Leviticus 20:21-27: a reflection

21“‘If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is an impurity. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless. 22“‘You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. 23You shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. 24But I have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25“‘You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean. You shall not make yourselves abominable by animal, or by bird, or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have separated from you as unclean for you. 26You shall be holy to me, for I, the LORD, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine. 27“‘A man or a woman that is a medium or is a wizard shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones. Their blood shall be upon themselves.’”

As God gives his people laws that set them apart from the nations around them, he states the purpose of it all: You shall be holy to me, for I, the LORD, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine. The point of being set apart was not merely to be different, but to belong to God: that you should be mine. God set his people apart from the other peoples for a reason, that they might be his own, belonging to him. Holiness, being set apart, had this as its goal: belonging to God. They were made distinct so that they would be his, a people who belonged to the LORD.

Notice the goal of being set apart: that you should be mine. God did not set his people apart merely for the sake of difference, but so that they would belong to him. Holiness, being set apart from the peoples, had belonging as its purpose: they were made distinct so that they would be God's own, a people belonging to him. The setting apart was for the sake of belonging; God separated them from the other peoples to make them his. To be holy, set apart, was to belong to God, to be his own. The distinctiveness was not an end in itself, but a mark of belonging; they were set apart because they were his, and to be his.

That is worth resting in, for we who are God's are set apart to belong to him; holiness makes us his own. We can think of being set apart, being holy, as merely a matter of being different, of rules that make us stand out; but the purpose of being set apart is belonging to God, that we should be his. In Christ, we are set apart to belong to God, made his own; our holiness is the mark of belonging to him. Do not think of being set apart as merely a matter of difference; its purpose is that you belong to God, that you should be his. Rest in the truth that you are set apart to belong to God, made his own, so that your holiness is the mark of belonging to him, as God set his people apart from the peoples that they should be his; for the purpose of being set apart is belonging to God, and to be holy is to be his own, a people who belong to the LORD.

Lord, as you give your people laws that set them apart from the nations around them, you state the purpose of it all: you shall be holy to me, for I, the LORD, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine. The point of being set apart was not merely to be different, but to belong to you: that you should be mine. You set your people apart from the other peoples for a reason, that they might be your own, belonging to you. Holiness had this as its goal: belonging to you. Show me the goal of being set apart: that you should be mine. You did not set your people apart merely for the sake of difference, but so that they would belong to you. Holiness, being set apart from the peoples, had belonging as its purpose: they were made distinct so that they would be your own. The setting apart was for the sake of belonging. To be holy, set apart, was to belong to you. The distinctiveness was not an end in itself, but a mark of belonging. Let me rest in that, for I who am yours am set apart to belong to you; holiness makes me your own. I can think of being set apart, being holy, as merely a matter of being different, of rules that make me stand out; but the purpose of being set apart is belonging to you. In Christ, I am set apart to belong to you, made your own. Keep me from thinking of being set apart as merely a matter of difference; its purpose is that I belong to you, that I should be yours, Lord. Help me rest in the truth that I am set apart to belong to you, made your own, so that my holiness is the mark of belonging to you.