In the reading this morning, we see an emphasis on contrasts. Moses addresses Israel with phrases like, “Since you are the people of the LORD your God…you have been set apart…chosen you from all the nations of the earth…His own special treasure.” In other words, they are the people of the LORD, set apart, chosen, and His treasure, in contrast to the other nations! This contrast, and specifically, how it sets them apart, is what it means for them to be holy!
You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure. (Deuteronomy 14:2, NLT)
…for you are set apart as holy to the Lord your God. “You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. (Deuteronomy 14:21, NLT)
This holiness is seen in Israel’s actions, thoughts, and worship, contrasting the nations around them. For example, the outward action of mourning for their dead was different (14:1). The thoughts they were not to have when helping the poor set them apart (15:10). In their worship, they were to rejoice in God! This was in contrast to nations around them that worshiped their gods in dread and fear (16:11).
What was the intended result of this holiness? It was to show God to the heathen around them! It was to glorify God in the eyes of the world! The world around them was desperate for the goodness of the one true and living God!
Believer, you and I are to be holy, too! We are to be separate. Our actions, thoughts, and worship should contrast the world. They are in a desperate situation! They are enslaved to the god of this world, blinded in their minds to God’s goodness, hopelessly wandering in the dark. Notice how the Apostle Peter explains it.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 10 “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” 11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world. (1 Peter 2:9–12, NLT)
Is it our joy to show holiness to the world? Yes! May they see that our God is different! He is good, kind, patient, and desiring their repentance, that they perish not! God is life! He seeks to give life more abundantly, as He did to us! Let’s live, think, and worship with the joy of this holy contrast in mind! This holiness is precisely the difference that the world will notice. How shall they notice our God if they cannot discern our holiness?
Today’s chronological reading: Deuteronomy 14-16