Yesterday we started discussing some of the reasons for the Mosaic law – it did not demand perfection, but rather assumed imperfection. It was astonishingly gracious as a holy God desired to dwell among sinful mankind and have a relationship with them.

Now, we’re going to focus in on a phrase that occurs over and over throughout the Old Testament narratives and law, and is noticeably frequent in Leviticus 18-20:

I am the Lord.

Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.
Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.
Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.
Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.
Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.
Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:2b, 19:9-14

Why the repetition?

God was commanding His people to act in a way consistent with His character. They were to be like a mirror, reflecting His nature and ways to the watching world as His kingdom of priests.

In his book “Right from Wrong,” Josh McDowell teaches the idea of “3 P’s,” which I refer to often. The 3 P’s are the three layers of teaching morality.

• Precept – these are “do/ don’t do” rules and guidelines. Ie: Lying is wrong. The Bible says not to lie. (“You shall not give false testimony…”)
• Principle – these are the basic, underlying principles which are behind every precept. Ie: Honesty – be truthful, transparent, trustworthy. (“Put off falsehood and speak truthfully…” Eph. 4:25)
• Person of God – the ultimate standard of morality. Ie: God is Truth. Anything contrary to His nature is sin. (“…a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.” Deut. 32:4)

Many times when we think of Old Testament law, we think only of the precept level – the “thou shalt nots.” But the law was also instructive about who God is. Some of the laws were Israel specific (you can read more about that here), but many of the laws are moral absolutes based on the nature of God Himself. Sin is sin because we are falling short of God’s nature.

In Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” found in Matthew 5-7, He points to specific laws in the Old Testament and elaborates on them. The people had “heard it said” that they should not murder or commit adultery, but then He broadened the statement. Murdering is wrong, yes, but it begins in a heart full of hate – hating your brother is the root sin. Committing the physical act of adultery is wrong, but it begins in a lustful look – lust is the root sin. Even if these things are never acted out on, even if no laws were technically violated… they are sin.

Sin is anything contrary to the nature of our holy God. Our completely righteous, completely loving God. The core of His nature is holiness – He always acts completely righteously because that is who He is. He loves completely because that is who He is. The laws He has given us in His Word flow out of His nature – to do what is right is to act in a way consistent with His character, to sin is to do (or be!) anything that contradicts anything in His nature.

The Pharisees were experts at the precepts. They knew them all, and prided themselves on keeping every detail perfect. But they missed the heart of God. They were blinded by self-righteousness and sin, far from being the holy people they presumed themselves to be. They were so blinded by their rule-following that they rejected the Savior Himself.

If we know Jesus Christ, God has set us apart as a holy people, His hands and feet on the earth. He doesn’t call us to “be good,” or “try harder than everyone else.” He calls us to “be holy, for I am holy.”

And friends – we can’t do it. No matter how carefully we follow those precepts, we will fall short. Only by coming in our emptiness and trusting in Christ as our Lamb of God to cleanse us from the inside out can we become the people He wants us to be. And the next time someone remarks to you, “you’re such a good person,” be ready to tell them: “I am not a good person. Only Jesus is good. But when I trusted in Him to save me, He changed me from the inside out and made me want to obey Him.”

Because of Him… I want to know Him. And as I know Him, I want to obey Him. I want to act like Him and love like Him and respond like Him – I want to be holy, for He is holy.

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Now, back to One Summer, One Story…

When you think of Old Testament law, what word comes to mind? Tedious? Monotonous? Repetitive?

Long lists of required offerings, detailed specifications for the tabernacle, “thou shalt not’s”?

Personally, I think that the reason why we often misunderstand the purpose behind the Old Testament law is that we fail to see it within the context of God’s unique relationship with Israel. As we discussed on Tuesday, God’s redemption of and covenant relationship with Israel came first – the law came second.

Israel was set apart as God’s chosen people on the earth. They were a kingdom of priests, intended to communicate God’s character and will to the rest of the world. They were to eat differently, live differently, worship differently, relate to one another differently – because their God was completely holy and unlike any other god of any other nation.

Not only that – but their God would physically dwell in their midst.

“So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.”

Exodus 29:44-46

A completely holy God living among completely sinful man.

The law was not a strict code of rules requiring them to live perfectly. The law was in place because they could not live perfectly. The book of Leviticus opens with instructions of various fellowship offerings the Israelites could present to God – there was a right way and a wrong way to worship, and they must do it correctly. Because God is holy, sinful man cannot saunter into His presence however he wants and worship however he wants. Remember – Cain already learned that lesson once. So, God teaches them how to worship Him.

