice clears those of punishment who trust in him. But does that make these principles of holiness of no relevance now?
Turn to the Sermon on the Mount as a cross-reference. Surely Jesus is actually strengthening the definition of holiness. Consider 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and Galatians 5:19-21, where we find lists of those things that keep a person from entering the Kingdom of Heaven.
Then go to 1 Peter 1:16 to discover that Peter reminds us that the same command, “Be holy, because I am holy”, is as true today as it was at the time of Moses. How then can we achieve what the Israelites failed to achieve?
Yeshua has sent us his Holy Spirit to indwell us and make us a people different from the world. That difference is defined by the character of God whose Spirit is, if we ask in faith, living in us.
Be holy. That is the prompt for our prayerful meditation before God this week.
Author: Clifford Denton
