1. What advice did the apostle Peter give his fellow Christians, and why might it seem impossible to follow?
The advice that the apostle Peter gave to the Christians of the first century was that: "You should be holy in all your conduct in limitation to Jehovah who is the supreme example of holiness." This may seem impossible to follow due to our imperfection, but we are going to learn that even if one is wrong, we can become saints.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
The advice I tell them is that they had to be holy in all their behavior and this seemed impossible because of the imperfection that we all have.
And the fact that Peter was the one who wrote these words for us encourages us because we know Peter he was with Jesus Even on some occasions he proved to be a little impulsive but not even under divine inspiration did he write this that we had to be holy because Jehovah is, if he advised us and he was, it means that we can also achieve it.
When using the comparison in first of Peter like the saint or being saints like him, it may seem totally impossible to us since obviously we cannot compare ourselves with Jehovah, in addition to the fact that we are imperfect, but what we can do is imitate him and in this way be saints. in our conduct.
2. What questions will we answer in this article?
The questions are: What is it to be holy? What does the Bible teach us about Jehovah's holiness? How can we be holy in our conduct? And what is the relationship between being holy and being friends of Jehovah?
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
We will answer 4 questions, which are: What is it to be holy? What does the Bible teach us about Jehovah's holiness? How can we be holy in our conduct? And what is the relationship between being holy and being friends of Jehovah?
WHAT IS TO BE SAINT?
3. What do many imagine when they think of someone holy, but where can we find the truth?
Many imagine him to be a religious person with a melancholic and sad appearance, as depicted in some works of art. But we can know what holiness really is from what the Bible says. For example, one of the things he says is: that Jehovah is holy, but he is also the "happy God", also that his people who worship him are happy, and one more detail that Jesus gave was, "that he condemned the people who wore long robes and did what is right, but only for others to see."
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
They think of what they are used to seeing when they think of images of saints because they think of someone sad with a languid face but of course we are going to find the truth in the Bible and in the Bible we are told about Jehovah quite the opposite what God is happy for example as the apostle Paul said to Timothy.
Following in that line also the worshipers of Jehovah as it says in Psalm 144:15 the people of Jehovah because they are also a happy people because Jehovah is our God so it does not fit either that holiness has to do with melancholy or sadness.
In this world many do not want to be saints because of what they imagine because of what they have as a habit as it has been commented that they already see in other religions but quite the opposite is with us because for us it is not something impossible to obey what Jehovah tells us asks on the contrary makes us happy to be able to fulfill it and to be able to have this characteristic.
We do have to remember that our guide, after all, is the Bible and if Jehovah says that we can be saints, it is because he knows our limits and knows that we can be.
4. What do the words holy and holiness mean?
When the Bible speaks of being holy and holiness, it refers to “a person who is morally and religiously clean and set apart to serve God,” meaning to worship Jehovah as he expects and has a close relationship with him.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
It has two aspects, in the first place it means what is clean or sacred in a moral and religious sense and on the other hand to be separated or separated to serve God.
And we will also be saints if we keep ourselves clean in a moral sense by worshiping Jehovah in the way he pleases and if we strive to have a close relationship with Jehovah and as we saw before it is to be appreciated that despite being imperfect Jehovah wants us to become his friends being the totally holy.
So once we know the scope of holiness in the very interesting idea that the article addresses is that despite how imperfect we are Jehovah is going to accept us as his friends who is holy at an absolute level and expects us to make an effort not for being saints an important idea of the article and it is also a very nice idea that reminds us how much Jehovah trusts us and we feel much closer to him.
“HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD”
5. What do faithful angels teach us about Jehovah?
One of the things that they teach us is that they proclaim and emphasize that "the Lord God is holy." They also teach us that since they are beings who serve Jehovah and have a close relationship with him, they themselves are holy, so when they have appeared to human beings like Moses and Joshua, their mere presence has made the place where they were holy.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Well, those who are in the presence of Jehovah and observe him can say as the cherubim say Holy Holy Holy is Jehovah, that is how the presence of Jehovah already radiates that holiness.
For example, in the case of the cherubim, the insight book talks about one of the tasks that they probably have because of what they had done with Isaiah by putting a glowing ember in his mouth to cleanse him of his sins, is that this job that they have is also Related to a certain extent to the cleansing of the sin of the people of God and the cleansing of sin include holiness, then we see how important these angels are that are very close to the presence of Jehovah apart from the fact that they are constantly indicating that Jehovah is holy.
