For the last few weeks we have been looking at how God called Israel to be holy. For the next two weeks (chapters 21-22), we will turn to the priests. The land is holy – yet the there is a special holiness focused on the tabernacle. Even so, the people are holy – yet there is a special holiness focused on the priests...

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?Does God actually forget you? No! Of course not! God does not have a faulty memory!But the language of "forgetting" and "remembering" is not just about the "faculty" of memory.Remembering cannot be detached from words and actions. In Deuteronomy Moses repeatedly tells Israel, "Remember the LORD your God." "Do not forget" the days in the wilderness. In the same way, in Exodus 2, we are told that God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.And that "remembering" is what sparks God's actions in redeeming Israel from Egypt.When God remembers, he speaks and acts. When God forgets, he is silent. Ps 13 teaches us that it is okay for us to say that God has forgotten me! It is okay to say that God is silent – and that his silence is very painful for me!Psalm 13 is a song for those who lament and mourn over the silence of God...

God's holiness is not about him being far off and distant. God's holiness is what impels him to draw near - and to create a way for us to draw near to him.--Holiness requires separation from evil because we are separated to and for God- He made us for himself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in him.--We've been learning to make distinctions- between the holy and the common - and within the common, between the clean and the unclean - and within the unclean, there is also depravity and abomination. --Things that are moving in the direction of the unclean - and worse - are moving toward death. Things that clean - and moving towards the holy - are moving toward life- --Chapter 20 is closely related to the previous chapters. It sets forth some of the penalties for certain sins in chapters 18-19, and it concludes the section on the holiness of Israel from 17-20.-The following chapters will turn to the holiness of the priests.--Israel needs to understand that their continued inheritance depends upon the maintenance of holiness. Life in the promised land is contingent upon being holy even as God is holy.--And the apostle Peter tells us that this is the same command that comes to us as Christians- As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, -You shall be holy, for I am holy.- -1 Peter 1-14-16-

Psalm 12 may have been written 3,000 years ago, but as with all the Psalms, it connects with every generation.---On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.- It can be tempting at times to think that it has never been this bad before- That this generation trumps all prior generations.- -In the 4th century, Evagrius of Pontus said it this way- -First the righteous fail, then the truth is diminished. Not only is there no truth among the righteous, there is no holiness among honest people. Now, since the righteous have failed, truth is diminished. Perhaps the poverty of righteous people is the reason why so many heresies have shot up.---That's what they said in the 4th century, as the gospel -triumphed- over the Roman empire. As millions professed faith in Jesus Christ - the faithful could only see how truth had perished.--Why do I say this-- Do I say this to tell you that it's not really that bad today-- No.--I say this to tell you that it is still that bad today---The Psalms were collected and gathered together in order to be the hymnal of God's people.--The Psalms were given to us as templates - as patterns - so that we might inhabit them -in Christ-. Just as Israel was called to sing these Psalms in David, so we are called to sing them in Christ.--Have you had any experience with friends who betrayed you-- Neighbors who lied to you-- Flatterers who flattened you-- People who used their tongues to cut you down----Then Psalm 12 is for you. In every generation from David to the present, Psalm 12 is designed for the people of God to cry out to the LORD and find comfort and refuge in him...

Last time we saw five expressions of love toward neighbor. The refrain, -I am Yahweh,- reminds Israel that God is their judge. If they fail to exhibit holiness in their relations with one another, they will one day stand before God. His character must be the standard for their lives---1- Holiness requires leaving a portion of your harvest for the poor -v9-10-.--2- Holiness also requires us not to steal, either by act of theft, or by word of deceit -v11-12-.--3- Holiness also requires us not to defraud or cheat our neighbors in any way -v13-14---4- Holiness requires that we defend the good name of others -v15-16-.--5- All of this comes down to one basic principle- -Do not hate your brother in your heart....but love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.- -v17-18---God's holiness is not about him being far off and distant. God's holiness is what impels him to draw near - and to create a way for us to draw near to him.--In this week's passage, God sets forth nine more statutes that illuminate holiness for us...

