The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Leviticus 21:15,
"I am the Lord, who makes him holy."
In chapter 21 of Leviticus we read about the direction the Lord gave Moses concerning the comportment of the priests who were to serve at the tabernacle. They were to live "holy" lives. The above observation the Lord made, that he himself made a priest holy, was to underscore the imperative that priests were to only marry a virgin. They were to refrain from taking a wife that had been divorced, a prostitute, a widow - only virgins were suitable for marriage.
What is meant when the Lord says he makes someone holy? What exactly does that mean?
The third definition of "holy" in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary appears to fit best here, "devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity". God had chosen Moses' brother Aaron and Aaron's male descendants to serve as priests at the tabernacle. They were the ones who were to offer up sacrifices and offerings on the people's behalf before the Lord. The Lord had set them apart for this responsibility. In this sense the Lord had made them holy. That holiness was to be reflected in the choices the priests made and in the lives they lived.
We read of believers in Hebrews 10:5-10 being made holy, "Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: 'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, "Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God."' First he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them'—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, 'Here I am, I have come to do your will.' He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
"I am the Lord, who makes him holy."
In chapter 21 of Leviticus we read about the direction the Lord gave Moses concerning the comportment of the priests who were to serve at the tabernacle. They were to live "holy" lives. The above observation the Lord made, that he himself made a priest holy, was to underscore the imperative that priests were to only marry a virgin. They were to refrain from taking a wife that had been divorced, a prostitute, a widow - only virgins were suitable for marriage.
What is meant when the Lord says he makes someone holy? What exactly does that mean?
The third definition of "holy" in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary appears to fit best here, "devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity". God had chosen Moses' brother Aaron and Aaron's male descendants to serve as priests at the tabernacle. They were the ones who were to offer up sacrifices and offerings on the people's behalf before the Lord. The Lord had set them apart for this responsibility. In this sense the Lord had made them holy. That holiness was to be reflected in the choices the priests made and in the lives they lived.
We read of believers in Hebrews 10:5-10 being made holy, "Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: 'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, "Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God."' First he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them'—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, 'Here I am, I have come to do your will.' He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
Jesus Christ was devoted entirely to the appointment the Father gave him, to offer his own body up as an atonement for all mankind's sins. As the recipients of what Jesus Christ achieved on the cross, we now, as believers, and just as Aaron and his offspring, have been called to be devoted entirely to God and the work of God. It is he who has made us holy. This is both our standing with God and the objective we are to pursue as those who have been made holy by God.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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