Leviticus 19: 1-10, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy. Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God. And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will. It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.”
The basic reason for being holy is found in the fact that the Lord God is holy. If we want to have any kind of relationship with Him them we must come on His terms. The Lord taught Israel about His ways by allowing them to encounter various issues in context and then give them some teaching in and through the experience. From time to time they would encounter a situation similar to one they had encountered before and the Lord would teach them again but at a higher level. The Lord was making sure that they understood that they lived in an ordered world. There were lines of authority stretching from God down to the world. Every person was to understand that their father and mother were part of the Lord’s ordered world and responsible for teaching them how to relate to authority and, ultimately, to God. When a person learnt about the ordered world in the proper context from an early age then they would understand the importance of obeying the One True God. The rules concerning sacrifices and offerings were all part of this ordered structure. If a person could fit into the simple regulations governing day to day offerings then they would be better able to fit in with the Lord’s order in creation. The Lord supplied His people with their fruit, crops and animals so they were to remember that and be ready to show gratitude by leaving some of their fruit and crops for others who were less well off.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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