"I am the Lord your God."
"I am the Lord your God."
"I am the Lord your God."
That phrase is the repeated refrain echoing from the past few days readings in Leviticus. Beginning in Leviticus 18:1 and stretching well through Leviticus 25:17 we hear that refrain. That phrase accompanies the instructions and commands God is giving. Why?
See, the link between who God is and what He commands His people to do is so important. Understanding that link makes the book of Leviticus a whole lot more understandable.
So...why do you think the phrase "I am the Lord your God" accompanies so many of the commands and instructions God is giving?
5 comments:
Without God, all these rules make little sense. I think that phrase is repeated in order to:
1) Prove God's authority over us
2) Estabish God's holiness, something that is set apart from us
3) Provide a rationale for following rules
The commands were given over a long period of time. God knew the people were feeble-minded and constantly needed to be reminded of who He was. The Lord was and is the only God they were to obey and worship.
I agree with the comments posted so far. In addition, I noticed The Lord sometimes follows that saying (I am the Lord your God)by telling the Israelites He is the One who rescued them from Eygpt. In doing this, He is saying, "I love you and want what's best for you. Don't forget how I took care of you in the past." Also in Lev. 26:9-13, the Lord ends this passage with "I am the Lord your God" and prefaces it with a promise of reward for their obedience. He tells them that He will look favorably on them, make them fertile, they'll have surplus crops (more than they can store without getting rid of the old stuff) and best of all, He will live among them. He will be their God and they will be His people. That's the best reward I could imagine! The Lord makes clear the importance He places on our relationship with Him. He is doing this for their own good, to keep their hearts and minds focus on Him. And their relationship with Him free from the interference of sin.
Dawn Hill
Just a general comment as I have just finished reading Numbers Chapter 12. In reading the O.T., particularly books such as Leviticus and Numbers, I have to keep reminding myself that the reason for these laws was to point the people to their need of a
Lord and Savior. The rules and regulations would have made them holy before their God IF THEY COULD HAVE KEPT THEM; however, as we shall see, no one can keep them. Nothing is wrong with the law; just something terribly wrong with us -- SIN.
Which points us to JESUS, our only
solution to God's demand of perfection.
Frankly, my reaction to Numbers 12, when the people ask for something to eat other than manna is one of fear of God. Isn't God being a little bit unreasonable. Why would
God get so mad? How can we understand these things apart from the direction of the Holy Spirit. I believe the manna represented Jesus --God's daily provision for us -- the bread of life. But the
people wanted something more. How often, as Christians, do WE want something more than Jesus, something more exciting, something more tangible? When those times come,it's an indicator we need to become more intimate with the real Jesus, sit at His feet and find out he's more than sufficient to satisfy our dissatifaction.
I believe it all boils down to RELATIONSHIP. God wanted to continually remind the people of the covenant relationship He has with His people. This brings to mind something I do every so often with my wife. I say things like "you are my wife" or I'm your husband". We were both there with others who witnesed the occassion so why repeat the obvious. I believe I've been doing this over the years as a reminder to us of the special covenant relationship that we share. I never really thought about why I do that until reading this blog and thinking about the common thread of relationship. It is often during the times of forgeting about our covenant relationship that people stray into sinful acts or deeds whether it is with God or a spouse. God knows and loves us so much that He chooses to remind us of our convenant relationship to keep us from straying into grasp of sin. God is simply AWESOME and worthy to be praised!
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