And they themselves are saints that is why they have a close relationship with God and when they came here to earth the place they stepped on became holy, a clear example is when one of the angels spoke with Moses and that place was holy and he he had to take off his shoes because the presence of God represented his holiness.
6, 7. (a) According to Exodus 15:1, 11, how did Moses emphasize that God is holy?
For example, Moses said that "The Lord has triumphed in his great glory" since he is different from the other gods because "The Lord is supreme in holiness." This indicates that "the holiness of Jehovah" encompasses that his servants, though imperfect, should strive for "holy conduct" and not be like the worshipers of other gods who went so far as to sacrifice children or engage in sexual acts with their conduct. depraved.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Verse 11 where it says that Jehovah is supreme in holiness and this is very interesting because it is the first time recorded in writing that holiness is attributed to Jehovah because here in the text Moses paints Jehovah as a clean person to the superlative degree, a being without any impurity and well especially you met the gods of the country that the Israelites would soon inhabit.
Yes, from that moment in the people of Israel Jehovah what he wanted was to separate his people so that they were precisely holy in conduct in Deuteronomy 18:9 and 10 there the Jehovah himself puts the adjective he did not want his people to mix with other nations by the detestable practices of these nations and we see that some sacrificed children practiced depraved sexual acts and even occult divination things that were far removed from the holiness that Jehovah reflected and that he wanted his people to also reflect.
(b) What reminded the Israelites that God is holy? (See cover drawing.)
What reminded the Israelites that God is holy is to see the words inscribed on a gold plate that the high priest wore on his turban that read "holiness belongs to Jehovah." In addition, another way was listening when the law was read in front of everyone, where it was emphasized that Jehovah is holy and it was indicated that everyone should be holy too.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Two things on the one hand the gold plate which the high priest wore the very visible turban where it said holiness belongs to Jehovah and on the other hand the regular reading of the law where Jehovah is Holy was read.
ILLUSTRATION:
The high priest wore a gold plaque on his turban that read "Holiness belongs to Jehovah." (See paragraphs 6 and 7).
It was in the most visible place possible, when we approach someone we mainly look at their face in their face and the turban was in the place a very conspicuous place very close to the face of the high priest so that everyone when they saw it when I had it close, I had it very present, it is very important, right.
And also in Exodus 28:36 to 38 where are the instructions when Jehovah told him that they should wear that plate in verse 38 at the end he tells him that the plate always had to be on his forehead so that they had Jehovah's approval which shows the importance that Jehovah gave to everyone being very clear that he was holy.
We see from the content of the plate when saying holiness belongs to Jehovah how this quality is very outstanding in the case of Jehovah as we read in Exodus 15 it said that he was supreme in holiness or the seraphim said holy holy holy is Jehovah so we see how it is a quality in which Jehovah takes exquisite delight.
8. What do the words of Leviticus 19:2 and 1 Peter 1:14-16 teach us?
Leviticus 19:2 says "you must be holy" and 1 Peter 1:14-16 says "be holy in all conduct." Thus, the expressions “have and are” convey the idea or make it clear to us that since Jehovah is holy, those who love him should strive to be holy too. It is not a matter of choice or preference. Rather, Jehovah expects us to strive to the best of our ability for godly conduct.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Well, it is likely that the apostle Peter had Leviticus in mind when he said they have to be holy in all their behavior and that is what is emphasized in these verses that we do love Jehovah and we want to be his servants and do his will we must strive to be saints
It is interesting in verse 2 of chapter 19 of Leviticus in the instruction that Jehovah gave to Moses was not to speak only to the priests because they had a special position in the worship of Jehovah if he does not speak with all the people this shows us that Jehovah He is interested in each and every one of us being saints and of course we can achieve it.
And it is true that the Spirit Anointed are specifically called saints in the Bible, but the fact that everyone is included also greatly dignifies those of us who hope to live forever in paradise on earth that we can imitate. Jehovah in holiness.
“BE HOLY IN ALL YOUR CONDUCT”
9. Why is it good for us to analyze the 19th chapter of Leviticus?
Because in this chapter Jehovah establishes a series of requirements that cover various matters of daily life, so that we can extract valuable lessons and reviewing them will help us know how we can be holy like Jehovah.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
And although we are not under the law, what is true is the essence that was transmitted in those words are very good lessons that can be useful to us today and in the words of this specialist in Hebrew he says that chapter 19 is a very complete chapter very varied and perhaps even one of the most important in the book of Leviticus.
