Leviticus 13-20

“Consecrate yourselves and be holy ... Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy” (20:7). God made the Israelites holy by his presence among them, and he gave them a pattern of life to follow so that they could live out that holiness. Holiness, or reflecting God’s character, included sexual purity (ch 18), not sacrificing children to idols (20:1-5), and loving foreigners and treating them “as your native-born” (19:34). Following God’s ways demonstrated that they belonged to him.

“I am the Lord, who makes you holy” (20:7). We become holy by faith in Christ, whose sacrifice covered our sins, and we walk in holiness by the power of his Spirit in us.