Throughout Leviticus 19, there runs a refrain near the end of pretty much every statute and command that God gives. This refrain means much. For example, from verses 11 and 12: "You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord."
At first glance, this could be merely an affirmation of God's status in this world of pluralism and competing passions. However, I believe the purpose for this refrain goes so much deeper. In it, we find the motivation for completing the desires of God for the believer.
Our motivation for living out the desires of God is not merely obedience for obedience's sake. It's not even obedience for God's sake. Our obedience is rooted in who God is and what God has so graciously done. So for God to say "I am the Lord" to the Israelites is for Him to say "Because of who I am, this is what you should do. This is how you thus honor me. And if you don't do these things, then you are showing the world that you don't honor me."
We can debate the constraints of the Levitical law on the Christian, however, what we cannot debate is this: if we are living for God and to honor God, and we are in Christ, our lives will look very similar to that which He commands us to do.
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