Leviticus 11:39-47: a reflection

39“‘If any animal of which you may eat dies, he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. 40He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. 41“‘Every creeping thing that creeps on the earth is an abomination. It shall not be eaten. 42Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, even all creeping things that creep on the earth, them you shall not eat; for they are an abomination. 43You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps. You shall not make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled by them. 44For I am the LORD your God. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any kind of creeping thing that moves on the earth. 45For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. 46“‘This is the law of the animal, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth, 47to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten.’”

As God gives laws distinguishing clean from unclean, he grounds the call to holiness in his own character: be holy, for I am holy. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy, God says. I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. The reason God gives for his people to be holy is not merely that holiness is good for them, or that it sets them apart, though these are true, but something deeper: because he, their God, is holy. His people are to be holy because he is holy; his own holy character is the ground and pattern of the holiness he calls them to. This shows that the call to be holy is grounded in God's own holy character. Be holy, for God is holy; his character is the ground of your holiness. The call to holiness rests on who God is, not merely on what benefits us. We are to reflect the holiness of the God who is ours. God's own holiness is the pattern for the holiness he calls us to.

Notice the ground God gives for the call to holiness. He gives various laws about clean and unclean, and then states the reason for keeping his people distinct and holy: be holy, for I am holy. The call to holiness is grounded not merely in what is good or beneficial for the people, nor merely in the idea of being set apart, but in God's own character: because he, their God, is holy, they are to be holy. His own holiness is the ground, the reason, and the pattern of the holiness he calls them to. And he adds a further ground: I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; because he has made them his own, they are to reflect his character. This holds a truth about the nature of our call to holiness. We are called to be holy, set apart from sin, distinct in how we live, pure. And the deepest reason is not merely that holiness is good for us, or makes us stand out, but that God, whose we are, is holy. We are called to reflect his character, to be holy because he is holy. This gives holiness a high ground and pattern: not our own standards, but God's own holy character, which we are to reflect as those who belong to him. To be holy is to be like the holy God who is ours. We do well to pursue holiness on this ground, that God is holy, and we, who belong to him, are called to reflect his holy character. Pursue holiness because God is holy, and you belong to him. The ground of your call to holiness is God's own holy character. Reflect the holiness of the God who has made you his own. Let God's holiness, not merely your own standards, be the pattern of your life.

That is worth taking to heart, for the call to be holy is grounded in God's own holy character, and we, who belong to him, are to reflect it, as God said, be holy, for I am holy. We can think of holiness as merely our own standard or benefit; but God grounds it in his own character: be holy, for I am holy. Reflect his holiness. Pursue holiness not merely as good for you, but because God, whose you are, is holy, and you are called to reflect his holy character. Pursue holiness on the ground that God is holy and you belong to him, reflecting his holy character rather than merely your own standards, as God, giving laws distinguishing clean from unclean, grounded the call to holiness in his own character, saying be holy for I am holy, that he is the LORD who brought them out of Egypt to be their God and they shall therefore be holy; for the reason God gives for his people to be holy is not merely that holiness is good for them or sets them apart, true as these are, but something deeper, because he their God is holy, so that his people are to be holy because he is holy and his own holy character is the ground and pattern of the holiness he calls them to, which holds a truth about the nature of our call to holiness, that we are called to be holy and set apart from sin and pure, and the deepest reason is not merely that holiness is good for us or makes us stand out but that God whose we are is holy, so that we are called to reflect his character and be holy because he is holy, which gives holiness a high ground and pattern, not our own standards but God's own holy character which we are to reflect as those who belong to him, since to be holy is to be like the holy God who is ours, and we do well to pursue holiness on this ground.

Lord, as you give laws distinguishing clean from unclean, you ground the call to holiness in your own character: be holy, for I am holy. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy, you say. I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. The reason you give for your people to be holy is not merely that holiness is good for them, or that it sets them apart, though these are true, but something deeper: because you, their God, are holy. Your people are to be holy because you are holy; your own holy character is the ground and pattern of the holiness you call them to. Show me the ground you give for the call to holiness. You give various laws about clean and unclean, and then state the reason for keeping your people distinct and holy: be holy, for I am holy. The call to holiness is grounded not merely in what is good or beneficial for the people, nor merely in the idea of being set apart, but in your own character: because you, their God, are holy, they are to be holy. And you add a further ground: I am the LORD who brought you out of Egypt to be your God; because you have made them your own, they are to reflect your character. This holds a truth about the nature of my call to holiness. I am called to be holy, set apart from sin, distinct in how I live, pure. And the deepest reason is not merely that holiness is good for me, or makes me stand out, but that you, whose I am, are holy. I am called to reflect your character, to be holy because you are holy. This gives holiness a high ground and pattern: not my own standards, but your own holy character, which I am to reflect as one who belongs to you. Take that to my heart. Help me pursue holiness, Lord, not merely as good for me or as my own standard, but because you, whose I am, are holy, and I am called to reflect your holy character, being holy because you are holy and letting your holiness, not merely my own standards, be the pattern of my life.