Be holy...

“Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.” (Leviticus 20:7-8 NIV)

<idle musing>
The recurring theme in Leviticus is to be holy; that's a tall order, isn't it? Actually, that's an impossible task in ourselves. I'm glad verse 8 follows; God is the one who makes us holy.

I was recently reading Reality by Art Katz, a Messianic Jew (now deceased) and he pointed out that in Genesis 17:1, where before God commands Abraham to “walk before me faithfully and be blameless.” (TNIV), God inttroduces himself as El Shaddai for the first time. Here's his thought about it:

Having just introduced Himself as God Almighty [NASB translation of El Shaddai], He goes on to say in the same breath, “Walk before Me, and be blameless.” The coupling of these two phrases is perfectly logical, reasonable and necessary. To call anyone to perfection and to a walk before God requires from that one who is called a complete confidence that the God who has invited him will also supply every necessary means. That is why His almightiness is so important.—pages 119-120

Food for thought, isn't it?
</idle musing>