After these fellowship offerings, however, notice what comes next:

“Say to the Israelites: ‘When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands…”

Leviticus 4:2

The law did not require perfection. The law assumed imperfection. Imperfect understanding of worship, even among God-fearing men. Imperfect living. Imperfect thoughts. Imperfect motivations.

Sinful man cannot live with a holy God in their midst without a covering for their sin.

The amazing thing about the law, to me, is this: God wanted relationship with them. He loved them enough to teach them how to live with Him in their midst, how to approach Him, how to worship Him, how to live in a way that honored Him, how to repair their relationship with Him when they inevitably would fail.

This is the heartcry of the entire book of Deuteronomy – it screams off the pages at us:

Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!

Deuteronomy 5:29

God wants relationship with us. He wants to dwell among us. This is why Revelation exults loudly and joyfully:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”

Revelation 21:3

But we must understand: sinful man cannot dwell with a holy God. Our sin must be covered. And so, God made a way.

Not with bulls and lambs sacrificed over and over for each and every sin – but with the one perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God whose death was able to take away the sins of the world. He offers to us an invitation to be redeemed, and then to have God not just dwell among us – but in us.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:16-19

Scan through Leviticus 18-20 in your Bible, and look for the important repeated phrase.

Find it? (No… it’s not “do not!”) :)

I am the Lord.

Over and over and over again it repeats. Like we’ve talked about before, repetition is always purposeful – it’s always emphasizing something that we are not supposed to miss!

Remember back to Exodus – what was God doing in the book of Exodus? In many ways and different circumstances, He was introducing Himself. To the Egyptians, to His people, to the world. “I am the Lord…” was repeated many times in the book of Exodus, connected mainly with his works. In these chapters, what is the phrase “I am the Lord” connected to? What the people were supposed to do! Exodus was the “I am…”, and now Leviticus adds the “so you…” Be holy – FOR I AM HOLY.

Israel was supposed to be a mirror of God’s character, revealing the uniqueness of their God and His salvation to the rest of the world (remember the Kingdom of Priests?) Take a look at Leviticus 19:2b and 19:9-14.

Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.
Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.
Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.
Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.
Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.
Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

God was commanding His people to act in a way consistent with His character. God created mankind in His image, and people are valuable to Him – so they were to value human life, also. When you’re harvesting your crops, purposely leave the edges untouched – allow the poor and the displaced to glean from what is left. No one should go unprovided for in Israel (but they had to do the work themselves, by the way – Israel did not have a government funded welfare system!). Don’t endanger people’s lives, judge their worth based on wealth, or take advantage of the disabled. Recognize the worth of the people around you. Why? I am the Lord.

In his book “Right from Wrong,” Josh McDowell teaches the idea of “3 P’s,” which I refer to often. The 3 P’s are the three layers of teaching morality.

*Precept – these are “do/ don’t do” rules and guidelines. Ie: Lying is wrong. The Bible says not to lie. (“You shall not give false testimony…”)

*Principle – these are the basic, underlying principles which are behind every precept. Ie: Honesty – be truthful, transparent, trustworthy. (“Put off falsehood and speak truthfully…” Eph. 4:25)

*Person of God – the ultimate standard of morality. Ie: God is Truth. Anything contrary to His nature is sin. (“…a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.” Deut. 32:4)

If you ask most Christians a simple question like, “Is it wrong to lie?”, they will answer, “Of course!”
“Why is it wrong to lie?”
“Because the Bible says so.”
“Why does the Bible say that it’s wrong to lie?”
“…uh…” And then the conversation will end!

In fact, we frequently shut down children’s inborn desire to understand by silencing their “why” questions. We must answer the question! Even without them asking! We have stayed at the “precept” level TOO LONG. Yes, it is true, my 2 year old can’t really understand the principle and person of God layers. So, I teach her precepts. “Don’t lie, AG. Lying is wrong.” If I keep teaching the precepts without the underlying principle and person of our God, I will be leaving some big holes, however.

Remember the illustration of the construction barrels? Right and wrong is not determined by lists of laws, or the individual barrels. Right and wrong flows from the character of God Himself. He is the ultimate standard – He is truth, He is justice, He is love, He is HOLY. The moral laws are consistent with His nature, because His character is the very basis of morality. Do ______, for I am the Lord.

