Drawing Near: The Journey to Holiness

Devotional

Day 1: Without cleansing, we cannot enter God's presence.

God longs to dwell with His people, yet unaddressed impurity keeps us on the outside looking in—just as Moses could not enter the tent when God’s glory filled it. The good news is that God provides a way from “outside” to “inside,” moving from hearing Him “from the tent” to being “in the tent,” but that approach requires cleansing and preparation. Today, name honestly what keeps you standing at a distance—shame, apathy, hidden sin, or spiritual numbness—and bring it before Him as you begin. He invites you nearer, but not casually; approach Him with reverence and readiness to be made clean. [05:17]

Exodus 40:35 (NIV)
Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Reflection: What concrete step will you take today to move from “outside” to “inside” with God—perhaps pausing to take off your shoes and pray Exodus 3:5 before a time of prayer, asking Him to cleanse and welcome you closer?

Day 2: Be holy by drawing near the Holy One.

Holiness is not achieved by avoiding bad things but by drawing near to the Holy God whose presence makes places and people holy—like fire that warms more intensely the closer you come. In Israel’s camp, “outside” was unclean, “inside” was clean, and the center was holy; proximity mattered, and so did removing what carried death’s contamination—symbolized by sandals made from leather. Choose to come close today: set aside time to be with God, strip away distractions that rake death across your soul, and let His nearness remake you. [09:07]

Leviticus 19:2 (NIV)
“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.’”

Reflection: What specific distraction, habit, or “sandals of death” will you remove for 15 minutes today so you can sit quietly with God and invite His holiness to reshape you?

Day 3: Blood represents life that cleanses death's contamination.

Leviticus teaches that blood represents life, and life covers death; that is why blood makes atonement—it is God’s gift to overcome the stain of mortality and corruption that we inevitably pick up in a fallen world. Unclean is not always the same as sinful, but contact with death’s reality still requires cleansing, and God has provided it. In Jesus, the true life-giving blood cleanses and enlivens; come to Him today and ask His life to wash what death has touched in you—fear, despair, bitterness, or guilt—so you can draw near without dread. [12:57]

Leviticus 17:11 (NIV)
For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.

Reflection: Identify one place where “death” has touched your week (grief, shame, cynicism, hard-heartedness); will you ask Jesus specifically to cover that place with His life today, even praying aloud, “Jesus, cleanse this with Your blood”?

Day 4: Confession brings us into the light for cleansing.

Walking with God is not automatic; the blood of Jesus “purifies us” as we walk in the light—naming reality, confessing sin, and refusing the secrecy of darkness. Confession is the God-ordained way to bring contamination into His presence so His life can cleanse; it is an ongoing process for those who belong to Him. Come into the light today: tell the truth to God, and if needed, to a trusted believer, and receive—not earn—His faithful forgiveness and purification. [20:18]

1 John 1:5-9 (NIV)
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Reflection: What is one specific sin or secret you have kept in the dark—will you write it down, confess it to God, and then tell a trusted Christian today so you can tangibly step into the light and receive cleansing?

Day 5: We respond actively while God makes us holy.

Scripture holds together both our response and God’s action: we consecrate ourselves and obey, and the Lord is the One who makes us holy. Grace is free, yet “some assembly is required”—faith engages the process of approaching, confessing, obeying, and abiding so His holiness can shape us. Today, choose a concrete act of obedience you’ve delayed, do it dependent on Jesus’ cleansing, and trust Him to do what only He can: make you holy. [19:45]

Leviticus 20:7-8 (NIV)
“Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy.”

Reflection: What one clear command or Spirit-prompted act of obedience have you been postponing—will you do it today, explicitly praying, “Lord, I consecrate myself; You make me holy as I obey”?

Sermon Summary

Leviticus invites us into the heart of God’s desire to dwell with us. From Genesis through Exodus, the story moves from Eden—where humanity walked with God—to exile, slavery, and then to Sinai, where God’s presence comes to rest in the tabernacle at the center of the camp. But even with the tent built and God’s glory present, Moses can’t enter. Leviticus answers that problem: how outsiders become insiders, how a holy God lives with an unholy people. The book’s center of gravity is this: Yahweh is holy, and to live close to Him we must become holy. Holiness in Scripture is not mainly about avoiding the “bad stuff,” but about drawing near to the God who is “other,” the living fire whose nearness consecrates.

Holiness is about proximity. The closer you move toward God, the “hotter” it gets—like the gradations from outside the camp (unclean), to inside the camp (clean), to the holy place, to the Holy of Holies. This is why Moses had to remove his sandals at the burning bush; you don’t carry the markers of death and decay into holy space. Leviticus gives Israel a system—offerings, priestly mediation, purity practices—so the stain of mortality and moral corruption can be covered and cleansed. Blood, in Scripture, represents life. Applied as God commanded, it “atones”—it covers death the way light overcomes darkness. The surprising point is that sacrifice is not a mere moment of slaughter; it is a process culminating in the application of blood. That framing helps us understand the cross: Jesus’ blood gives life to cleanse us, but we still must come, confess, and receive.

