by Pastor Rich Carlson          

I’ve been thinking more about the rationale behind all the Old Testament laws. As I read this morning in Leviticus, I found four more places that reiterate the theme, "Be holy, because I am holy." One stood out above the others. It reminded me about God’s role in giving us rules and regulations.          

Leviticus 20:7-8 sets out a process, a reason, and a goal in keeping god’s laws. “Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.”          

Goal: Consecrate (or dedicate) myself to be holy.         

Reason: Because the Lord is my God, and I want to be like Him.         

Process: Follow his decrees.         

God’s role: He makes us holy.          

Too often I have forgotten God’s desire to help me, and have made out of God’s plan a self-defeating battle. I should not ask, “What must I do to be saved?” Rather, I should ask, “What should I do since I am already saved?” He makes me holy. It is because of His role in guiding me that He asks me to obey Him and keep His laws. He asks that we be holy, but he also makes it possible.          

The rewards of obedience are the same now as they were for the Israelites. In living a godly life, we attain a better life right here and now. Some of the specifics have changed between the time of the Israelites and my life today, but the goals, the reason, and the process have not changed. And God’s role in making it possible to keep his laws has not changed.           

My obedience comes because He has saved me; not so that He will save me. My consecration to be holy is because He will make me holy, not so that I can aim for an unattainable goal. God does not set up his laws to frustrate me. My following them is a response to His leadership over my life. I don’t follow this path to impress God or anyone else.            

I don’t necessarily understand the reason behind every law in the Bible, but with these thoughts, I am able to have a more complete picture of the Lawgiver and His goals for me. 

Rich Carlson is campus chaplain at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. "God is Faithful" is adapted from the email devotionals he writes regularly for the Union College family. Rich enjoys filling his life with God, his family, and especially his five grandchildren.