Pointing to Jesus

Exodus 31:12-14a- And the Lord said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath because it is holy for you.

Leviticus 20:7-8-Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

Jehovah M’Kaddesh is another one of God’s names, and it means the Lord who sanctifies. In the above verses, God was speaking to the Israelites through Moses, giving them instructions on how they were to conduct their lives.

Sanctification is a process in which God purifies, cleanses, and consecrates, changing us from the inside out. It’s a lifelong process of becoming holy and more and more like Him.  It’s realizing that He wants us to be set apart from the world and live differently.

When God was speaking to the Israelites through Moses in Exodus and Leviticus, He was giving them these instructions on how they were to live because He wanted them to be different from the other nations around them who were not living the right way. He wanted them to look different, act differently, and live differently. These specific instructions were given so that they could be distinguished from the other nations. The Israelites were God’s chosen people who God wanted to live set apart lives for Him.

Just like the Israelites, God wants the same for us and from us.  God is the One who sanctifies us, but we also have to do our part, which is surrender and submit to His will and His ways. The more we surrender and submit to God, the more progress we will make in living a sanctified, holy life.  We are looking for progress, not perfection. Here are some more verses that talk about being sanctified.

Romans 6:22– But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

Ephesians 1:4 a-Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.

I Peter 1:15,16– But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

I John 3:3- And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Remember, this is a lifelong process. After salvation, sanctification is the next step, but we will never be fully sanctified until glorification when Jesus comes to take us home with Him. We strive for progress, not perfection. The only perfect One is our Jehovah M’Kaddesh- the Lord who Sanctifies.

Many blessings,

Desiree