God’s Holiness and Our Call to Be Holy

Published on Mar 14, 2023
Category: Behold! | Devotion

Read: Leviticus 1-3

Leviticus 1:1 – The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said,

God is holy and calls His people to be holy.

Leviticus 1:1 opens with God calling Moses to speak with him from the tent of meeting. God’s holiness is emphasized throughout the book, and He calls His people to be holy too. The Lord had led His people out of Egypt with a mighty hand. He wanted to come and live among His people and invited them into a covenant relationship at Mount Sinai. But they quickly rebelled and broke that covenant. God had wanted for His glorious presence to come and live among them in the form of the Tabernacle. But Israel’s rebellion and sin had damaged that relationship so much so that Moses could not even enter the tent (Exodus 40:35). How could Israel in their sin and selfishness be reconciled to this holy God? That is what Leviticus is all about.

God is holy and His people are to be holy. To be ‘holy’ simply means to be set apart or unique. In the Bible God is set apart, He is unique. He is the Creator and Author of all. The space around Him is holy because it is full of life, goodness, purity and justice. For a sinful Israel to live in God’s presence, they too need to become holy. In the book of Leviticus, God describes three ways for Israel to be able to come into His presence – rituals, the role of the priests and the purity of Israel. Today however, we no more any of these for us to access this holy God. We can come into God’s presence with no ritualistic sacrifices because Jesus the perfect Lamb of God, paid the price for our sin once and for all on the tree of Calvary. All we need to do is to accept His sacrifice and we are made righteous in Him.

But the truth remains that the holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty calls you and me to be holy (1 Peter 2:9).

Ponder

  1. Have you accepted Jesus’ sacrifice and chosen Him as your Savior? If not, what is stopping you? Would you ask God to enable you humble yourself before Him and let go of any fear, pride or anything that is keeping you from accepting His perfect sacrifice?
  2. Are rituals, traditions the focus of your life or are you living a holy life? Would those around you recognize that you are ‘set apart’ from the world and its standards or would they say we never knew you were a Christian?
  3. Is there someone you can prayerfully share this truth with today?

Scripture Writing: Isaiah 6:3

Song: Holy, Holy Holy

Author

Preethi Alice Jacob

Preethi Jacob is the author of the yearlong devotional At the Potter’s Wheel, Day by Day. Her journey includes teaching a Bible Study Fellowship class, teaching and leading the Sunday School ministry in her church, leading Bible studies, besides counselling young women. She serves on the Global Mission Team of the United Bible Societies and lives in Bangalore, India with her husband and two young adult children.

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