What Does It Mean to Be Holy? (Leviticus 16-27)
What if holiness is the key to living close to God? Leviticus 16–27 shows that God calls his people to be set apart so they can reflect his character in every part of life.
Leviticus 16-27
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
Why does the Bible talk so much about holiness, and what does it mean for my life?
As R. K. Harrison notes, “The unifying theme of [Leviticus] is the insistent emphasis upon God’s holiness, coupled with the demand that the Israelites shall exemplify this spiritual attribute in their own lives.”[1] Leviticus 16 is really the pivotal chapter in this book, and it brings us to Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement. To this day, this is the holiest day of the year in Judaism, and Jewish people traditionally observe Yom Kippur with an approximate 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services.
The main themes of Leviticus 16 are atonement, purification, and reconciliation with God as the people commit to live in harmony with a holy God. The last half of Leviticus follows this commitment by highlighting the importance of holiness in all areas of life.
· Leviticus 19:1-2 talks about the laws of holiness | “The Lord spoke to Moses: ‘Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.’”
· Leviticus 20:26 highlights the importance of holiness in the land | “You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be mine.”
· Leviticus 21:6 commands the priest to be holy | “They are to be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they present the food offerings to the Lord, the food of their God, and they must be holy.”
Leviticus 23 talks about holy days, and Chapter 27 addresses holy sacrifices. As Chapter 18 notes, the purpose of these sacred laws was to show Israel their true identity. They weren’t to live the same way they lived when they were in captivity in Egypt. They were God’s chosen people, and they were to live differently. As Gordon Wenham notes, “The underlying aim of the teaching is thus to ensure that God’s holiness will be able to regulate and direct every area of human activity.”[2]
In Leviticus, Yahweh reveals himself to his people. He shows them that holiness is the essence of his character, and even his name is holy. As John Hartley notes,
Because only Yahweh is intrinsically holy, any person or thing is holy only as it stands in relationship to him. Thus there are degrees of holiness depending on the proximity of an item or person to Yahweh. The degrees of holiness are clearly witnessed in the description of the Tent of Meeting and the pattern of OT worship. The closer a person or thing gets to God the more holy it becomes, and the holier it must be lest it be consumed by his holiness.[3]
To be holy was to be separate from all that is common and ordinary. And God’s process for making his people holy was called sanctification. It’s the refinement he uses to help his people think, act, and live like himself.
God wants his people to be holy as he is holy.
A Meditation to PRAY
Praise | Thank you for being a holy God. You are perfect in every way. All your ways are good, and I can trust you with my life.
Release | Without you, I am nothing. I cannot be holy on my own. I need your help, so I release my natural inclination to be a Christian in my own strength.
Ask | Make me more holy today and increase my proximity to and awareness of you.
Yield | I trust in your holiness today. Thank you for the peace and joy it brings.
