“For I am the Lord, your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground, for 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.”
-Leviticus 11:44–45
These verses are some of the most central, in a sense, verses in the entire Book of Leviticus. Twice, we hear these words, “Be holy, for I am holy.” This is God speaking to His people, God who is obviously holy. He’s perfect. He’s pure, righteous in every way. His character is holy. Set apart. Above all. So what does it mean for us, then, to be holy? Because we’re not like God in the sense that we are set apart above all, but the whole picture here in Leviticus 11:44–45 is that we are set apart.
We are set apart for Him. Set apart for a holy God. There are many things in the Book of Leviticus that we see are holy. Like censers are holy, some priestly garments are holy, different accoutrements there in the tabernacle are holy. Because they are set apart for God and His purposes. So now, God says to His people, that’s what you are. You are holy. Just like these other things belong to God, to be used for His purposes, we as God’s people, belong to Him. To be used to His purposes.
We belong to God and have been bought with a price. God, help us not to live for our own purposes but to live set apart for the glory of Christ.
This Verse Reminds Us that We Belong to God
So this just drives the way we think about our lives, the way we think about everything we are and everything we do. We belong to God. To the holy God of the universe. We belong to Him. And our lives are for His purposes. We are apart for His purposes. That’s what it means to be holy as he is holy.
So, we pray, God, we confess. We belong to You. Today, our lives belong to You. We have been bought at a price. And we are so thankful that You have purchased us with Your blood, Lord Jesus. You have paid the price for our sins. You have made us sons and daughter of the most high holy God. What an honor, that we are set apart belonging to You for Your purposes. So we pray, God, use us for Your purposes. Help us not to live for our own purposes, our own plans.
Leviticus 11:44–45 Thanks God for His Purpose for Us
God, help us to turn aside from the purposes of this world, for please in this world, for possessions in this world. For pursuits of what this world says are most important. Help us to be holy. Set apart for Your purposes, set apart for Your glory. Help us to reflect Your character. Help us to accomplish Your will. God, help us to make disciples of all nations. Help us to walk in purity, help us to abide in your word. Help us to belong with You in prayer. God, help us to fast and seek your face. God, help us to be kind. Help us to be loving, help us to be generous help us to be all these things that we see in Your word. Your purposes. Help us to be holy.
God, may our lives show that we belong to You. We have been set apart by You for the accomplishment of Your purposes in the world, for the spread of Your glory in the world. Use our lives toward that end. Make us a holy people who reflect Your holiness. Today, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
