Leviticus 21-22 Holiness and Priests
Luke 20 Jesus' Authority Challenged
Extract from:
The Most Important Book: Leviticus
by Chuck Missler
It may come as a surprise to discover that there are a number of Biblical experts who regard the Book of Leviticus as the most important book of the Bible! (Dr. Samuel H. Kellogg, Dr. Albert C. Dudley, J. Vernon McGee, et al.)
The Most Important Thing?
What is The Most Important Thing in the world? Holiness! True happiness begins with holiness.1
“If I had my choice of all the blessings I can conceive of I would choose perfect conformity to the Lord Jesus, or, in one word, holiness.”
- Charles Spurgeon
Holiness isn’t a luxury: it’s a necessity. It’s not limited to “the Jews in ancient Israel”: Leviticus instructs New Testament Christians how to appreciate holiness and appropriate it into their everyday lives. We seem to want Jesus to solve our problems and carry our burdens, but we don’t want Him to control our lives and change our character.
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.2
1 Peter 1:15, 16
What is “holiness”? It is the primary emphasis in the Bible. This word occurs 87 times in Leviticus alone. The Hebrew word for “holy” used in Leviticus, qodesh, means “that which is set apart and marked off; that which is different; separateness; apartness; sacredness.” The English word “holy” comes from the Old English word halig, which means “to be whole, to be healthy.” The related word “sanctify” comes from the Latin sanctis, which means “consecrated, sacred, blameless.”
Anything that God said was holy had to be treated differently from the common things of life. The Sabbath was holy because God set it apart for His people.3 The priests were holy because they were set apart to minister to the Lord.4 Their garments were holy and could not be duplicated for common use.5 The tithe is holy.6
Holiness Revealed
How did a Holy God reveal Himself and His holiness? The pagan religions were notoriously immoral and involved occultic idols, temple prostitution, and the like. God commanded His people to stay away from their altars and shrines and to refuse to learn their ways. You never call any of the heathen deities “holy.” But the “Holy One of Israel” is one of the most oft-repeated names of YHWH in Scripture (30X in Isaiah alone). In both declaration and demonstration, YHWH made it clear to the people of Israel that He is a holy God, righteous in all His works and just in all His judgments. He also gave them a Holy Law that contained both promises and penalties, of which the Ten Commandments are the essence.7 It taught them right from wrong, defined things both clean and unclean, and declared the penalties of disobedience. There was no “value relativism” here! The requirements of holiness are uncompromising. Near misses don’t count. “The wages of sin is death,”8 and “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”9