In chapter 22, God is giving instructions to the priests in Israel. Their restrictions were even stricter than those placed on the Israelites as a nation, reinforcing that their role was especially sacred. The priests were responsible for representing the nation to God, as well as God to the nation. How do these apply to us today? 1 Peter 2:9 says,
"You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."And again, in Revelation 5:10,
"You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."We, as the New Testament church, are all "priests" in that we have the right to come into the presence of God because of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for our sins. What this means for us, is that we are to be "set apart", and we should treat the things of God as set apart. We shouldn't treat the sacred and holy things of God as commonplace. The Word of God, and how we treat it says a lot about how we feel about the holiness of God.
Along those same lines, we need to also realize that the priests were called to be pure when they served in the temple. We've touched on this before, but how do you come into worship on Sundays? How do you come into your personal Bible study and time with God at home? Do you focus on confessing your sins and having the right attitude in approaching God? People watch us. They watch how we live, and how seriously we take God and the things of God- including His name and Word. God wanted the nation of Israel and the priests to be set apart so that they would stand out from the nations around them- and stand out so that the other nations looked to them and said, "I want to know their God." I'm asking myself this question- do the people who watch me want to know my God?
In Leviticus chapter 23 we get into the celebrations. I love that after all the instructions and do's and don'ts God included some party time! This has been something that's been on my heart for a while now. God clearly outlined the festivals the Israelites were to celebrate. In DETAIL. My brain was having a hard time processing it all- I thought about making a chart and maybe I will one day- but God laid something else on my heart to share with you.
God's purpose in having the festivals was at least two fold. The more I read of Leviticus, the more I realize I'm going to get to heaven and understand things on a completely different level, and I'm sure there are reasons and meanings behind so much of this that I will never be able to grasp this side of heaven. But the two purposes I'm sure enough of to share here are this:
1.) God wanted His people to remember what He had done for them.
2.) He wanted them to pass that on and teach it to the generations that followed.We don't celebrate Jewish holidays, and God gives no indication in the New Testament that we should. We have several holidays that we celebrate that are Christian in origin- namely Christmas and Easter. What if we took those same purposes and applied them to our holidays? How would that change what your celebrations look like? One of the books on Leviticus I read said that "you can tell a lot about people by what and how they celebrate." Our culture celebrates a lot of things besides God on Christmas and Easter. What would people learn about you from your holiday traditions?
Additionally, we could also take the opportunity to use the holidays our culture celebrates that aren't necessarily Christian in origin to celebrate some things of Christ. Take Valentines day for instance. God is love- and any TRUE love we have is made possible by God himself. Thanksgiving is a prime opportunity to count our blessings, and dwell on what it really means to be thankful. Even St. Patricks day was founded basically for a missionary of the gospel to Ireland. How can we incorporate somehow celebrating what God has done for us, and sharing that with others, into these holidays?
Last but not least, God ordained a Sabbath day. A day of rest for his people. A day of "sacred assembly." We are commanded to "keep it holy." God wants us to spend that day resting- not necessarily in a hammock on the beach or even in our beds- but in Him. It's a rest of the heart, and time to refresh ourselves after the world has taken it's toll on us over the course of the week and then prepare ourselves for the week to come. It's a blessing from the Lord and one that we should honor and respect. Many people (myself included) have to work on Sundays. I consider my work on that day something God honors and esteems- but it's still my responsibility to make sure that sometime over the course of that week I get some "rest" time in with God. It's certainly easier on the weeks I can make it to church.
God wants to be involved in the day to day of our lives. He wants us to strive to be holy in the mundane. But, He also wants us to take time out of our day to day lives to celebrate Him and what He has done for us- and pass that on to others. What are some ways you, or your family, use holidays to celebrate what God has done for you and pass that on to others?
