Separate, but Holy - Leviticus

I am now almost done with the book of Leviticus. It’s really a fascinating book if one has the right perspective. The main themes are holiness and separation. The book contains a series of laws, sacrifices, and ceremonies that will set Israel apart from the pagan nations and establish her security in Yahweh. Back in Exodus 19 God and the Israelites enter into a conditional covenant. This Mosaic Covenant is two-sided, the people must keep their end of the deal. (This differs from the Abrahamic Covenant which is unconditional and solely based in God) If they honor God, He will bless them in return.

What follows is a series of ceremonial and civil laws. These laws ensure the orderly functioning of the community and the holiness of the people. Many are immensely practical. For instance, you are not allowed to marry anyone in your immediate family. (Obviously genetic mutations had progressed enough at this point to make inbreeding unwise.) Leviticus also lays down laws on how to deal with infections and other personal hygiene issues, initiating positive trends for the community’s health and sustainability. Similarly, the dietary restrictions offer numerous health benefits (like not eating raw meat). But the dietary restrictions reveal a second purpose that is perhaps implicit in all of the laws throughout the book of Leviticus – that is, separation. The Jews’ dietary restrictions hindered their ability to socialize with those on the outside. God did not want his people befriending and intermarrying with the pagan nations surrounding them. At this point in history the people of God were to be kept separate and holy.

This is not the way we operate today. Christ wiped a lot of these customs away when He established the New Covenant. However, these laws still present symbolic reminders of the way that sin creeps into our daily routine, invading our lives and homes like an infection that destroys the body. Just as those who were unclean were put outside the camp for a time, sin too can bind us in our own private exile. Leviticus reminds us that the principle of separation and holiness is just as important today as it was back then. God will bless us, in this life or in the next, if we honor Him. This does not necessarily mean we are out sacrificing goats or abstaining from sausage, but it does explain why our romantic relationships look different, why we spend less and give more, why we prioritize people and families over career advancement, and why we seek to build community with other very flawed Christians.

In truth, we modern-day Christians are not any better than the Israelites at this “separate but holy” concept. Nonetheless, we do have some advantages. In Leviticus, even when the proper offering is made and the Day of Atonement secures nationwide cleansing, the people were still missing out on that free open access to the throne of God that we enjoy so flippantly today. I’m so thankful that our Messiah has come. He has torn that curtain and eliminated all the requirements for sacrificing a goat every time I want to talk to God.

If we were still doing it that way I would need a lot of goats.