Have you ever come face to face with the realization that there is infinitely more stuff you don’t even know exists, than the stuff you are aware of? It’s more humbling than acknowledging you don’t know the answer to a question; it’s acknowledging you didn’t know that question could be asked.
Where we find the Israelites here in Leviticus is that they don’t know what questions are even possible. Before anyone can understand or think to ask,“What about grace?” one has to have a working knowledge of what holiness truly is. If we understand how significant the chasm is between us and a holy God, the expression “that’s not fair” doesn’t make sense. When we acknowledge there is something about God’s holiness we cannot grasp, that’s the moment when we can acknowledge that we are not equipped to assess what “fair” truly is.
As they wandered in the wilderness, the Israelites needed to know that there was a lot they didn’t know existed. And what they needed to know most of all was that who they were in relation with was a holy God. Being a chosen people with a purpose was new to them. Being a light to the world around them was very new to them; and if they had any chance of accomplishing this task, they would need to understand God’s holiness in a personal way. They would need to learn to trust God for everything; and part of that is knowing that when God says, “Don’t do this or you’ll die,” God really means it. God’s word and God’s instruction can be trusted no matter what. It absolutely seems harsh to us, for example, for Aaron’s sons to die for misusing coals and incense. But when the priests mix coals from outside the tabernacle (not holy) with incense dedicated to the tabernacle (holy), and they know this to be a capital offense; God cannot ignore this because he is teaching his people what it means to serve a holy God.
When we start with God’s holiness, we become even more in awe of God’s grace. We begin to understand what the right questions are. We will see God’s mercy again and again in the Old Testament; we don’t have to wait for it. And it is all the more beautiful in light of how removed from holiness we are.
Questions for reflection:
- Read Leviticus 10:10-11 (NRSV). Why do you suppose God made this statement to Aaron?
- Consider Matthew 11:28-30. How can you manage the tension in what we see here and what we read today? Notice I said “manage” and not “resolve!”
- Close in prayer, thanking God that he is holy. Ask for wisdom to understand what God’s holiness means in our lives. Consider thanking God that, in God’s holiness, he sent his Son to bridge that gap for us.