God's Judgments

“Moses cried to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a certain piece of wood, which, when he threw it into the water, made the water taste good. There the Lord made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there he tested them. He said, ‘If you will listen intently to the voice of the Lord your God, do what he considers right, pay attention to his commandments and observe his statutes, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians; because I am the Lord your healer.’” [Exodus 15:25-26]

This event was the first test the children of Israel faced after Pharaoh and his army were drowned in the Sea of Reeds. They had traveled from the edge of the Sea three days into the desert. They had not found any water until they came to Marah, where the water was bitter and unpotable. The people began to grumble against Moses.

The only statute that is given at this point in the Exodus narrative is this promise that in exchange for their obedience, God will not afflict them with diseases. This is certainly a worthwhile promise, and very timely! After having seen what God did to the Egyptians, they might have wondered whether they could be next.

And the only ordinance that is given is, “I am the Lord your healer.”

The Hebrew word for “ordinance” in this verse is pronounced mishpat. It is a noun that comes from a root word meaning “to judge or govern”. Mishpat can mean “judgment, statute, custom, legal right, or legal decision.” It is also used to describe the “breastplate of judgment” which the High Priest wore, and in which he placed the Urim and Thummim. He was to bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.

In modern society, we usually think of “judgment” as something final and bad. Our immediate frame of reference is the courtroom where a judge hands down a verdict of guilty and issues a sentence.

But the Biblical view of “judgment”, while including this aspect, also includes many positive connotations. The Urim and Thummim in the breastplate of judgment were the means by which the High Priest made important decisions on behalf of the people.

Another example is found in Exodus, in chapter 21, right after the giving of the ten commandments. There we read, “Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them.” When you examine the list you find instructions concerning the ethical treatment of slaves, mercy for one who accidently kills someone, ways of deciding between differing degrees of guilt, responsibilities of owners of animals for the harm they do, how to punish thieves, responsibility for articles that are left in trust with another person, marriage laws, proper treatment of strangers, widows, and orphans. You also find instructions about putting to death those deserving of death.

The instructions continue, but it is quickly clear that these are not always meant as punitive. Most often they are ways of determining what is just in various situations.

In Isaiah 26:9, God’s judgments are a blessing for the world. “My soul desires you at night, my spirit in me seeks you at dawn; for when your judgments are here on earth, the people in the world learn what righteousness is.”

Even when the word “judgment” is used to bring a final death sentence, it is a matter of celebration for mankind. In Revelation 19:1-2, John writes: “After these things, I heard what sounded like the roar of a huge crowed in heaven, shouting, ‘Halleluyah! The victory, the glory, the power of our God! For His judgments are true and just. He has judged the great whore who corrupted the earth with her whoring. He has taken vengeance on her who has the blood of His servants on her hands.’”

Afterwards, some of us may participate with Him in judging. “Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them received authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for testifying about Yeshua and proclaiming the Word of God, also those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received the mark on their foreheads and on their hands. They came to life and ruled with the Messiah for a thousand years.” [Revelation 20:4]

These are difficult things to understand, and theologians debate over how and when these things happen. But the clear conclusion of Scripture is that God’s judgments are good.

So Isaiah writes, concerning the Messiah’s ability to judge: “His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears. But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.” [Isaiah 11:3-4]

Sometimes, like the Israelites who came out of Egypt, we may feel like grumbling. Who wouldn’t grumble if they have not had a drink for three days? But may we also have the grace to receive God’s judgments and be healed. That judgment may involve a certain piece of wood, perhaps the cross of Yeshua, perhaps our own cross that we take up daily.

Whichever it is, in the season ahead, I invite you to give the Lord room to judge in your life, so that you may also receive the healing which He wants to provide.

Be Holy

“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Yeshua Messiah; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” [1 Peter 1:13]

It’s of interest that Peter refers to Scripture to support his exhortation. There are six places, all in Leviticus, where this phrase can be found in some form or another.

I want to comment on each of these references, because each one brings out a particular aspect of holiness that can be instructive to us. And they will hopefully also help us to appropriate this holiness which Peter recommends to us.

The first and second references to this phrase “be holy, for I am holy” are found in Leviticus 11:44-45, in reference to the dietary commandment to avoid “creeping things”. The Torah commanded that the Israelites not make themselves abominable nor unclean with them.

