We're getting closer and closer to the end of Leviticus and I will admit to you I've been looking ahead to Numbers. Leviticus has been intense for me on a personal level. The purification process has been real and brutal. So A part of me wanted to prepare my heart for what's next.
But Numbers is not any easier to walk through. The Children of Israel continue to be tested and they unfortunately don't pass the test. I have resolved to not be like them. I refuse to fail this test. And I realized that this purification process we're in as we study Leviticus is the key to passing the test. So I'm taking these last few chapters very serious.
Life weighs in the balance.
This is a time of being set apart and Holy as God instructs in Leviticus 21. Leviticus 21:6 says "They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the Lord, gifts of food for their God. "
Holiness isn't about looking religious.It's about carrying His Name well.
They were priests. They represented God to the people. What they did reflected on Him. And whether we realize it or not....so do we.
The way we respond in pressure.
The way we handle correction.
The way we walk through pruning.
The way we obey when it costs us something.
It all says something about the God we serve.
And I think that's why this season has felt so heavy. Because purification isn't comfortable. It exposes things. It confronts pride. It strips away what was acceptablein our lives but not holy. It calls us higher than what culture allows and deeper than what convenience would like.
But I get it now.
Leviticus isn't punishment. It was a time of preparation. God was setting them apart before He sent them forward. He was teaching them how to carry His presence before He trusted them with promise.
And I can feel that in my own life. This isn't random. This isn't just hard for no reason. This refining, this shaking season, it's training.
Numbers will show what's really in our hearts.
Leviticus is where the heart gets purified first.
I don't want to wander because I refused to be refined.
I don't want to circle mountains because I resisted correction.
I don't want to give up the promise because I wouldn't submit to process.
So I'm staying here.
Letting Him search me.
Letting Him cleanse what needs cleansing.
Letting Him consecrate what needs to be set apart.
If I'm going to carry His Name, I want to carry it well.
That’s what this is really all about. Not just surviving the wilderness. But becoming the kind of person who can enter the promise without bringing Egypt with me.
I refuse to fail this test.
And holiness, real, surrendered, set-apart holiness is the key. ⚓
Love Pastor Mandy
Ark of Hope Ministry
Daily Reading Leviticus 21-22
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