One thing that is very clear from reading through the Books of Moses is that God was very concerned with holiness. Much of his commands were for the purpose of today's verse, that they might be a holy people and this being holy would certainly make them peculiar to the world they lived in.
This verse reveals something vitally important about holiness, It is not just separating from the world around us, but it separating from the world unto our Lord, "Holy people UNTO The Lord," "Peculiar people UNTO Himself." We've known people who did their best to be separate and peculiar but that is where their holiness stopped and their holiness was a self-derived one. A holiness that makes a man more like a pharisee than the Savior. A holiness that makes you strange not "Peculiar." be sure as we strive to live up to this high calling of "Holiness unto the Lord" that we do not fall short of coming unto the Lord, This is true holiness. Holiness that makes us hate sin but love sinners, as did our Lord. A holiness that makes us loathe the wickedness of this world but long to see our redeemer make all things new.
The chapters I read today all seemed to flow out of this verse. In chapter 14 they were to be peculiar in purity, they couldn't just consume anything. Although we are not under these dietary commands, they were for the nation of Israel in an age gone by, and under a covenant fulfilled, we can still make applications. God is no less concerned with the Holiness of the Church in this hour. Many Christians consume all sorts of unclean music, television, and ungodly conversation at work or school. Friend, the New Testament has told us "Come out from among them and be ye separate" "Be ye holy for I am Holy." Are we "peculiar" in what we consume? Or do we consume what everyone else in this world consumes? May these Words ring in our hearts today, "For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God."
Not only were they peculiar in what they consumed but also in how they behaved. Chapters 14 and 15 give commands to support and feed the stranger, the fatherless, and widows. This was an issue of holiness for the Lord, He even calls them to remember when they were in bondage in Egypt and how God showed mercy to them, they are now to do for others what God had done for them. In the Church we must not act like the rest of this world, in a world of dog-eat dog, we are to be people who prefer others above ourselves. How do we treat others? Our Lord was altogether holy, but his holiness never once kept him from touching the leper, speaking to the harlots, feeding the hungry. When we are tempted to prefer self above others may these words ring in our Hearts, "For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God."
Lastly, they were to be peculiar in their worship. Chapter 16 laid out the details of the Passover and the feast leading up to it and at the end of the chapter, The Lord specifically forbids groves and images. Those were the forms of worship used by the Canaanites. Imagine how different they would look in their Worship of the one true God, no image, no grove, Only one place to come to worship instead of under any old tree. It was totally different than the worship taking place in that land. Dear friend, our worship shouldn't look like the rest of the world around us. In an hour when it is impossible to know the difference between a "worship service" and a concert, we need to stand out in our worship, to be peculiar to our Lord. God forbid we allow the world forms and methods to taint the worship of Our God. When we are tempted to join the crowd may these words ring in our hearts, "For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God."
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