A Season of Thankfulness: Day Three - A Righteous Standard - Denise Pass
Leviticus 19:2-3
“Speak to the whole congregation of the Israelites and tell them, ‘You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. 3 Each of you must respect his mother and his father, and you must keep my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God. 4 Do not turn to idols, and you must not make for yourselves gods of cast metal. I am the LORD your God. 11 “‘You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen. 12 You must not swear falsely in my name, so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. 13 You must not oppress your neighbor or commit robbery against him. You must not withhold the wages of the hired laborer overnight until morning. 14 You must not curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front of a blind person. You must fear your God; I am the LORD. 15 “‘You must not deal unjustly in judgment: you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly. 16 You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the LORD. 17 You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely reprove your fellow citizen so that you do not incur sin on account of him. 18 You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Leviticus 22:9
“They must keep my charge so that they do not incur sin on account of it and therefore die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”
He created us, made us in His image. He established His righteous laws and communicated His requirements to His people. Then He paid the price and sanctified us. Words cannot adequately convey how amazing our God is.
Some think rules spoil the fun. They are somehow unfair and unnecessary, legalistic and burdensome; wrecking our happiness due to the judgment felt when we break God’s righteous laws.
Leviticus – that book of the Bible that many dread to read. Gruesome with detail about sin and its consequences, we do not like to look at the devastation of sin or the standards of God because we are unable to keep His laws in our own strength.
But it is the revelation of His standards that ultimately sets us free. God’s laws revealed our need for a Savior. The conviction felt when we looked into God’s perfect law causes us to either run to God out of our desperate need or to rebel in our pride, thinking we are above the law.
As humans, we tend to think a loving God would let us do whatever we want. But He loves us too much for that. He is GOOD and perfect in what He allows for His children. That goodness commanded us to abstain from sin because He knew it would destroy us. That righteousness would command us to rest and give us a salvation that we could never earn.
Sure, we could don our own covering like Adam and Eve tried to do, or cover ourselves with excuses that leave us feeling empty deep inside. We could try to earn our own righteousness by good works, but ultimately, we would fail. Rationalizing in a relativistic world does not cover our sin and making sinful actions lawful in our society will never wipe away our transgressions.
Our inability to provide for our own sin leaves us destitute before a Holy God with standards that do not grade on the curve. But His grace overcomes our flaws and failings and His firm promises are our redemption before a Holy God when we admit our need of Him.
Thank God for His mercy and wisdom and complete Holiness that would have a standard in a world with constantly shifting standards. Because of His faithfulness, we are secure in Christ. Secure in a relationship with a Holy God Who does not change. Ever.
Lord, thank You for providing us with boundaries that set us free in You. Please open our eyes to understand more of Your perfect law and to rejoice and delight in You and Your perfect statutes.
