Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20001206.htm

LEVITICUS: GOD'S CALL FOR A SEPARATED WITNESS
Part II: The Path Of Walking In Fellowship With God (Leviticus 11-27)
H. God's Call For Holiness In ALL Of Life
(Leviticus 19:1-37)
  1. Introduction
    1. When God calls us to live separate from sin, He means to include all areas of life at all times.
    2. Leviticus 19:1-37 is a sampling of the comprehensive holiness God desires, and we view it to get a picture of what our practical, everyday lives ought to include (as follows):
  2. God's Call For Holiness In ALL Of Life, Leviticus 19:1-37.
    1. The address in Leviticus 19:1-37 is God's oration to the entire congregation of the nation Israel, 19:1-2a.
    2. As such, it is a call of God for the people to be separate from sin, to be "holy" as God is holy, 19:2b.
    3. Now, this separation from sin is meant for far more that "good conduct" at the tabernacle. Hence, God had Moses touch on all sorts of areas in life to show the need for comprehensive, practical holiness:
      1. To walk with a holy God, Israel had to heed the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:3-17. God mentioned three major commands representing the need to relate well to God, to parents (as affirming the family structure) and to the Sabbath (testifying of the Creator), Ex. 20:10-11. (Leviticus 19:3-4)
      2. Life with a holy God meant eating one's peace offerings the day it was offered, Leviticus 19:5-8.
      3. Walking with a holy God meant remembering the poor by leaving parts of one's fields and vineyards unharvested for the poor to glean, Leviticus 19:9-10.
      4. To fellowship with a holy God, the people were not to steal from or lie to one another, Lev. 19:11.
      5. Life with a holy God meant not making promises in His name that we will not keep, 19:12; Ex. 20:7.
      6. Walking with a holy God meant respecting laborers enough to pay them the day they worked, 19:13.
      7. Life with a holy God meant treating handicapped people as being in God's image, Leviticus 19:14.
      8. To walk with a holy God, individuals needed to make equitable judgments for all men, Lev. 19:15.
      9. Fellowship with a holy God meant not misrepresenting others to their harm, 19:16.
      10. Walking with a holy God demanded that one not hate his neighbor, but love him as one's self, Leviticus 19:17a, 18. This meant that though one might have to rebuke a neighbor clearly lest one partake of his sin, he is yet not to take vengeance or bear a grudge against him, Leviticus 19:17b, 18.
      11. Life with a holy God meant respecting the distinctions the God of Creation had made, keeping one's livestock, crops and clothing distinct in accord with the Mosaic Law's stipulations, Leviticus 19:19.
      12. Living before a holy God meant not sexually violating "even" a slave girl in a culture that did not place much value on such women: severe punishment was to be administered against the guilty due to the desecration of her rights, 19:20-22. Israel was to respect all people who are in the image of God.
      13. Communion with a holy God included honoring God with the first of an orchard's produce, 19:23-25.
      14. Living with a holy God meant avoiding the idolatrous practices of the Gentiles: consuming blood, practicing divination or sorcery, wearing idolatrous hair styles, practicing pagan funeral rites with body tattoos along with cultic prostitution were all expressly forbidden, Leviticus 19:26-29.
      15. Fellowship with God required respecting God's holy days and sanctuary opposite those of idols, 19:30.
      16. Walking with a holy God meant not seeking mediums and spiritists for guidance, 19:31.
      17. Life with a holy God meant respecting the vulnerable elderly and alien as well, Leviticus 19:32-34.
      18. Communing with a holy God included using just weights and measures in the marketplace, 19:35-36.
    4. God closed this treatise with a reminder that He expected Israel to keep all these divine decrees, 19:37.
Lesson: Fellowship with a Holy God takes living out truth and love in every area of life all of the time!

Application: (1) One cannot enjoy communion with a holy God if he seeks to be righteous and loving only when he worships in the congregation while harboring hatred or deceit somewhere else at some other time in his life. (2) Rather, with God, one must be upright in ALL areas ALL of the TIME to enjoy His fellowship, whether it be in the workplace, the field, the home, with aliens, the elderly, with foreigners, with higher or lower stationed folk, etc. God's eyes roam the totality of our lives, and He demands separation from hatred and deceit EVERYWHERE and in EVERY WAY we live!