Tag: set apart

Set Apart for God

2 Kings 18:1-8
2 Chronicles 29-31
Psalm 48

              Chapters 29 through 31 of Second Chronicles talks about King Hezekiah and how he followed God by cleansing the temple and reestablishing the law upon the people. When King Hezekiah became king, he could have done many things to build up his own name, become prosperous, and live life as he desired it. Instead, we see that he chose to steer his people back to God and lift God’s authority over his own.

[1] Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. [2] And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. 2 Chronicles 29:1-2 (ESV)

I find it fascinating that a twenty-five-year-old man with so much capability, power, money, and status would choose to spend his effort on making the nation of Israel God’s people not something for his gain. Now this is what Hezekiah told the Levites to do as a step towards restoring holiness to Israel.

[5] and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place. [6] For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD and turned their backs. 2 Chronicles 29:5-6 (ESV)

              I think we can take this advice which was intended for the Levites and apply it to our lives. God’s will for us is that we would be sanctified and set apart in our thoughts, actions, and speech. Something we can do to help this is simply to ask God that he would give us hearts that desire His will. If our hearts want what God wants, then our lives will reflect that and pour into others as well.

              Why should we set our lives apart for God? Psalm 48, a great reminder of God’s greatness, is helpful in encouraging us to praise him. Psalm 48 says …

              [1] Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, [2] beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. Psalm 48:1(ESV)

              This Psalm refers to Jerusalem as Mt Zion, the great city, and as a place that will be lifted high. Because God is steadfast and always faithful, the psalmist praises God. Together with the psalmist, we should become people of praise. I find that praising God, giving thanks to God, and spending time in his presence, gives me joy and peace. A tool that is helpful in praising God is praying through a Psalm. The Psalms contain many beautiful sayings that come from the truth of God’s word just like these two verses in Psalm 48.

              [9] We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. [10] As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. Psalm 48:9-10 (ESV)

Application Questions:

What are some things that are preventing us from giving God glory?

What is one thing you can do this week to set yourself apart from the world?

-Jeremiah Grable

We welcome a new writer for SeekGrowLove. He introduces himself for us:

My name is Jeremiah Grable, and I am 18 years old. I live in Southern California with my wonderful parents and 6 of my 8 siblings. I love being outdoors doing things like playing pickleball, hiking, and doing parkour. I also love traveling and seeing new places. This spring I graduated from high school and plan on attending California State University San Bernadino in the fall in hopes of getting my bachelor’s in business. I have been a believer for 4 years now and got baptized in the fall of 2024.)

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Thursday – June 23rd, 2022

2 Corinthians 6

One of the major themes of the Bible is God making a broken people holy. Holiness is a characteristic of God; in fact, God is repeatedly called the “Holy One of Israel” throughout scripture. But, what is holiness? “The Hebrew word for “holiness” is qōdes, a word that highlights the realm of the sacred in contrast to everything common and profane.” (See here for more info.) Holiness describes what is sacred or set apart. God is the ultimate holy one, and he sets the bar for what is holy or sacred. We can determine if something is holy by comparing it to the standard that God has set for us. 

Unfortunately, after the fall, we were not a holy people anymore. We would die if we were in the presence of God because of this fact. God’s ministry of reconciliation which we read about yesterday is all about God bringing us back into relationship with him. God cannot lessen his holiness, but he can redeem us and make us more holy. This is what the whole Bible is about. God making his chosen people holy. In the Old Testament, God made his people holy through sacrifices and the law. The law could not completely redeem us though. So, in the New Testament, the new covenant was establish in which God was making us holy – reconciling us to himself – through Christ. We are saved through this reconciliation (2 Cor. 6:2). 

At the end of the chapter we read today, we see some important warnings that Paul gave to the Corinthians encouraging them to remain holy. In verses 16-18, it says, 

“As God has said:

“I will live with them

    and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

    and they will be my people.”

Therefore,

“Come out from them

    and be separate,

says the Lord.

Touch no unclean thing,

    and I will receive you.”

And,

“I will be a Father to you,

    and you will be my sons and daughters,

says the Lord Almighty.”

