“Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.”
—Leviticus 20:26

Reflection

When God gave the Law of Moses to Israel, He was doing more than establishing rules for His people. The Law set apart Israel from all other nations.

Israel lived in a world where lawlessness ruled the day. God’s Law lifted them out of that chaos and disorder and distinguished them from every other culture and people group. God had declared that the Jewish people were to be holy unto Him because He is holy and had separated them from other peoples to be His.

What actually set the Israelites apart?

For starters, they were called to worship only one God. This seemed foolish to many of those around them, yet God’s command was clear: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). Their devotion to the one true God distinguished them from the nations surrounding them.

In addition, God set apart His people through circumcision. The Lord placed a physical mark upon His people that distinguished them and symbolized both His intimate covenant with them and their hearts devoted to Him (Deuteronomy 10:16).

God also set apart Israel through its diet, introducing a kosher way of eating. From what the Jewish people wore to whom they married to how they governed themselves, the Law distinguished Israel from the peoples surrounding them.

No other nation would be like Israel, and that is how God designed it, so that all people would see Him whenever they looked at the Jewish people.

Moses emphasized this distinction when he asked what other nation had a god so near to it or statutes and judgments so righteous as the Law God had given Israel (Deuteronomy 4:7-8).

In the same way, Jesus sets His followers apart from the standards of this world. We are now called to live holy by His grace.

The Law reveals something important about our relationship with God. It shows us His standards of holiness while also revealing our own shortcomings. We cannot make ourselves righteous through our own efforts. Yet the Law simultaneously reveals our shortcomings while accentuating God’s grace by declaring us righteous even though, when left on our own, we are anything but that.

Through Jesus, who fulfilled the Law for us, we are now declared holy in Him.

Yeshua, then, fulfills the Law’s purpose by setting a people apart unto God the Father in Himself. And He is now calling to Himself anyone who will respond and obey.

Application

• Consider whether the way you live reflects that you have been set apart to belong to God.
• Thank the Father that through Yeshua, you are made holy by His grace, and respond to His calling with obedience.

Prayer

Father God, thank You for calling me to be holy and setting me apart to belong to You. I recognize that I cannot meet Your standards of holiness through my own strength. Thank You for Your grace and for making me righteous through Yeshua, who fulfilled the Law for me. Teach me to walk in obedience and to live according to Your ways rather than the standards of this world. Let my life reflect that I belong to You. In Yeshua’s name, amen.