“You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” – is the unifying principle in Leviticus 19. While it is a chapter that reiterates most of the Ten Commandments and lists a wide range of ritual and social laws, it essentially commands the people of Israel to lead a holy life, simply because Yahweh, their God, is holy.

Verses 3-4 reiterates several of the Ten Commandments;

Verses 5-8 repeats the ritual instructions governing acceptable consumption of the sacrifice of peace offerings;

Verses 9-10 refers to care for others, a social matter;

Verses 11-12 demands honesty;

Verses 13-14 talks about protecting the disadvantaged members of society;

Verse 15 addresses the judicial system;

Verses 16-18 addresses holiness of the heart

Verse 19 prohibits mixtures;

Verses 20-22 addresses sexual holiness;

Verses 23-25 addresses holiness of horticulture in the holy land;

Verses 26-28 demands holiness as compared to divination and ancestral worship;

Verses 29-36 addresses holiness in various areas of ethical and religious conduct.

And the people of Israel are commanded to observe all His statutes and all His rules, and do them, because their motivation is that Yahweh is their God (verse 37).

Many times, Christians have asked, “How do I become holy?”, or might have brushed off this idea by simply saying, “It is impossible, I cannot be holy.” However, from this chapter, if we were to look beyond the laws, and commands, then we will understand that the very basis for us to be holy is because God is holy. To begin with, we must acknowledge that God, who alone is intrinsically holy, is the only source of holiness. Whatever holiness we enjoy, however we become holy, is derived from him. And the only way we can derive holiness from Him is through our relationship with Him. When we acknowledge Christ as our Saviour and Lord, when we choose to follow Jesus and not the ways of the world, when we have a relationship with God, that’s when we are set apart from the world, that’s when we are called to begin the road of sanctification, to be holy.

And what is holiness? If God is holy, and the converse is true, that holiness is what God is, then if we were to become holy, it must mean that we must reflect who God is, just like what God said when He created man (Genesis 1:26-27). Essentially, being holy is about reflecting God’s active, righteous, just character, in our behaviour. It is about growing to be more and more like Christ. What is it that God requires of us? His commandment to us is to love God and to love one another. Hence, it is no surprise that we find love at the heart of Leviticus 19 as well. Love is not a feeling, love is something that we can choose to actively do, because God has commanded us to love. At the same time, God has given us the transforming gift of love through the Holy Spirit, so that we may be sanctified through growth in holy love. May we love as God loves, because we are made in His image, because we have received His love, because we have been commanded to love, because it is exemplary of His holiness.

Prayer : Dear Lord, help me to be holy as You are holy, help me to love as you have loved. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.