So what now? In Christ, God’s presence has come to dwell with and within us. Salvation is pure grace, but faith is an engaged response—walking into the light, confessing, receiving ongoing cleansing. As we abide in Jesus, His life purifies and His holiness changes us. Leviticus’ call stands: “Be holy, for I am holy.” God Himself makes us holy as we remain near. We come to the tent—to the Lord—by the blood of Jesus, and we keep coming, until the day God is all in all and dwelling is complete.

Key Takeaways

1. Holiness is about proximity before it’s about performance. Like heat from a fire, holiness radiates from God; we are transformed by nearness, not merely by avoiding wrongdoing. The invitation is to draw near—to remove our “sandals,” the marks of death—and let His presence consecrate us. Nearness is the pathway; obedience is the fruit. [08:31]
2. Blood cleanses because blood is life. In biblical logic, death contaminates and life conquers death; that’s why atonement “covers” corruption and restores access. Modern distance from sacrifice can dull how visceral grace is: cleansing is costly, embodied, and given by Another’s life. Jesus’ blood isn’t poetry; it is life poured out to make us alive. [12:57]
3. Sacrifice is a process, not a point. In Leviticus, cleansing doesn’t occur at the kill but when the blood is applied after obedient steps of approach; participation matters. This reframes the cross: grace is finished in Christ, yet we step into it by faith, repentance, and ongoing reception. Salvation is free; formation still costs us our consent and our nearness. [16:20]
4. Walking in the light is the New Covenant way of sacrifice. We can still be contaminated by darkness, and the way back is confession and fellowship in His presence. The blood of Jesus “purifies” in the present tense as we keep bringing truth into the light. Ongoing cleansing is not doubt of salvation; it’s the rhythm of communion. [20:18]
5. God commands holiness and supplies it. “Make yourselves holy…for I am the Lord who makes you holy” holds together our response and His action. Our part is to come, remain, and receive; His part is to purify, enliven, and transform. Abiding nearness is how His holiness becomes our lived reality—and our hope until He is all in all. [19:45]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:52] - Why Leviticus matters (and why it’s hard)
[02:45] - From Eden to Sinai: God’s plan to dwell with us
[05:17] - From “outside” to “inside”: Leviticus opens the tent
[07:41] - “Be holy, for I am holy”: the central question
[08:31] - Burning bush and sandals: proximity creates holiness
[09:07] - Holiness radiates like fire: the camp’s concentric circles
[11:05] - Why we need sacrifice to approach God
[12:17] - Why sacrifice feels strange to us today
[12:57] - Blood as life: how atonement cleanses death
[16:20] - Sacrifice as process, not a moment
[19:45] - Is Leviticus still relevant after Jesus?
[20:18] - Walking in the light: confession and present purification
[22:30] - Abide and be made holy; Maranatha hope

Sermon Clips

you see, this holiness and proximity idea in the tabernacle and camp is clearly illustrated and seen.right outside the camp of the Israelites is the world it's unclean it's the world of death as you move now inside it gets clean inside the camp is a clean place and when you move towards the middle of the camp where the tent of meeting is it gets holy ground and then of course the center of the tent is the holy of holies the closer you get the more holy it gets holiness and God go together holiness and proximity go together [00:09:31] (43 seconds) #CampToHolyOfHolies

have to engage with and believe unto and likewise the blood is still something you have to claim for yourself in the blood of christ in this case yes salvation is freely offered by grace but faith is a process a journey a response or to say this a bit more uh flippantly you get that billy shelf from ikea for free as it were but some assembly is still required and it can be a bit frustrating you see we have this idea that salvation that sacrifice is automatic but that's what we learn here in the viticus that's not true [00:20:23] (43 seconds) #SalvationRequiresEngagement

``he makes us holy and so you have to engage with this awkwardprocess of confessing and repenting so that you can be sprinkled with his purifying blood you see we cannot make ourselves godly we cannot make ourselves holy only god can do that what it takes is to remain to abide close to him and to allow him to be your holiness let the fire heat you up and make you glow with his radiance but for that you have to come via the blood of jesus who cleanses you overcomes the death and bondage in you who has bought us by his blood the one who then will enliven you [00:24:29] (45 seconds) #AbideAndBeMadeHoly

and there will be a day where we'll be in the full presence of yahweh of the lord when we won't need a tabernacle and temple and sacrifice anymore in the new world where god will be with us and we with god when the shadow and prototype of leviticus the waypoint the temporal will have come into its fullness and god will be with us and we will be all he will be all in all [00:25:14] (33 seconds) #NewCreationPresence

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

What makes proximity to God holy?

How does cleansing by blood work in Leviticus?

Why is sacrifice a process rather than a moment?