I am the Lord

In my current reading through the Bible I am in Leviticus 22, and this morning I made a note in the margin about how many times God ends a command, statement of His Holiness, etc., with the words, "I am the Lord." Then, I looked across the page to the facing page and saw where I had made an almost identical comment my last time through Leviticus, probably two years ago.

I am struck by the utter simplicity of it. He speaks. He commands (usually something related to being separate, holy, set apart, etc.) and He simply ends with, "I am the Lord." And, really, what more needs to be said?

So many of those commands are things which a violation of results in death, being cut off, etc. They are serious. God is holy—separate, set apart. Holy. Lord. Have those words lost anything to us? Only four letters each, but they define man's condition and eternity.

God is holy. By the very definition of it He is separate from us. It is in His holiness that we find the very reason we are cut off, separated from God, by our sin. He is holy. A consuming fire. A star breather. The One who holds and decides all of eternity. God.

God. There's a three letter word. The shortest of all and yet the most powerful. God. How often do we use these words so casually: God, holy, Lord?

Sometimes I'll simply slowly repeat the word "God" multiple times softly out loud to myself. And each time it grows in power until the word I can so flippantly throw out in conversation and advice starts to have a reverence and awe return around it. God. Holy. Lord.

"Be still and know that I am God." He says that in His Psalms. Slow down. Know I am GOD! That word is supposed to mean everything, just like, "I am the Lord" is supposed to. Everything! And, what more is needed?

And the most stunning thing of all? As born again Christians we are holy unto God. Set apart by God. His own special people and nation (not America, but the Kingdom of God). That is how complete Christ's work on our behalf is. That God could take us—sinful, self-centered, lustful, faithless, proud people—and do something to or for us that is so complete that He can bring us into His holiness! That the HOLY Spirit could in fact live in us!

But . . . saved, forgiven, reconciled to God, united with God, indwelt by God, eternally alive to God . . . does the word "Lord" really mean to me what it should? "I am the Lord." That is all. And it should be enough. Because if it isn't enough for me to give Him my everything (from obedience, to resources, to love and to trust), what more, possibly, could I be waiting for?

Boring?

Two of the things in the Bible that I most often hear described as boring are the book of Leviticus and the genealogies. I'd like to share what God has done to change that in me (I used to feel that, too).

Leviticus: God has been opening my eyes to His holiness. He is set apart, holy, separate. We tend to make common (profane) His name and who He is. We tend to try and make Him and His Word match our opinions, our "science," our values, our desires, etc. When we do that we profane Him and His Word. Leviticus has become, for me, an amazing reminder of His holiness. It is filled with reminders of the fact that that which is for Him will be set apart, holy, not used for the common. That God has a way and it is His way or no way. That He is holy and I am not and that I must follow Him instead of expecting Him to follow me (a reminder David should have thought of before Uzzah died moving the ark, and not after . . .) Leviticus reminds me of how, though God is holy and a vast separation exists between us and Him, Jesus paid for our sin and now His Word says we as believers are a holy nation, His own special people, set apart unto Him, no longer of this world, no longer Satan's but now, instead, God's adopted children for all of eternity. It makes me so grateful! Leviticus is a constant, repeating reminder that God will not be profaned or made common. He is holy, and all that is for Him will be set apart as well. And so, now, I enjoy it. It reminds me. It blesses me. It encourages me to not become casual with God or to try and to things half way or my way and just assume He'll be OK with that. He is holy, holy, holy. He is God. It is His way, not mine.

Genealogies: I read them as history. Real history! Recorded history. Verified history. So much of our "understanding" of origins and history is based on a scrap of writing or a bunch of theories without evidence, but the genealogies gives us a person by person listing of history back to the first man. It is amazing! And, most important to me, the genealogies with the accompanying ages at births and deaths, give us the age of the earth. Yes, it is the genealogies that form the corm foundation of the young earth interpretation of Genesis, which I believe is one of the most critical views we will adopt in our walks. If the genealogies are true then we must interpret Genesis as literal and the world as very young. If they aren't, then the Bible is a fairy tale and we might as well throw it out along with all the revelation in it of God and of His promises to us. When I read the genealogies I realize I am reading an accurate, detailed listing of the line of men to Adam. It is my family tree. It is my history. And I am more and more convinced that God gave them to us in such detail that we could do exactly what I described—count them out and realize that Genesis must be interpreted and stood on as a young earth account, historical and detailed and accurate. When I read the genealogies I read with amazement, realizing God has given them to me to strengthen my faith in His Word and to give me the basis to stand with confidence on a literal reading of Genesis. Wow! Thanks, Lord!

Maybe these will bless you. Maybe not. But they bless me and I thought I'd share them. Thanks for reading. May you have an amazing week in the arms of the Father!