10, 11. What aspect of godly conduct is highlighted at Leviticus 19:3, and how should we view this command?
This text highlights "honor and respect for parents." In fact, for Jehovah this command is so important that it is the fifth of the ten commandments that the Israelites gave. Jesus also showed how important it is, when he told a man that in order to inherit eternal life, among the good things he had to do was honor his father and his mother. So, we must obey this divine command.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
It is emphasized that we must respect the father and the mother.
We also see that when they asked Jesus about the things they had to do to obtain eternal life, one of the things he said was to honor your father and your mother and it was just the opposite of what the Pharisees did, we also see that it was the fifth of the ten commandments, so we see the priority that matter had in Jehovah's laws.
And I like how the paragraph highlights that this is not a change of subject, it is not that we were talking about holiness and now we are talking about parents, it is that in the 19th chapter of Leviticus it says they have to be holy immediately after they start talking about honoring parents so it has a lot of relationship.
And we saw in previous paragraphs that being holy in conduct cannot be pretended, it is not a pose, that is why Jesus denounced the Pharisees and the scribes, they too, being religious leaders, should have taken having encouraged the people to do so by setting an example, however, as he says they managed to not comply with that divine mandate, so without a doubt we do not want that to happen to us but we want to continue demonstrating that chastity, not feigned but honest in our lives.
12. What could we ask ourselves, according to the command of Leviticus 19:3?
We might ask ourselves, "Are we doing well in fulfilling God's command to honor our parents?" If we notice that we have not done everything that we should, then it is time to set ourselves the goal of improving and strive to do more things for our parents.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Yes, I am fulfilling well the divine mandate to honor my father and if for some reason we have not done everything we should, now is the time to set that goal and improve and we can strive to do more things like our parents and there is nothing more valuable than dedicating our time and helping them in any way we can.
And how important is that now with the current situation how important it is to be very attentive to their emotional state by calling them when we can by sending messages or talking to them or by videoconference if possible sharing things that we have recently learned or experiences is a source of spiritual encouragement and I am sure that this source of emotional support, the time we spend together, will demonstrate, on the one hand, that we are fulfilling this important divine mandate, but also, I am sure that it will also make them feel very good for us as well.
ILLUSTRATION:
Image series: 1. An adult son visits his parents and helps them prepare a meal. 2. His son, his wife and his daughter bring food to his parents. 3. Parents chat animatedly with their child via video call.
What should Christians ask themselves when reading the law of Leviticus 19:3 about parents? (See paragraphs 10 to 12). *
Well, we see here how an adult son has not only respected his parents when he was living with them, but now, since he has his own family, he also makes that effort, he has to take care of his family, but he takes time to take care of his parents too. time with them a pleasant time to help in whatever way and when he cannot be physically there, as we see by videoconference, he may also have that contact when it comes to honoring his parents.
In addition, we see very well the result, the joy that parents have in their faces seeing how their children help them in every way and even by videoconference how happy they are and how happy Jehovah is.
13. (a) What other advice do we find at Leviticus 19:3?
Another advice found in this text is that it said that we had to respect the Sabbath, and although we are no longer under the law, if we can dedicate "A certain time to worship and serve Jehovah."
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
It is said that the Sabbath also had to be respected.
What it involved was spending a full day disconnecting from your daily activities from your work from your worries and dedicating it entirely to Jehovah.
NOTE: If there is, it was said that for Jehovah the Sabbath was a close sign between him and his people, in fact it was a complete and holy day of rest for Jehovah where everyone was prohibited from working, even children and slaves, and they could not even work domestic animals, thus allowing the nation to give more attention to spiritual matters.
b) How can we follow the example of Jesus narrated in the account of Luke 4:16-18?
In this account it is narrated that “Jesus went to the synagogue on a Sabbath and read from the Word of God,” so we can imitate him by taking time out of our daily activities to give more attention to spiritual matters and strengthen our friendship with Jehovah.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
The story highlights the fact that Jesus spent that day dedicated time to spiritual things, he went to the synagogue, he read from the word of God and then he is edified spiritually and also to those who listened to him, so that shows us the importance of dedicating time to spiritual matters and also our personal study of following the theocratic programs that the faithful and wise slave gives us to be up to date with that material that is edifying for us and that improves our service and our worship of Jehovah.
Here we also have a good reminder Even if we are very very busy in the congregation or with other assignments because for example a chef can cook all day for the others but he also has to eat, so do we Even if we are very very busy with many mechanical things for the congregation we have to stop resting in a spiritual sense, study well and feed ourselves with profound things from the Bible.