They were to consecrate themselves and be holy. They were not to defile themselves. “For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” [Leviticus 11:45]
It is hard to imagine what sort of attraction anyone might have had towards the ingesting of “creeping things that creep.” Yet the instruction to consecrate themselves seems like good advice under any circumstances.

Then, in Leviticus 19:2, after describing many forms of sexual perversity and human sacrifice as “abominations”, the Lord spoke to Moses commanding him to declare to the Israelites, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

The Lord then launches into a series of commandments that range from reverence to parents, keeping of Sabbaths, refraining from idolatry, the proper consumption of the sacrifice of peace offerings, leaving the corners of a field, not gleaning a vineyard [both of these for the sake of the poor and the stranger], not stealing, lying, nor dealing falsely, not swearing falsely, not profaning God’s name, etc.
So whereas chapter 11 dealt with dietary concerns, chapter 19 deals with interactions with others and with God.

Leviticus 20:7 again commands the Isralites to, “Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.” This verse immediately follows injunctions against human sacrifice and worship of Molech and a verse forbidding the use of mediums and familiar spirits.

Subsequent verses in this chapter deal first with the cursing of parents, and then afterwards with a long list of judgments against those who commit various perverse sexual acts.

At the end of this lengthy list, there is another instance of this phrase in verse 26 of Leviticus 20. It is introduced by a reminder that, “I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.” [verse 24]

“You shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean,” also unclean and clean birds, abominable beasts, living things that creep on the ground, “which I have separated from you as unclean.” [verse 25]

Notice the repetitive use of the word “separated”. The Lord separated Israel from the peoples, He separated the unclean animals from Israel, and he commands Israel to be holy, saying, “for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.”

This is immediately followed by the last verse of this chapter containing an instruction to judge the medium and the one who has familiar spirits.

Finally, in the very next chapter, the Lord begins to give instructions concerning the holiness of the priests, the sons of Aaron. They were not permitted to touch or allow themselves to be defiled by the dead bodies of relatives, except for very close relatives. Nor were they to make bald spots on their heads, shave the edges of their beards, or make cuttings in their flesh - all of which may have been forms of mourning.

They were not permitted to marry a harlot or defiled woman or divorced woman. “Therefore you shall consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the Lord, who sanctify you, am holy.” [Leviticus 21:8]
The restrictions for the high priest were more stringent than for the other Israelites. This appears to be because of his function in offering the showbread.
It’s not clear how dead bodies, defiled wives, or marred beards, hair, or flesh would disqualify a priest from offering the bread. But it provides the insight that holiness can relate to a person’s function or position.

So from these verses in Leviticus, we can see that there are private, individual practices that are forbidden to Isralites: the eating of unclean or abominable animals, the practice of mediums and familiar spirits, profaning God’s name, etc.
There were also relational prohibitions, cheating, lying, stealing, perverse sexual practices, cursing parents, mishandling of sacrifices, harvesting the corners of fields, gleaning the vineyards, swearing falsely, human sacrifice, etc.

Finally, for certain people in certain positions, there were even stricter standards relating to marriage, mourning, and personal grooming.

Peter invokes this command to be holy at an even deeper level. He exhorts us to be sober, with our minds in readiness. He instructs us to keep our hope focused on the grace that will come to us at the revelation of Yeshua, which Paul elsewhere describes as seeing Him face to face and becoming like Him.

In so doing, our spirits will not become shaped by the lusts that we formerly indulged, when we were ignorant of Yeshua’s liberating sacrifice and gift of eternal life. But with clear minds and focused hopes, we will conduct ourselves in holiness.
He thus goes on to exhort us to “conduct ourselves in fear” and to “love one another fervently with a pure heart”. We are to know that our redemption is not through silver, gold, nor the aimless traditions from our fathers, but with the precious blood of Messiah.

We are to obey the truth through the Spirit, by which our souls are purified through the rebirth which comes from the incorruptible seed. This is the word of God, which is the word which by the Besorah (good news or gospel) was preached and which lives and abides forever.

So if Israel was called to the holiness of separation from the nations through the avoidance of foods and practices that distinguished them from the peoples around them, how much more are we, who proclaim the blood of Messiah and the giving of the Spirit, to keep our very souls pure and undefiled from lusts and petty disputes which once seemed so important.

As valuable as our traditions are, and as much as we would all like to be blessed with silver and gold, these things did not and cannot redeem us.

May we all therefore prepare our minds and focus our hopes on the revelation of Yeshua and the grace that will come to us through Him.