As the people of God, Israel was to be set apart for the Lord. They were to be different from the nations around them. Practically, what does that mean? In answer to that question, the reading for today gives some examples of what it meant for Israel to be set apart for the Lord.
The priests, or the worship leaders, were selected and given instructions for living suited to their profession of coming before the presence of God. The items used as offerings to the Lord were to be handled carefully and were to be top quality. Seven feasts, including the weekly Sabbath, were to be observed in particular ways. The furnishings of the Tabernacle were to be cared for in a proper manner. Blasphemy would not be tolerated, and justice would be served for wrongdoing.
These are just a few examples, but they do serve to show that Israel would be a different people. Their worship would be different. Their code of ethics would be different. Their place of worship would be different. Their calendar would be different. Everything about these people would distinguish them from the people who lived around them.
That is part of what it means to be the people of God, way back then in the days of Leviticus and right here and now today! Sometimes the command from God for his people to be different gets blurred and a mixture of church and world forms. In essence, the difference is lost with the result that so is the church. God’s plan for his people has never been to imitate their surroundings! God’s plan has always been for his people to be totally different in every aspect of life. The difference is the witness. The difference is the glory to God!
I like that, Wil. We're supposed to stand out as different. Not in a "look at ME" way, but in a "come and see why we have lives of peace and joy" way! In a "we can show you who God really is" way! What an awesome privilege. (Hey, and if it looks strange to some, I'm FINE with that, as long as people are drawn to HIM.)
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the surrounding nations in the Sinai peninsula began to think about these people who had come out of Egypt! How many of your neighboring bedouins would come to your tent and repeat stories they had heard about the 10 plagues or the Red Sea parting before you would go to spy on their encampment yourself?
What about that cloudy/firey pillar that leads them when they move?
And that huge tent structure in the middle of their camp! All of that brass and silver, and maybe GOLD in the pillars at the front of the big tent in the middle??
You should see them pack everything up and move it when that cloud thing moves! Very orderly preparations, all quickly made.
And did you hear what happened when the Amalakites tried to attack them? Hardly a contest!
I watched from a hilltop the other day and I saw animals being killed all day long at that big bronze fire box. It happens every day!
That's nothing, have you ever spied on them very early in the morning? They all spread out all around the camp and pick up something off the ground for maybe a half an hour and take it back to their tents. I heard that their god actually rains down some kind of food for them to eat, and that's what they are picking up outside! Well, I heard that their god actually lives in that tent right in the very middle of their camp and that's why the guiding cloud, the slaughtered animals, the military victory, the elaborate tent, the food rained down from the sky. Our gods don't do anything like that!
I wonder if anyone is watching my life and wondering about why I am who I am?