And also there at the end of the paragraph he gives us a key to get to what our brother Brandon said, which is to study regularly, not leave it to chance when we have free time, but leave a fixed day to study, increase our friendship with Jehovah because, as he says there in the end it is something fundamental for us to be saints.
WE STRENGTHEN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JEHOVAH
14. What essential truth is highlighted throughout Leviticus chapter 19?
Some 16 times in this chapter the expression "I am the Lord your God" stands out. Which reminds us of the first of the Ten Commandments, which says: “I am the Lord your God. Have no other gods besides me." So we Christians should already make sure that we are determined to worship only Jehovah and that our conduct does not stain his holy name.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
That Jehovah is our God our only God that there is nothing and no one more important than him and our friendship with him.
Yes, it is included in all the things we do and with all the people with whom we relate to being holy, we are spiritually clean just like if there is a totally white shirt and a stain appears, the only thing we can see from that shirt is the there is a stain because it attracts attention; however, if a totally clean shirt does not attract attention, Jehovah wants us to be totally clean because he is totally clean.
15. To what should the verses in Leviticus 19 that speak of sacrifices lead us?
The Israelites were to make animal sacrifices in a way that would not profane "A holy thing of the Lord", they were to do it in a way that would earn his approval. That should drive us to want to please Jehovah and offer him a sacrifice of praise that is acceptable to him, such as the one mentioned in Hebrews 13:15 of offering the fruit of our lips, that is, preaching.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
For example, in verses 5 to 8 and 21 and 22 they talk about certain sacrifices that the Israelites could make, but for example in 58 it says if they make a sacrifice of peace or if they offer sacrifices of peace to Jehovah, sacrifice it in a way that earn his bone approval that making sacrifices had to be done in a specific way as shown in the following verses and this is related to our worship of Jehovah in the way that we make sacrifices to him so that he accept.
And now in Hebrews 13:15 the sacrifices are already related in the Christian era that we would have to make sacrifices of praise and they are related to the fruit of lips like this when we express that public declaration of his name either in the meetings or preaching because it is something that Jehovah likes a lot and even more so when perhaps in times like these that we are living that the meetings are by videoconference because it cannot be a little more effort to comment to encourage others due to the same tiredness that we could have but Jehovah values much more that effort we make to give Him praise.
Yes, this sacrifice of praise also includes the prayers that we make to Jehovah or, as has been commented, those expressions of faith that we can do now in the meetings at the end is something that no one else can do for us and it is an opportunity for us to reflect that gratitude that we have for him.
We observe all the instructions that Jehovah gave in Leviticus, for example, Leviticus chapter 19, we see that he did not leave the sacrifices to chance, but rather established a procedure, a framework in which to make each sacrifice. Likewise, today we have some sacrifices, some prayers, our prayers our comments that we should not leave to chance have a framework and we must think about it and meditate on it before carrying it out so that in this way we thank Jehovah.
16. What principle in Leviticus 19 reminds us that those who serve God are different from other people?
The principle of Leviticus 19:19 says in part, "Do not put on a garment made of two kinds of thread mixed together." This detail of the law made it clear that the Israelites were different from the nations around them. This does not mean that Christians are prohibited from wearing clothes that mix fabrics or threads, rather, it is emphasized that we should not resemble people in their practices or behaviors that are against what the Bible teaches. We must always remember that if we want to be saints, it is essential that we are "separated for God" no matter if our classmates, work or family pressure us.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
In Leviticus 19:19 he mentioned the law that they will not use 2 different threads in their garment since that would be different from the other nations because we still do not want to resemble the people of this world with our way of acting or of behave because that goes against what Jehovah teaches us in his word the Bible and it is also true that sometimes we have to make important decisions and we do not want to be noticed that we are different but that we are true servants of Jehovah.
And this detail that the paragraph mentions is very interesting because if we think of the Egyptians, the Assyrians were famous or easy to identify because they dressed in a certain way or their makeup was something that characterized them and because they attracted attention, the Israelites were quite the opposite. it was always like because of his clothes he didn't like to attract attention they went unnoticed, because in that sense the application could also do for us if they compared us with someone in the world we are known for following these fashions or for really going unnoticed trying not to call the pay attention to ourselves how the Israelites did.
And this very much fits part of the definition of what it means to be holy and holiness, which is to be separated for the service of God, so that's why we keep ourselves separated from the world because for the world we could not serve God.
