Leviticus 8-11
Defiled Holiness

Leviticus 8 & 9 deals with the consecration of Moses and his sons to the office of priest of Israel. Their clothing separated them. Their tasks separated them. They were, in effect, holy. The word "holy" refers to something that is unique, special, or set apart. God is intrinsically holy, but man can be holy as well, not because of who or what he is, but because of who he knows-God-and what he does. So, when man is set apart in service to God, he becomes holy, and the only way he can approach or serve God is in the state of being dedicated to Him. When we fail to be holy-set apart-yet still try to come before God, we disrespect His holiness.

That is why when the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, offered "profane fire before the Lord" in chapter 10, God killed them for their sins. Notice what He said to Moses in v. 3, "By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified." When Nadab and Abihu cast aside God's instructions on the burning of incense, they defiled their own holiness; they were no longer different. In defiling their holiness, they in turn thought little of God's holiness.

Even in chapter 11, holiness is the order of the day. While there may be much about the dietary laws of the Jews that we don't understand, in the end they were to separated themselves from some things-unclean things, "unholy" things. Some things they did not eat simply because God said to refrain from them. At the conclusion of these laws (11:44-45), God stated, "For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy."

Talk of incense and unclean animals all sounds so very far away from our God-given methods of service God today. But, the lesson of Nadab and Abihu, and ultimately of the Old Testament Hebrews, is that of defiled holiness. They were to honor God's holiness by allowing Him to make them holy; they often didn't. They were to be different; they often weren't. They were to be set apart for devotion to God; that didn't happen, either. Their holiness was defiled.

Peter quoted from Leviticus in his message to Christians in 1 Peter 1:13-16, "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelations of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lust, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy."

What of us? Are you holy? Separated for God's service and use? Are you and I showing others our regard for God's holiness by abstaining from those things which defile us in our service to Him?