Today, I noticed a special emphasis in the reading. Nestled among a list of civil, moral, and ceremonial laws, “I am the LORD…” appears at least eighteen times. In other words, God is revealing Himself to Israel!
As I thought about this, I noticed a theme of kindness! Here are a few examples. We read when harvesting the land, Israel must leave a portion of the crops for the poor. Don’t insult deaf people. Don’t trip the blind person. Don’t idly stand by if your neighbor’s life is threatened. Don’t carry a grudge, but love your neighbor as yourself. Show respect to the elderly. Love the foreigner. Don’t be dishonest; your containers for measuring materials must be accurate.
Wow! Can we not see some of God’s nature in these things, His kindness? At the end of the day, practicing this might get Israel a reputation for being kind and gracious! Why? Because they got it from God! They experienced it from God! They didn’t learn this in Egypt. They didn’t learn this from the nations around them. Ultimately, Israel’s God differs from all the other gods around them. Notice this verse from the reading…
You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. (Leviticus 20:26, NLT)
We, like Israel, have this same God- a kind, gracious God! And like Israel, as believers, we have experienced this kindness!
Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:3–5, NLT)
Now, this is our God! Because of Jesus, our Savior, we have experienced love and kindness! We didn’t experience this from the world or the god of this world. We experienced this from the One who is separate from this world, or, another way to say it, is Holy. What does this mean for us?
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:31–32, NLT)
Let’s be different from this world; let’s be holy. What a difference that will make!
Today’s reading: Leviticus 19-21 | Tomorrow’s reading: Leviticus 22-23