Read Leviticus 19
Background: God has been making it very clear how He wanted (and wants) His people to approach Him in worship: with Holiness. He had also shown how the priests could assist His people in worship and shown examples of how they could mess things up. He next gave ways that keeping His law and worshipping Him appropriately intersect. He began with a few of the Ten Commandments, pointing out that those who failed to keep them would be "cut off." (We'll see more on that tomorrow in chapter 20.) He then chose some specific examples of ways to practically show Holiness in how one lives. After talking about giving the poor opportunity to gain access to food, being honest in business, not oppressing one's neighbor, and making sure they did their part to make sure justice was served in court, He summarized things by making the statement from the Old Testament which is quoted more than any other in the New
Key verses:17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Thoughts: Simply put: God's people were to show love toward one another: that is the mark of holiness. God then goes on to give more examples of personal living: not mixing animals or materials, not abusing servants, making restitution, not turning to mediums, respecting elders, caring for strangers, not eating blood. At the core of it all was this: "you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord."
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