One of my favorite smells is the smoky aroma of hot coals cooking barbecued pork. Related to that would be the attractive smell of fresh, hot bacon. One of my least favorite odors is pig farms. I guess I’m conflicted.
So were God’s people in the Old Testament. God had commanded, “The pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you” (Leviticus 11:7). God prohibited pork for the Jewish nation, a religious practice still observed by Jews today, along with Muslims today, Seventh-Day Adventists and some Orthodox churches.
Why did God issue this strange dietary command? One word. Holy. If you want to read a long list of strange commands, then pick up the Bible and read the book of Leviticus. Lots of laws about dietary habits, work regulations, getting along with your neighbor, how to spend money, and more. Jewish legal experts count 613 laws.
It’s as if God is saying, hundreds of times, “Be holy.” He actually did spell it out clearly a number of times throughout the giving of the laws in Leviticus, including here: “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45).
The word “holy” has an original meaning of “set apart as special or sacred.” Think of the Tupperware containers you use for leftovers or aluminum cans in your recycling bin. Now compare them to the highest quality dinnerware you store in a special china cabinet, or sparkling glassware in the cupboard—all of which you only use on special occasions. Set apart.
God himself is set apart, special, sacred and not like any other deity of any other religion. He proved it when he battled the gods of Egypt during the ten plagues. He knocked them out one by one until forcing them—including Pharaoh, who also boasted somewhat of a divine status—to submit to him and his Jewish people (instead of the other way around).
God is holy. The gods of Egypt are not, as well as anyone who relies on such puny gods.
Setting such a high standard in comparing himself to any other object of worship was just the beginning. The Lord God then set the same standard for anyone who worships him. “Consecrate yourselves and be holy.” Be different. Avoid dirty, sinful behaviors. Keep commands may not seem to make sense or might be difficult, because it shows how special you are. Indeed, other people might even say how strange you are. That’s a compliment!
I still love bacon, because I’m a Christian and I can. The holiness of God’s laws is no longer a condition for me to be holy, set apart from sin, and saved. Rather, it is a consequence of me being saved. A result of my Savior Jesus who kept all those laws perfectly.
The New Testament promises plainly that those who believe in Jesus “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare [his] praises” (1 Peter 2:9). That’s not talking about Americans or Jews or any culture. It’s not talking about a set of rules.
God is saying that his choice, not yours, saves you. His holiness, not your attempts at keeping his laws, saves you. His holding you dearly as special, his possessing you, his adopting you as his own, his making of you to be his masterpiece, saves you.
Therefore, God canceled a lot of those Old Testament laws and replaced them with the gift of his Son Jesus. “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).
So declare his praises. Consecrate yourself. Be the specially set apart masterpiece that Jesus has made you to be. Eat bacon if you want, but stay clean of sin. Live differently. Submit to God’s ways and laws and answers to prayer. There’s nothing else like it.
PRAYER: God, you are holy and set apart. Your holiness in your Son Jesus has been given to me and saves me. I believe that by your grace I am special, and fully loved. I praise you for that, and pray that I live differently today because of it. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY: Looking to brush up on all of the Old Testament laws and how they relate to Jesus? Just read the New Testament book of Hebrews. It is written to Jewish Christians reverting back to keeping the Old Testament laws for salvation, and reminding them that nobody does that except Jesus.