“Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!” (1 Chron 16:29).
Holy! Six times in six verses (Lev 6:25-30) we are told that everything pertaining to the sin offering must be holy. The sin offering was “most holy” (v 25). The flesh of the animal was then food for the priests, but must be eaten “in a holy place” (v 26), the tabernacle court. “Everyone who touches its flesh must be holy” (v 27), and if blood splattered on the priest’s garment, it didn’t go to the cleaner’s: “you shall wash that on which it was sprinkled, in a holy place” (v 27). A clay pot used to cook it must never be used again: “The earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken” (v 28). We get the picture. All involved in this were never to think lightly of sin. “Fools mock at sin” (Prov 14:9), as do TV hosts, late-night comedians, rap musicians, country singers, and some politicians. But God’s people must never do this because God said, “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet 1:16). Holiness is more an attitude than a condition, standing with God against sin and condemning it, especially when it’s in my own heart. Holiness is the path to true happiness—stress-free, conscience-cleared living. It’s blue sky between your soul and God! Following the law of the sin offering, we come again to the trespass offering. Although the emphasis is not so much on the guilt of sin against God (as with the sin offering), but on the damage that our sin has caused to others, and in restoring such relationships, nevertheless, “The trespass offering is like the sin offering; there is one law for them both” (Lev 7:7). Again, along with the meal offering, we are reminded, “it is most holy” (v 1). Christ’s perfect humanity and perfect sacrifice must never be questioned, ironically the two places where cults attack—His person and work. Yes, “It is most holy” (v 6).