We must teach the bigger picture! If we only teach where the construction barrels are, we end up justifying our sin. “I didn’t actually LIE to my parents, I just let them assume…” “Is lying really wrong if it doesn’t hurt anyone? It’s just a little white lie.” You can get into some sticky situations with this type of reasoning – and you’re just swerving between barrels on the road and clearly breaking the law! How do I know that you’re breaking the law? Because the boundary is God’s Nature. Is God a God of truth, or deceit? If my actions and words are not purposely portraying the truth, I am violating His nature. I am clearly in sin.

We must, we MUST teach morality based on God’s nature and not on a set of rules that “good Christians” follow. We must go even beyond “the Bible says_____” to WHY the Bible says that! We must know the character of our God! We must act and judge right and wrong based on our knowledge of Him!

I firmly believe that this is a foundational principle to Proverbs’ assertion that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” As I know Him, as I stand in awe of His holiness and recognize my own sinfulness, as I revel in His mercy and understand that I deserve nothing – I will act (obviously not flawlessly) accordingly. His nature will guide my steps, not trying to live by a set of rules, not trying to do what I want while outwardly looking good. The Pharisees tried to do that, and Jesus said they were white-washed sepulchers! They looked great on the outside but inside was decay and death.

Knowing our God is no 60-minute-per-week type of goal. We must soak up His Word, meditate on it, chew on it, memorize it, turn it over in our minds. We must, like Moses, crave His presence and cry out, “Show me your glory!”

My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2:1-5

Leviticus 11-15 addresses the issue of clean versus unclean. These five chapters are extremely detailed about all the myriad ways you could become unclean!

Chapter 11: Clean and unclean animals, insects, dealing with carcasses, etc.
Chapter 12: Uncleanness following childbirth
Chapter 13-14: Sores, scabs, leprosy, boils, burns, mildew
Chapter 15: Sexual uncleanness

Please scan through these chapters in your Bible and wonder to yourself: What would it be like to live under this system?

Remember, these laws of clean and unclean were in addition to the sin and guilt offerings in previous chapters. These issues of clean and unclean were something that, other than the food they ate, the people had little to no control over. Even if you had meticuously tried to keep the law and had kept from sinning, uncleanness was a daily part of life.

An unclean bug dies and falls into your favorite pot while you’re cooking lunch, and now you have to break your pot and throw out the stew. Then later in the day, you see some mildew in the corner of your house. When you grab your cloak to go get the priest to examine your house, you realize that the mildew is also on your clothes! After ripping it out, you’re on your way to the tabernacle and some unclean guy spits on you, so now you’re unclean… You get the picture. In fact, in these 5 chapters, the word “unclean” is used 70 times!

What is God trying to accomplish here? Why did He make it impossible for them to stay clean? First of all, remember that there are many facets to why God gave them the law.

• The law reveals who God is – He is holy – there is nothing impure in His nature!
• The law shows them how to live in relationship with Him – Nothing impure can enter His presence!
• The law makes sin obvious – Even when we haven’t intentionally sinned, we are by nature sinners – we are unclean!
• The law prepares the nation to want the Messiah – He is the only one who could cleanse us from our sin and uncleanness
• The law isolates and protects them from other cultures and belief systems – Oh, you’re having a pork roast? Sorry, we can’t come over for dinner…
• Provide law and order in society – Make sure highly contagious people aren’t living in close contact with the rest of society!

The first four points are what I want to emphasize here.

Our God is Holy. We are inherently unclean. Since that first fatal moment when Adam and Eve bit into the forbidden fruit in the garden, we have all been born in a state of uncleanness. We are infected with sin, even without a conscious choice on our part. And because of that inherited sin nature (and our own very deliberate choices to sin and disobey), we can never, NEVER be holy like our God. We can never, NEVER have a relationship with Him without Someone to pay for our sin and wash away our uncleanness. And the “Someone” had to be clean, pure, and sinless in order to truly be able to wash away our sin with His blood. And in order to conquer death and enable us to have life, He had to defeat death for all time and rise from the dead.

That’s why we need Jesus, friends. Even your very best attempts to be good will leave you unclean. Psalm 58:3 says, “The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.” How we need you, Lord Jesus! How can we thank you for the gift you have given us? Take and use us for your glory – you have purchased us with your blood and we are yours.

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:4-6