God Desires Our Very Best

Leviticus 20:26, 21:8, 22:20

"You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine."(Leviticus 20:26)

I want to begin today with one simple question.

"What exactly am I offering to God?"

Leviticus 22:20 declares: "You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you."

God will not receive a blemished offering.

Leviticus chapters 20 to 22 press towards one consistent theme: drawing near to God is never something to be approached carelessly. Chapter 20 speaks of the cost of holiness, chapter 21 of its standard, and chapter 22 of its expression. And all three repeat the same reason: "I am the LORD."

In Leviticus 21, the priests are held to a far higher standard than the ordinary people. Apart from their immediate family, they may not even touch a corpse, and the very way they express grief is restricted. Why would God demand standards that appear so severe?

Chapter 21 verse 8 answers: "You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy."

The nearer one draws to God, the higher the standard required. This is not the severity of a cold and distant God. It is a revelation of how utterly glorious His holiness is. The closer you move to the flame, the more intensely you feel its heat. The nearer you stand to a king's throne, the more composed you must be. A life of drawing near to God is not a life that grows more comfortable — it is a life that grows ever more pure.

Coming before God is not a matter of outward form. It requires a prepared heart and a life made clean.

We must ask ourselves honestly: what am I actually bringing to God? Is it my very best — or merely what is left over?

The prohibition on blemished offerings in Leviticus 22 is not merely a regulation about animal sacrifice. It is a word addressed to our worship, our time, our devotion, and our prayer today. We so often bring God our leftover time. Our leftover energy. Our leftover money. We arrive at worship having spent the whole week on ourselves — weary in body, scattered in mind — and we assume that this will do.

Yet through Leviticus, God says plainly: "I will not receive what is blemished."

This is precisely where Leviticus 20:26 speaks again: "I have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine."

Why does God demand the unblemished? Not to condemn us, but because we belong to Him. The Hebrew word translated "separated," badal (בָּדַל), means to cut away and set apart. God has cut us out from the world and claimed us as His own.

This is the deepest meaning of holiness. Holiness is not a list of rules. Holiness is the expression of a relationship. I belong to God — therefore I must live in a manner worthy of Him.

The reason we can live a blameless life has nothing to do with our own moral strength. It is because of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us — and because the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb without blemish, has made us clean.

Historians record that as the Roman Empire moved past its peak, the offerings brought to its temples grew increasingly poor. Only the sick, the aged, and the worthless animals were presented to the gods. The finest was kept for themselves; what remained was given to the divine.

Scholars identify this as one mark of Rome's spiritual decline. We must examine ourselves with equal candour. When faith is merely religion rather than relationship, a person will inevitably offer God the leftovers — what remains of their time, their finances, their energy. So let me ask: in your life right now, what comes first — what you give to God, or what you keep for yourself?

Leviticus chapters 20 to 22 make three declarations to us today.

First, holiness carries a cost. As chapter 20 makes clear, to resolve to live as the people of God means a decisive break with the ways of the world. It is not the easy road.

Second, the closer you draw to God, the higher the standard becomes. As chapter 21 shows, spiritual maturity does not mean growing more at ease — it means growing ever more pure.

Third, God desires our very best. As chapter 22 declares, a life that offers only the unblemished — that is the life of one who truly belongs to God.

And where is the fulfilment of all this? In John 1:29, John the Baptist cried out: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" The unblemished offering that Leviticus demanded was, all along, pointing to Jesus Christ. The perfect sacrifice that we could never bring — God brought it Himself. On the cross.

Therefore we do not stand under condemnation. But precisely because we stand under grace, we long all the more to live a blameless life — offering not what remains, but the very finest and the very best; living as those who are set apart, as those who truly belong to God. That is what Leviticus asks of us today.

"You shall not offer anything that has a blemish." (Leviticus 22:20)

May these words renew our dedication before God today. Amen.