The Prized Treasures

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  “Will the prized treasures of today always be the cheap trifles of the day before? Will rows of our willow-pattern dinner-plates be ranged above the chimneypieces of the great in the years 2000 and odd? Will the white cups with the gold rim and the beautiful gold flower inside (species unknown), that our Sarah Janes now break in sheer light-heartedness of spirit, be carefully mended, and stood upon a bracket, and dusted only by the lady of the house? . . . .   The “sampler” that the eldest daughter did at school will be spoken of as “tapestry of the Victorian era,” and be almost priceless. The blue-and-white mugs of the present-day roadside inn will be hunted up, all cracked and chipped, and sold for their weight in gold, and rich people will use them for claret cups; and travellers from Japan will buy up all the “Presents from Ramsgate,” and “Souvenirs of Margate,” that may have escaped destruction, and take them back to Jedo as ancient English curios.” Jerome K. Jerome, “T...

Because He is the LORD, that's why!

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Someone once said that the Bible was a book of “do’s”, not a book of “don’ts” and if you do all the “do’s” you don’t have time to do the “don’ts”—and if you could, you wouldn’t, since you can’t, so you don’t, so it’s cool!

Leviticus 19-21 reminds me of that axiom. If more time is devoted to doing the deeds of holiness, the deeds of sinfulness are not done. But when one considers all the civil, moral and ceremonial laws given, how many did Israel actually carry out? Take it a step further—how are we doing obeying the words of Christ? How are we doing with putting off the old and putting on the new and walking in the Spirit not carrying out the desire of the flesh (Colossians 3, Ephesians 4, Galatians 5)?

We like to pick and choose because we are a people of convenience and comfort. We like to fence and cushion and couch the rules so we are best accommodated. We like Misnah!

God delivers His people from bondage. There is no partial deliverance just as there is no partial bondage. There is not anything He cannot deliver from—we saw that in the Exodus. But this is exactly the blessed fullness of the good news of salvation in Christ Jesus our LORD. As it was true in the Exodus, so it is now. The best part is that as Israel got to dwell with God in their midst, so it is now, God dwells in our midst—exactly right inside our very person.

When God expects His people to live in obedience to His commands, He expects full obedience, not partial. Look at Leviticus 19 and notice the reason God gives for carrying out His command—it is the same reason God acted against the Egyptians and judged their gods—that they would know that He is the LORD!

Children are not obey their parents because they are parents. Children are to obey because He is the LORD.

Don't stop stealing because it is a cultural no-no and causes inconvenience for everyone. You stop stealing because He is the LORD. You give because He is the LORD.

Don't stop lying because it is bad manners. You stop lying because He is the LORD. You tell the truth because He is the LORD.

Don't love your neighbor because everyone likes to be happy. You love your neighbor because He is the LORD.

You do not sleep around because it is "bad". You practice righteousness because He is the LORD.

Be Holy because He is Holy.
That's why.

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