Sometimes you hear people say that God hates the sin but loves the sinner. But Psalm 11-5 says that -the LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.---God's soul - the deepest part of him - hates the wicked.--How can that be-- Doesn't God love everything that he made----Yes---It is entirely possible to love the sinner and hate the sinner at the same time. How-- Well, insofar as this person is made in the image of God, God loves him- And insofar as this person is in rebellion against God, God hates him.--Why does God hate-- God hates because God is love- And because God loves all that he has made, therefore he hates whatever is trying to destroy that which he loves---This is important for us as we think about how we are to live in a crooked and perverse generation - when the foundations are destroyed...

As we turn to chapter 19, it may appear at first to be a strange combination of laws, blending civil, moral, and ceremonial matters.--But we are largely looking at the Ten Commandments - though as we'll see, the Ten Commandments as applied to Israel's pursuit of holiness.--The organizing principle, around which the whole chapter is built, is verse 2- -You shall be holy, for I Yahweh your God am holy.- There are two basic sections- the call to love God and neighbor in verses 3-18, and the call to keep God's statutes in verses 19-37.--The phrase, -I am Yahweh- appears 16 times in this chapter. The rationale for Israel's holiness is found not in themselves, but in their God.--God is holy- And his holiness must not be profaned- But we are unclean.--How can a people of unclean lips draw near a holy God----The first 16 chapters focused on how we can draw near. Now we will look at what that holiness should look like in our lives.--As the chapter concludes -and as we'll see next week-, Israel's holiness is rooted in their redemption from Egypt. They are not delivered from bondage because they were holy, they are holy because they were delivered from bondage.

Psalm 9 concluded by reminding us that God will not forget the poor. In the conflict between rebellious nations and the LORD God, we ask God to remind the nations -that they are but men.---Psalm 10 -or part two of Psalm 9- then reflects on how this isn't happening right now. The future hope of the poor is not a present reality- And so we share the King's perplexity at why God seems so far away -v1-11-, and we unite in the King's confidence that God will make it right in the end...

Psalm 12 may have been written 3,000 years ago, but as with all the Psalms, it connects with every generation."On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man." It can be tempting at times to think that it has never been this bad before! That this generation trumps all prior generations. In the 4th century, Evagrius of Pontus said it this way: "First the righteous fail, then the truth is diminished. Not only is there no truth among the righteous, there is no holiness among honest people. Now, since the righteous have failed, truth is diminished. Perhaps the poverty of righteous people is the reason why so many heresies have shot up."That's what they said in the 4th century, as the gospel "triumphed" over the Roman empire. As millions professed faith in Jesus Christ – the faithful could only see how truth had perished.Why do I say this? Do I say this to tell you that it's not really that bad today? No.I say this to tell you that it is still that bad today!The Psalms were collected and gathered together in order to be the hymnal of God's people.The Psalms were given to us as templates – as patterns – so that we might inhabit them (in Christ). Just as Israel was called to sing these Psalms in David, so we are called to sing them in Christ.Have you had any experience with friends who betrayed you? Neighbors who lied to you? Flatterers who flattened you? People who used their tongues to cut you down?Then Psalm 12 is for you. In every generation from David to the present, Psalm 12 is designed for the people of God to cry out to the LORD and find comfort and refuge in him...

God's holiness is not about him being far off and distant. God's holiness is what impels him to draw near – and to create a way for us to draw near to him.Holiness requires separation from evil because we are separated to and for God! He made us for himself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in him.We've been learning to make distinctions: between the holy and the common – and within the common, between the clean and the unclean – and within the unclean, there is also depravity and abomination. Things that are moving in the direction of the unclean – and worse – are moving toward death. Things that clean – and moving towards the holy – are moving toward life! Chapter 20 is closely related to the previous chapters. It sets forth some of the penalties for certain sins in chapters 18-19, and it concludes the section on the holiness of Israel from 17-20.The following chapters will turn to the holiness of the priests.Israel needs to understand that their continued inheritance depends upon the maintenance of holiness. Life in the promised land is contingent upon being holy even as God is holy.And the apostle Peter tells us that this is the same command that comes to us as Christians: As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." (1 Peter 1:14-16)