Ever read a book series and kind of skimmed past the part in each book where the author takes the reader through the background information of the lead character? An essential piece for those new to reading any book in that series, but for those already up to speed with the gist of the story line, it is easy to skim over.
That is Leviticus in a nutshell, except that the main focus of the book is on holiness. How to live holy each day was a reality the Israelites were required to strive for.
It helps to read with that mindset: holy living. When you start to see it as part of the bigger picture of what is being showcased in the Bible as a whole, it makes more sense.
The first 8 chapters largely focused on the steps to make one right with God (offerings and sacrifices). Then it turns to a sharper focus on the individual, some of the unholy daily living practices that could effect the need for certain offerings.
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How to Live Holy Each Day
Chapter 11 walks through the specific foods that the Israelites were told they could eat: “Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat.” (Leviticus 11:3) Or how in Chapters 13 and 14, the details surrounding infectious skin diseases and how to cleanse them are so particular. It becomes easy to write this off as tedious, monotonous, or even a tad legalistic.
Take a moment, if you will, to read it from the perspective of an Israelite. Here in time, they have gathered in the desert, their tribes established by forefathers who were told promises of becoming a nation. They just fled from their position of slavery after the miraculous acts of the 10 plagues and the miraculous acts of the ENTIRE process of crossing the Red Sea.
After that, they are told to not go straight to their Promised Land to battle for it, but instead, hang out in the desert and set up the Tabernacle. Why the tabernacle? So God, who promised Israel they would be His chosen nation, could dwell among them.
The God of the universe, the One who delivered them wanted to dwell among them. Imagine knowing that a pillar of cloud/fire separated an entire nation of 600,000 men (not to mention women and children and livestock) from a massive army… the God who secured their safety was going to dwell among them. They were promised that “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (Exodus 14:14) Not an image or tangible idol, but the presence of the active and living Lord Himself who already delivered them and fought for them was going to be living among them.
Take note here, this is the establishment of the nation. When the United States was becoming a nation, there were certain rules, regulations, and laws that were enacted to set forth the governance and acceptable standards in which was expected. This is very similar to that. Up to this point, the ‘Israelites’ were all slaves, stemming from one man who branched out with 12 sons and their families. Now they are becoming a nation, and the head of their nation is God Himself.
They had seen how the Egyptians and other nations worshiped idols. Yet, here they were witness to how a living God had just miraculously delivered and protected them, and now was choosing to settle among them. That was unheard of on so many levels.
With that viewpoint, we can read these chapters of Leviticus with a fresh perspective, one that let’s us see that holiness was the Constitutional equivalent founding this nation.
The New Testament talks often about how to live holy each day, it walks us through how we are to daily take up our cross and follow Him. These chapters instill in the Israelites a constant reminder of how to live a holy life.
The minute details of which God called them to strive for holiness, all pointed continuously to them analyzing their lives throughout the day to ensure they were in right relationship with God. Click To TweetAgain, imagine from their perspective as you read. The minute details of which God called them to strive for holiness, all pointed continuously to them analyzing their lives throughout the day to ensure they were in right relationship with God. They had constant reminders throughout the day to think about God and His standards.
![Jonathan Edwards - Holy Living Quote (AZ Quotes) [How to Live Holy Each Day]](https://i0.wp.com/anchoredabode.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/holy-living-quote.jpg?resize=472%2C221&ssl=1)
Our culture has swayed so far away from this. The Holy Spirit now aids us in our conscience; but how much more beneficial would it be if we took that more seriously? I’ll encourage you to put reminders throughout your day to check yourself constantly… place your Bible out in the open to remind yourself, put a Bible verse on the wall, every time you see a cloud let that be a reminder, or even as simple as putting a blank sticky note on the fridge. Question yourself, on how to live holy each day and strive for that.
Allow yourself to be challenged at this, to constantly think about God and holy living. I’ll leave you with this, a set of verses that so aptly blends this Old Testament lesson with New Testament pertinence:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-22
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I have grown to really love Leviticus-even the tedious details, because the point is to communicate the holiness of God and the lengths to which the people of Israel were required to go in their worship of him.
I never realized this until I read of a Bible professor who challenged his students to live according to the rules in Leviticus (minus the sacrifices) for a certain period of time. Afterward, they said that they were constantly thinking about what was holy or not all through the day. Then it dawned on them (and me) that that was the whole point. We need to remember that grace doesn’t negate the need for carefulness and holy living. Grace enables living for God and forgives us when we fail.