Leviticus 19:2, commentary and pictures

Spoken to the whole congregation of Israel, the command calls every one of God's people to be holy because the Lord their God is holy, grounding the requirement in His own character. The One who spoke this instruction to Moses was Christ, the Redeemer, speaking from the pillar of cloud. It sets the same high standard as being perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect, the perfection of character kept before God's people throughout Scripture. Holiness is agreement with God, coming into harmony with Him and receiving His likeness, which sin has marred and the gospel restores through human cooperation with divine agency. It is required in order to be accepted of God and must appear in all conduct, in justice and generosity to the poor and stranger, in honest dealing and righteous judgment, and in rejecting hatred and revenge to love one's neighbor as oneself. It is joined with revering father and mother, keeping God's Sabbaths, keeping His commandments and refusing idols, lived out with others by taking up the cross and manifesting the wisdom that is pure, peaceable, and full of mercy and good fruits.

Command and Speaker

The instruction was directed to the entire assembly of Israel, calling all of God's people to be holy because the Lord their God is holy, with the demand rooted in God's own character. That call to holiness stood joined to reverence for parents, keeping of God's Sabbaths, and refusal of idols and molten gods, all grounded in the declaration that the Lord is their God. It summoned the whole congregation, making holiness part of the perfection of character required of them.

The one who spoke this instruction to Moses was Christ, who became the Redeemer of fallen humanity, speaking from the pillar of cloud. He spoke from the cloudy pillar commanding holiness because God is holy. His words carry the same high standard as His teachings in the New Testament and stand as a lesson for future generations.

The command was given not only to a few responsible officers and distinguished men but to the whole host, so each individual as part of the great whole must seek to carry it out. The requirement is the same as being perfect even as the Father in heaven is perfect. It belongs to the perfection of character kept before God's people throughout Scripture.

Holiness in Life

Holiness is agreement with God, coming into harmony with Him and receiving His likeness. Sin has marred and nearly obliterated God's image in man, and the gospel restores what was lost through human cooperation with divine agency. That harmony and likeness are received only by obtaining a knowledge of God, which Christ came into the world to reveal.

Holiness is required in order to be accepted and approved of God, meaning practicing godliness in every circumstance. It means cultivating the attributes of Jesus, which are the attributes of God, by being united with Christ and growing up to His full stature. It is not gained by belonging to a particular church but by being an individual believer in Jesus Christ as a personal Saviour. The verse requires holiness in all conduct. It is learned first at home in responsibility and blessing to members of one's own family and then extended to fellow men in loving neighbors as oneself, striving daily against selfishness and self-centeredness, and showing mercy and relief to all who need it and not only to those of one's own sect.

Holiness is lived out in justice and generosity by not oppressing others in any way and remembering that God's gifts are to be shared. It leaves part of the harvest, vineyard, orchard, and gleanings as the Lord's portion to relieve the necessities of the poor and the stranger. The same holiness requires honest dealing, paying workers promptly, and treating people with disabilities with care. It judges neighbors righteously and fairly without favoring poor or powerful, and refuses slander, harmful reports, harm, or endangering a neighbor.

Holiness rejects hatred, revenge, and grudges, and rebukes wrongdoing rather than allowing sin to continue. It loves one's neighbor as oneself, calling all who have received God's gift in Christ to love one another as Christ has loved them. The call to holiness is joined with revering and fearing mother and father, keeping God's Sabbaths and honoring the true Sabbath, keeping His commandments, and refusing idols and molten gods. It entails a clear distinction between those who serve God and those who do not, a decisive stand for truth and righteousness in covenant relation with God with faith governing life; treating these commitments as unimportant dishonors God and denies that He is their God and they are His people.

The command must be carried out in association with others, especially toward those who oppose God's counsel and do not show the wisdom from above. It is carried out by taking up the cross and following Christ, watching and praying, and refusing a wrong thought or action no matter how others treat them. It values the honor of the cause of truth above personal reputation and manifests zeal for God and the mercy and goodness of the wisdom that is pure, peaceable, easy to be entreated, and full of mercy and good fruits. In this way each person daily decides fitness for the society of the saints in light.