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Glory · Our Walk with Him
To be holy is to be set apart for God, and to become like the God you are set apart for. Holiness starts not with a rule list but with God's own character: He says, 'You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy,' and then sets His people apart from the world so that their lives look like Him.
https://glorystudy.com/questions/what-does-the-bible-mean-by-holy · Scripture quoted from the World English Bible
Leviticus 19:1-18
As you read: Holiness in Leviticus is startlingly practical: honesty, mercy to the poor, fair dealing, love of neighbor.
1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2“Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.
3“‘Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You shall keep my Sabbaths. I am Yahweh your God.
4“‘Don’t turn to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am Yahweh your God.
5“‘When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.
6It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day: and if anything remains until the third day, it shall be burned with fire.
7If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It will not be accepted;
8but everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the holy thing of Yahweh, and that soul shall be cut off from his people.
9“‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
10You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.
11“‘You shall not steal. “‘You shall not lie. “‘You shall not deceive one another.
12“‘You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
13“‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. “‘The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.
14“‘You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.
15“‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.
16“‘You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people. “‘You shall not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am Yahweh.
17“‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
18“‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.
Isaiah 6:1-8
As you read: Isaiah sees God's holiness and immediately sees his own uncleanness: holiness exposes and then cleanses.
1In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.
2Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew.
3One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”
4The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
5Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!”
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar.
7He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.”
8I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
1 Peter 1:13-25
As you read: Peter takes the old command from Leviticus and applies it to Christians: set apart hope, conduct, and reverence.
13Therefore prepare your minds for action, be sober and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ—
14as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your former lusts as in your ignorance,
15but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior;
16because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.”
17If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear:
18knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers,
19but with precious blood, as of a faultless and pure lamb, the blood of Christ;
20who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of times for your sake,
21who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.
22Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently:
23having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.
24For, “All flesh is like grass, and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;
25but the Lord’s word endures forever.” This is the word of Good News which was preached to you.
The root idea of holiness is separation for a purpose: 'have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine.' Israel was holy the way temple vessels were holy: reserved for God's use. That status came first by God's act, and only then demanded a corresponding life.
“You shall be holy to me; for I, Yahweh, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine.”Leviticus 20:26
“and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.””Exodus 19:6
The command comes with its reason attached: 'You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.' Scripture calls God 'the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy' and heaven rings with 'Holy, holy, holy.' Holiness is not one attribute among many; it is the purity and otherness of everything God is.
““Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.”Leviticus 19:2
“For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”Isaiah 57:15
“One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!””Isaiah 6:3
Leviticus 19 puts 'be holy' next to leaving harvest gleanings for the poor, paying workers on time, just measures, and loving your neighbor as yourself. Being set apart was never mainly ritual; it showed in how God's people treated people. A holy nation looked different because it did justice and mercy in a world that didn't.
““Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.”Leviticus 19:2
““‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God. “‘You shall not steal. “‘You shall not lie. “‘You shall not deceive one another. “‘You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh. “‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. “‘The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning. “‘You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh. “‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness. “‘You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people. “‘You shall not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am Yahweh. “‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. “‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.”Leviticus 19:9-18
““‘You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”Leviticus 19:35-36
“and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.””Exodus 19:6
When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, his first words were about himself: 'Woe is me! For I am undone.' That is how holiness works: God's purity exposes our uncleanness, but it does not leave us there. The burning coal touched Isaiah's mouth, his guilt was taken away, and only then did he hear the call to go.
“One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!””Isaiah 6:3
“Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!””Isaiah 6:5-8
Peter quotes Leviticus to the church: 'you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior.' Paul urges believers to present their bodies 'a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God.' And we were chosen in Christ 'that we would be holy and without defect before him.' Holiness is pursued now, and completed then; Hebrews calls it the sanctification 'without which no man will see the Lord.'
“but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.””1 Peter 1:15-16
“Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.”Romans 12:1
“even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love;”Ephesians 1:4
“Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord,”Hebrews 12:14