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The Pentateuch – Holy God, Holy People, Holy Calling Pentateuch Sermon Series Kenwood Baptist Church Pastor David Palmer November 15, 2020

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The Pentateuch – Holy God, Holy People, Holy Calling Pentateuch Sermon Series Kenwood Baptist Church Pastor David Palmer November 15, 2020 The Pentateuch – Holy God, Holy People, Holy Calling Pentateuch Sermon Series Kenwood Baptist Church Pastor David Palmer November 15, 2020 TEXT: Leviticus 19:1-18 Good morning, beloved. We continue this morning in our study of the Pentateuch, the five scrolls, together with Bible Journey. The Pentateuch, or five scrolls, is the first five books of the Bible. They represent the basic storyline of the Scripture, introduce to us the God of the Bible, who we are in His image, and what we are called to do and be in this world. After the sweeping narratives of Genesis and the epic redemption of Exodus, we come at the end to the base of Mount Sinai. God speaks and then resolves to dwell among us. The book of Leviticus is the centerpiece of the Pentateuch. It's the middle book, and it is the high point, if you will. Most Christians, in my experience, undervalue this portion of God's Word. It is a great mistake. The book of Leviticus is, in fact, the first book that is taught in a traditional Jewish education. It is the high point of the Pentateuch, and it is practical holiness described for us. Repeatedly in this book, we have the exhortation to “be holy, for I am holy.” God dwells among us and calls us to Himself. In the Hebrew tradition, this book of the Bible is: “and the Lord Called,” after the first word of the book, wa-yiqra “and the Lord called.” This is the calling upon our lives to be a holy people in the world, a people who are reserved for God's use in the world, a people who live in a distinct manner in the world. To be holy, as we will see, means to be reserved or set apart for God's use. Sometimes we hear a popular definition of holiness as though holiness just means “set apart,” as though I'm standing back, or I am away. That's only half of holiness. Holiness is to be moved apart in order to belong to God. It is to be reserved for God's use in the world, and as we will see, we are called to reflect God's character. This is very, very timely. I'm heavy-hearted this morning, to be vulnerable with you, by the things I see going around in our country right now. There are many pathways to grief, and it raises for me the urgency of God's people to live as God's people in the world. We have to live in a way that reflects the character of God, and we will see the timeliness of this passage as we proceed. Page 1 of 11 We are called to be God's people in the land. There are societal divisions around us, political turmoil, racial tension, and all of these things cause human flourishing to decrease, and we are called to be the light of Christ. We are called to reflect God's holiness in our dealings, particularly with our neighbors. This is our only Sunday on Leviticus, and it is hard to choose only one passage, but we are going to focus on Leviticus 19. Leviticus 1-17 gives us Israel's life of worship: a priesthood – ordained and commissioned – and the celebration of worship on the Day of Atonement. The second part of Leviticus, that starts in chapter 18, guides this practical holiness in our life together. Leviticus 19:1-2a begins: “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them,. .’” I love this. I think is really important that we remember that God's Word, all of God's Word, is addressed to all of us. It's not just for some, and there is a democratization, if you will, of God's Word. It's not just a word for elite priests or a word for prophets or a word for men or for women. It's a word for the whole assembly. The Ten Commandments are expressed in the second person singular, that each one of us hear the word, and this message to the whole group in Leviticus 19:2b is: “. .You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” We are called to holiness, a holiness that derives from our proximity to God, His dwelling in our midst. That's why fellowship with Him is so vital, so life-giving. We are a people who are brought into His sphere to reflect His presence in the world. Leviticus 19 continues with practical holiness. If you just look back one chapter, in Leviticus 18, there is an introductory word that I want to signal for us as we as we dig into this passage. In Leviticus 18, right at the beginning, the Lord tells Moses, and I’m paraphrasing: “Speak to the people and say that I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as the Egyptians that you're leaving there do.” You're getting ready to leave, or you have left, one cultural paradigm of human life, and you're headed into another place, and the Lord says: “Don’t act like the Canaanites where you're going. Don't follow the pattern of culture on the left or the right. You must act in a way that's in accordance with My laws and My commandments.” We have to reject this cultural pattern of behavior from Egypt, if you will, and from Canaan. These are very different cultures. Egypt is a centralized state. It is known for systemic oppression. Our experience in Egypt is one of exploitation, lack of compensation for hard work, and being put down for the grandeur of a single person, and the Lord says He wants us to reject that. We’re not in Canaan yet, but we’re headed there, and when we get to Canaan, the land of Canaan is a totally different cultural model. Canaan is like the Wild, Wild West. Canaan is a land where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. It's a decentralized society. It's a society replete with idolatry, and vice, that roasts its children, and the Lord says: “Don't act like that.” Page 2 of 11 I want us to be clear this morning that we cannot derive our behavior from any human cultural model because it will leave us indistinct in the world. Instead, we have to embrace this revelation of who God is and who we are called to be and to pattern our lives after the design of Scripture. This will be a great risk because it will seem strange to the Egyptians and strange to the Canaanites. It will seem bizarre to some on the left and some on the right. If you're not being criticized by some of the people in your life for the way you're acting for the Lord, then you're probably not acting for the Lord. If some of what we’re doing doesn't look strange, then were probably just blending in too much. It's a challenging moment, and so we need this. I've never felt more persuaded of how much I need Leviticus in my life than I have this morning. I need this; you need this, so let's look at what God calls us to do. As this chapter unfolds, we will see the difference between two terms I want to introduce to you. This is homiletical fun with new vocabulary. I want you have these words. The words are “apodictic” and “casuistic.” Those words don't appear in any English translation that I'm aware of, and yet they describe two different expressions of law. Apodictic laws are general statements like you shall not steal. This is a general statement that applies in every situation, and it is the category of law, apodictic law, the general principles, if you will. The Ten Commandments are a great example of apodictic law – these general headings that have to be applied and lived out in specific cases. This other category, the other new vocabulary item is casuistic law. This is case law. This is taking the general terms that God gives us and uses to guide our lives and applying them to specific situations that were in. It's similar to having an instrument in tune. It’s amazing to me, with an instrument like the violin which has four strings, that if they're tuned correctly and in the hands of a skillful player, you can play almost a universe of music. But, if those strings are out of tune, no matter what you play sounds bad. The apodictic laws, the general laws, are like the tuning of these major strings, and the case laws are playing a song that's faithful to God's will, in those terms. So we need God's Word in both its general and its specific application. Let's look into it in more detail. Leviticus 19:3 says: “Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep My Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.” Notice how in so many of these verses we have the refrain that our conduct is to be reflective of the Lord's identity. Act in this way because “I am the Lord.” When you honor your parents, you honor those who show earthly authority in your home, and the way that you treat your parents is a great indicator of how you're going to treat your heavenly Parent.
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