We are called to be set apart, called to be holy. Our lifestyles should reflect that. This requires discipline and an awareness of our habits. Are we living in a way that shows we are set apart? Or are we living just like the world? When we live a holy life, we have the promise of a deep and personal relationship with God. He will walk among us. He will be a Father to us. That promise is worth all the sacrifices that we make. 

~ Cayce Fletcher

Questions for Application: 

  1. When you read the word ‘holiness’, what kind of feelings does it stir in you? Do you think that become holy is a worthwhile pursuit?  
  2. What does a holy lifestyle look like? 
  3. One characteristic of being holy described in this chapter is in verse 14: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” What do you think this verse means? Why is this important in our pursuit of holiness? 

Set Apart

Numbers 5-6 and Psalm 37

            This past year has been quite the crazy one to say the least!  The main contributor to this for many was COVID-19 and how we responded to it.  Many governments throughout the world encouraged their citizens to quarantine because of the virus.  These decisions received a lot of support and a lot of backlash at the same time (you’re never going to be able to please everybody!).  I’m not here to provide support or backlash for these decisions, but I am here to inform you that this was nothing new.  In Numbers chapter 5 verses 2-3, God commanded the Israelites to “quarantine” the “unclean” people.  The word “quarantine” isn’t found in any translations that I found, but that is precisely what was taking place.  Now obviously the circumstances are by far and away vastly different in Numbers chapter 5 compared to the year 2020.  Therefore, take this bit of information for what it is worth in comparison to our past year’s circumstances.

            Chapter 5 also describes a test to see if a woman has committed adultery against her husband.  Sex outside of marriage was not something that the nation of Israel took very lightly, as God had very strict rules for them in this regard.  It’s a shame that our society does not value the sanctity of marriage like the Israelites in the Old Testament.  Our society teaches us that the physical benefits of marriage are for everyone, whether married or not, and that hinders many marriages.  Let’s revisit and exemplify the positive values demonstrated by the Israelites and live a sanctified life.

            Speaking of living a sanctified life, there were some Israelites who took this concept above and beyond.  Those Israelites took on the Nazirite vow.  The purpose of the Nazirite vow was to “separate himself to the LORD,” (Numbers 6:2).  There were a number of different rules revolving around the Nazirite vow, but the two most well-known ones are abstaining from alcohol and cutting your hair.  Some may recall that the judge Samson took on the Nazirite vow, and he did not cut his hair – until a lady came in and ruined it for him.  We don’t necessarily need to take on the Nazirite vow ourselves, however, we shall strive to live lives that are set apart from the rest of the world – the purpose of the Nazirite vow. 

A note from Psalms:

“The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.” Psalm 37:29

What a glorious hope that we have!  If we live a sanctified life, then we can inherit the land forever and ever!

-Kyle McClain

Links to today’s Bible devotions – Numbers 5-6 and Psalm 37

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Be Holy

Leviticus 19-20

God’s message to the entire assembly of Israel was “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy”. (Lev. 19:1) As we move through Leviticus, we are seeing that God is giving very specific instructions to show the people and priests how to be ceremonially clean. He is setting them apart from the other nations. He is forbidding horrendous behavior (like child sacrifice) and presenting them with the idea of being holy. As followers of Christ, we are asked to be holy as well. As 1 Peter 1:15 states, “just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do”. And Paul’s writings state that God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

When we think about God’s holiness, we might feel overwhelmed because He is so awesome. But let’s consider how God is Holy. God’s supreme Holiness sets Him apart from His creation. He is unique. He is the Only True God (Jn. 17:3). He is perfect in every way. He is the Creator and Giver of all that is good, He is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, forgiving, just, God is Love…

So how could the Israelites become holy? The LORD tells them to consecrate themselves-turn their lives over to the LORD. He states that they should keep and follow His decrees. Most important He said that He is the LORD who makes them holy. (Lev. 20:7-8) This was true for the Israelites, and it is true for us today. He is the LORD who can make us holy.

We need to offer ourselves to Him as living sacrifices (Rom.12:1) and accept God’s ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (Hebrews 10:10b and 10:14) 

-Rebecca Dauksas

Links to today’s Bible reading – Leviticus 19-20 and Psalm 25-26

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