Day 50 – Leviticus 19-21

Talking Points

• God tells Moses of other, various (sundry) laws. Some are repetitions of commands previously given. All of them are instructing the people in how to live as to be holy as God is holy. Again, God desires His people to look different from the pagan world around them. God’s people are to be distinctive people. How you live while professing the name of God matters. This call to be distinguished is for the people’s good and for God’s glory.
• In God’s instructions, there are provisions for the needy. His plan results in the good of the worker and cares for those in poverty as well.
• False worship is detestable to God. His people are to worship Him, alone. Some sacrifices to false gods are punishable by death. And, all false worship requires you to be separate from God’s people.

Thoughts

Knowing God’s identity is paramount for His people. As we know who God truly is, our relationship with Him forms, based not on our ideas, superstitions, or traditions, but rather based on the truth. Think about that — just like all our deep relationships, love and trust are built on our knowing who someone is. Just the same, we can’t love Him if we don’t know Him. We won’t trust Him if we don’t know Him.

In this section of verses, God is calling His people to obedience based upon who He is. As He lays out His commands, eight times in three chapters He says, “I am the LORD your God.” Eight more times He says, “I am the LORD.” Their obedience was to be in response to the truth of the One they were following. They weren’t obeying commands, but rather the Lord their God.

Today, the same is true of us. Our love for God is still based upon our knowing Him. Our trust in God only grows when we know Him deeply. And, just the same, He is revealing Himself to us through His Word. It is this awesome, circular swirl of a process. Through the grace of His Word, we grow in our knowledge of Him. As we grow in our knowledge, our hearts increasingly love Him. As both of those are strengthened, our trust grows in step.

May the fruit of these days spent reading through God’s Word bind our hearts closely to God and result in radical, God-glorifying obedience. After all, He is the LORD our God.