And it is essential that it be so that the difference is clearly seen, the first quote from Peter 4:3 and 4 and at the end of verse 4 says that they are referring to people who do not follow Jehovah's rules, they are surprised that we do not follow them in that same lifestyle they are surprised it is so evident so clearly that they are surprised that we are different and above all we want to do that to please our father Jehovah even if that means being different.
17, 18. What valuable lesson does Leviticus 19:23-25 teach us?
The law made the Israelites understand that their needs did not come first and that they should trust Jehovah to provide what they needed if they gave priority to his service. He also reminded them to make generous donations to the shrine. So the lesson for us is the same, we must trust that Jehovah will take care of us and provide us with what we need. In addition, we must be generous and contribute to cover the expenses of the congregation, if we do so, “our father, who watches in secret, will not pay it”.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Well, very interesting when someone planted a fruit tree, he mentions that you could not eat its fruit for 3 years and the fourth year all the product that was taken was reserved for the sanctuary of God and it was not until the fifth year that you could eat the fruit. fruit of that tree so the lesson they learned was that their needs did not come first and they should learn to trust in Jehovah.
The curious thing about this is that when we think of fruit trees, the truth is that in most of them during the first three years they barely produce fruit, it is not significant, it is from the fourth year when in reality they have a harvest that is really worthwhile, but that it was not for its owner either, as it says, it was to give it to Jehovah, he mentioned verse 24 to give it to him with joy, so it was not crying as if to say it is not my turn yet, but it was a joy for them to be able to grab that harvest and give it to Jehovah, that it showed that they had complete confidence in Jehovah that he would take care of them.
And verse 25 mentioned that that fifth year the fruit was already given to Jehovah, it says so the fruit of his harvest increased, we see how in reality Jehovah was the one who was going to provide him with everything he needed and that they were not going to have a lack but that Jehovah He was going to give them abundance for being obedient.
ILLUSTRATION:
What should the Israelites have learned from the words of Leviticus 19:23-25, and what lesson do you learn? (See paragraphs 17 and 18). *
We can see the Israelite seeing the fruit that is coming out of these trees there he also has his basket to collect but surely this must be the fourth year because he is going to start collecting to give it to Jehovah and we see it in his face as if meditating on what he has surely read in the law what he has read in Leviticus and what we can see in his face is that he expresses joy and satisfaction in being able to do it.
19. How has your analysis of this portion of Leviticus benefited you?
He has taught us several things we can do to be holy like Jehovah. It also teaches us that being made in his image and likeness, we have the potential to cultivate holiness, so we should strive to be holy in all our conduct.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Making me see that holiness is not something so high that it is inaccessible to imperfect human beings and that in reality it is demonstrated not by the appearance how perhaps some religions have us accustomed but by our behavior.
One thing we have also learned is that our conduct has a positive effect on people, so the more we strive for godly conduct, the people watching us from the outside can come to worship Jehovah.
WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?
What is it to be holy?
Basically, it refers to “the person who is morally and religiously clean and set apart to serve God,” meaning that he worships Jehovah as he expects and has a close relationship with him.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
We saw what holy or separate clean means to God and as we have discussed we will be holy if we are morally clean if we worship Jehovah as he expects and if we have a close friendship with him.
What lessons from Leviticus chapter 19 help us to be holy in our conduct?
For example, that of honoring and respecting parents, so we should strive to spend time with them and do more for them. We must also “respect the Sabbath” that is, dedicate a certain time to serving Jehovah such as using “the fruit of our lips” that is preaching.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
In verse 3 right after saying they have to be holy because I, Jehovah your God, am holy because they talked about respecting parents because they could have talked about another point about another point about being clean a moral sense if not Moses spoke about respecting parents well We see the importance of this point.
Also in the same verse 3 he talks about respecting the Sabbath, we stay with the principle of setting aside a day to set aside time to be able to dedicate it to spiritual matters.
What things must we do if we want to strengthen our friendship with Jehovah?
Christians must be different from the world, therefore, it is essential that we are "separated for God" no matter if our classmates, work or family pressure us. In addition, we must put our service to Jehovah first and trust that He will take care of us and provide what is necessary, we must also be generous and contribute to cover the expenses of the congregation.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Well, obey the advice he gives us, not do anything that stains his holy name, be willing to show that we are different and put Jehovah first when making decisions in our lives and understand that the glory of Jehovah ahead of our glory.
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