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...

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...

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.

Leviticus 18 is part of a whole section-chapters 17-20 - where God sets forth the meaning of holiness from an ethical standpoint.- -Leviticus 11-15 explained ceremonial cleanness and uncleanness, so that Israel would be prepared to enter the worship of God. But ceremonial cleanness is only a part of the picture. God also demands ethical holiness.--Leviticus 18 explicitly sets forth God's commands for sexual purity in the context of Egypt and Canaan. Israel must be different, and so the laws of Leviticus 18 address sexual matters in terms that were quite familiar to the Israelites - but may seem strange to us...

-Sung Psalm- 2---How do we sing Psalm 9 as a Christian-- -Arise, O LORD- Let not man prevail- let the nations be judged before you- Put them in fear, O LORD- Let the nations know that they are but men----If you have ever been afflicted - if you have ever suffered because of someone who was better connected, better able to manipulate -the system- - then you will understand how to sing Psalm 9-10...

The whole story of the Bible - the whole of human history - rides on the current of blood.--In Genesis 4, the blood of Abel cries out to God for justice.--In Egypt, the first plague turned the water of the Nile into blood.--At the Passover, blood was placed on the doorposts of the house - to prevent the angel of death from striking the firstborn.--The opening chapters of Leviticus spelled out in great detail how our approach to God requires the careful use of blood.--And here in chapter 17 - right after showing the way back into the Most Holy Place in ch 16 - the first thing God says is to remind his people not to eat blood.--Eating or drinking blood is consistently a cursed thing- Think of how Revelation 16-6 speaks of this- When the third angel pours out his bowl into the rivers and springs, they become blood. And the angel of the waters says- -Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve.---And so the title of tonight's sermon should sounds horribly disconcerting- -Unless You Drink of His Blood, You Have No Life in You.---When Jesus said in John 6, -unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you,- that prompted many of his followers to abandon him.--That's just crazy talk. How can an observant Jew say this----Let's look at this more carefully...

-Sung Psalm- 8---When you hear the question, -what is man--- you might expect a discussion of Genesis 1-2, and the creation of man in the image of God.--But in Psalm 8, the question -what is man--- has a different tone than we might use. To understand the question, think about how it is used in the OT - for instance, 2 Samuel 9-8.--When Mephibosheth -son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul- comes before David, he falls on his face and pays homage. When David promises kindness to Mephibosheth for the sake of his father, Jonathan, Mephibosheth says, -What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I-----Likewise, in 2 Kings 8-13, when Elisha speaks to Hazael of Syria, prophesying of how Hazael will torture and destroy Israel, Hazael responds, -What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing-----So the phrase -who, or what, am I- is used frequently to express a sense of subordination - a posture of humility.--It is also used that way with God, the great King. In Exodus 3-11, we have perhaps the most famous- Moses says to God, at the burning bush, -Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt-----David also speaks in 2 Samuel 7-18, after God has established his covenant with him, saying, -Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far-----The question, -who am I,- that you should do such kind things for me, is the background to Psalm 8. --What is man, that God would give him dominion over all things----Who are we, that God would crown us with glory and honor--

[Sung Psalm: 2]How do we sing Psalm 9 as a Christian? "Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men!"If you have ever been afflicted – if you have ever suffered because of someone who was better connected, better able to manipulate "the system" – then you will understand how to sing Psalm 9-10...

Leviticus 18 is part of a whole section–chapters 17-20 – where God sets forth the meaning of holiness from an ethical standpoint. Leviticus 11-15 explained ceremonial cleanness and uncleanness, so that Israel would be prepared to enter the worship of God. But ceremonial cleanness is only a part of the picture. God also demands ethical holiness.Leviticus 18 explicitly sets forth God's commands for sexual purity in the context of Egypt and Canaan. Israel must be different, and so the laws of Leviticus 18 address sexual matters in terms that were quite familiar to the Israelites – but may seem strange to us...