I Will…You Must…

You must keep all my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice; otherwise the land to which I am bringing you as your new home will vomit you out. Do not live according to the customs of the people I am driving out before you. It is because they do these shameful things that I detest them. But I have promised you, 'You will possess their land because I will give it to you as your possession—a land flowing with milk and honey.' I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from all other people. You must therefore make a distinction between ceremonially clean and unclean animals, and between clean and unclean birds. You must not defile yourselves by eating any unclean animal or bird or creature that scurries along the ground. I have identified them as being unclean for you. You must be holy because I, the LORD, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. Leviticus 20:22-26.

Land of Milk and Honey

Out with the old…on with the new. The new improved clean and holy version. Or at least that is what the Lord wanted for His chosen people in the Promised Land.  Are the Israelites listening? He wants to get the current residents of Canaan out of that land because they are detestable and shameful. But He wants the Israelites to not defile themselves. Be holy. God made promises to the Israelites—but He had expectations of them. Be holy. Does He expect any less of us?

Are you holy before the Lord? We live in a different time…after the time of Peter when a sheet of unclean animals was lowered from Heaven (see Acts 10:9-11:10) and Peter heard… the voice from heaven spoke again: 'Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.' Acts 11:9. So we don’t have dietary restrictions like the early Jews did. Eat whatever we want—as long as it is not a stumbling block to others.

Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.  Romans 14:13-15 NASB

Prayer ~ Lord God, You told the Israelites that they must keep all Your decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. Do You expect any less of the rest of us…of Your adopted sons and daughters? We may not be Jews…but we feel privileged to be part of Your family. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. May we live a holy life before You—pleasing You in all that we think, say and do.

Daily Bible Reading: February 19 – Leviticus 19-21

© 2017 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

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