DAILY TEXT, Today  Saturday August 19, 2023,  Be holy in all your conduct (1 Pet. 1:15).

Let's Examine the Scriptures Every Day 2023

Saturday August 19

Be holy in all your conduct (1 Pet. 1:15).

In the Bible, the words holy and holiness basically refer to what is clean or sacred in a moral and religious sense. These terms can also convey the idea of ​​being set apart or separated to serve God. In other words, we will be holy if we are morally clean, if we worship Jehovah as he expects, and if we have a close relationship with him. It impresses us to think that we, who are so imperfect, can be friends with Jehovah, that he is absolutely holy. Jehovah is pure and clean in every way. This was what some seraphim said, which are angels that are near the throne of Jehovah. They proclaimed: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts” (Is. 6:3). Sure, to have such a close relationship with God, they themselves must be holy, and they are. w21.12 48:4, 5.

According to Exodus 15:1, 11, how did Moses emphasize that God is holy? And what reminded the Israelites that God is holy? (See cover drawing.)

After Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea, he emphasized that their God, Jehovah, is holy (see Exodus 15:1, 11). The conduct of those who worshiped the gods of Egypt was not holy in the least. And the same is true of those who worshiped the gods of Canaan, who sacrificed children and practiced depraved sexual acts for their gods (Lev. 18:3, 4, 21-24; Deut. 18:9, 10). But Jehovah is very different from these false gods, for he never asks us to do anything that lowers us. He is totally holy. This was made clear by the words inscribed on a gold plate that the high priest wore on his turban. They said: “Holiness belongs to Jehovah” (Ex. 28:36-38).

What that plaque said made it clear to anyone who saw it that Jehovah is supremely holy. But what if an Israelite didn't see the plaque because he couldn't get close to the high priest? Would he have any way of knowing that Jehovah is holy? Of course. All the Israelites could hear him when the Law was read before the men, women and children (Deut. 31:9-12). If we had been there, we would have heard these words: “I am Jehovah your God, [...] and you must be holy because I am holy” and “you must be holy because I, Jehovah, am holy” (Lev. 11 :44, 45; 20:7, 26).

What do the words of Leviticus 19:2 and 1 Peter 1:14-16 teach us?

Let's focus on some words that were read to the entire nation of Israel and that we find in Leviticus 19:2. Jehovah told Moses: “Speak to all the people of Israel and tell them: 'They must be holy because I, Jehovah their God, am holy ['].” The apostle Peter may have quoted these words when he told his fellow Christians to “be holy” (read 1 Peter 1:14-16). It is true that we are not now under the Law of Moses, but what Peter wrote confirms what we learn in Leviticus 19:2: that Jehovah is holy and that those who love him should strive to be so. This applies to all of us, whether we expect to live in heaven or in a paradise on earth (1 Pet. 1:4; 2 Pet. 3:13).

Why is it good that we analyze chapter 19 of Leviticus?

Because we want to please our God, we want to know how we can be holy like him. So that we can achieve this, Jehovah gives us good advice. We find some of them in the 19th chapter of Leviticus. Hebrew scholar Marcus Kalisch wrote: “This extraordinary chapter is perhaps the most complete, the most varied, and in some respects the most important section of Leviticus or even the Pentateuch.” Let's look at some verses from this chapter that have valuable lessons on various issues of daily life. As we review them, let's remember that, before giving us these lessons, chapter 19 begins by saying, "They have to be holy."

What aspect of holy conduct is highlighted in Leviticus 19:3, and how should we view that command?

After telling the Israelites that they should be holy, Jehovah added: “Each of you should respect his mother and father . . . I am Jehovah his God ”(Lev. 19: 2, 3).

It is clear that we must obey the divine command to honor our parents. Let us remember that, on a certain occasion, a man asked Jesus: "What good things do I have to do to get eternal life?" And part of Jesus' response was that the man should honor his father and his mother (Matt. 19:16-19). Jesus even denounced the Pharisees and the scribes because they managed not to fulfill that divine mandate. Therefore, he told them that they had thus “made void the word of God” (Matt. 15: 3-6). The “word of God” included the fifth of the Ten Commandments and what we read about in Leviticus 19:3 (Ex. 20:12). Again, remember that the Leviticus 19:3 command to respect parents comes right after the words “You must be holy because I, Jehovah your God, am holy.”

All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2023 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania JW.ORG.