So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the Lord your God. Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am Yahweh M’Kaddesh.

Leviticus 20:7-8, name added

Yahweh M’Kaddesh: The Lord My Sanctifier (or The Lord who makes you Holy)

Leviticus 20 is a chapter full of warnings – warnings not to be like the other nations. Child sacrifice, temple prostitutes, adultery, mediums. This is just a summary of the things God forbids in this chapter. Be different, He pleads. Can you feel Him willing His people to make good choices? Can you feel the power of His exhortation?

But what gives us the power, the ability to make the wise, healthy choices God exhorts in this chapter? Yahweh M’Kaddesh. Being in relationship with Him, the One who never puts a foot wrong, clarifies the right path before us. We lean on His strength, His confidence. We lean on Him, and He makes us holy because HE is holy.

Thought seed – Whose company do I keep the most? How am I becoming like that person, and how would keeping God’s company most change me?