Confession: I am reading through the Bible and have been in Leviticus for a week or two. This has been, as you might suspect, the hardest book of the Bible for me to walk through. It’s so easy for me to just say, “This doesn’t even matter anymore. Jesus paid it all. Can’t I just move on?”

So this morning it struck me as I was glazing over Leviticus 14, “The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed…” Anyone else feel my pain here? The struggle is real. As I was inwardly murmuring and faking my way through another time of Bible reading it hit me, “Am I even slightly impressed with the holiness of God?”

God’s chosen people, the Israelites, weren’t murmuring and faking their way through these rituals.  Those who were pursuing God must have been blown away by the opportunity to walk in relationship with a God so holy, so righteous, so mighty, so perfect. Now contrast the perfection, wisdom, and eternality of this holy God with the imperfection, lack of wisdom, and finite existence of man. It should wreck us that God would stoop down to speak with and listen to His people.

As I continued to reflect on the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament with this in view, the Holy Spirit stirred my heart to long for a right view of God. I want to tremble over the holiness of God. I want to weep over my sin. I want to cry over the lavish mercy and grace poured out for sinners like me through the terrible cross of Jesus Christ.

So whether it’s Leviticus or Romans, Numbers or Ephesians, may we tremble as we read God’s Word and stand in awe once again over the relationship God invites us into through Jesus Christ our Lord.