Wednesday, 22 July 2015

Vayikra and Holiness - Part Two

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Yesterday we posted the first part of an article from Ohev Israel in Lorton, VA. Here is the second part, continuing to look at the theme of holiness:

He seems to be telling them, and us, that we are to achieve perfection in faithfulness to the mitzvot, including obedience to parents, commitment to marital vows and all other Biblical covenants, in performing merciful deeds that are not always publicly revealed, in elevating society's poor and outcast to a place of honor and nobility so that G-d can be given the glory when an individual gains or re-gains possession of personal property and spiritual freedom so that they can become whole persons.

Spiritual freedom found through the presence of Ruakh Elohim, the spirit of HaShem, when Yeshua is invited into a redemptive work. Holy conduct can help to bring restoration to broken lives in a broken world. And the partial and incomplete justice available through a community living within Kingdom principles is merely a foretaste of the full restoration that can be expected at the full revelation when Mashiakh returns.

Throughout the final chapters of Vayikra, as elsewhere in the entire book, there are multiple examples of small ways by which holy conduct can repair a broken life.

We may be seeking grand, sweeping gestures from heaven that will overturn earthly kingdoms and destroy evil rulership, but more often we encounter opportunities where simple acts by an individual, modest steps taken by any one of us, can restore to someone the life that G-d intended from the beginning.