I Am the LORD

Scripture Reading: Leviticus 24-25; Psalm 47

One of the statements repeated throughout Leviticus—and found in other parts of Scripture—is "For I am the LORD." We see this, for example, in Leviticus 25:17. Typically, it follows a command or instruction from God, providing the why behind His directives.

But this isn’t just a divine "Because I said so." While God would be perfectly just in saying that, I believe this statement is something deeper. It’s a declaration that morality itself is rooted in who He is. This aligns with what Christian apologists call the Moral Argument for God.

We all recognize that some things are truly right and wrong. Love is better than hate. Helping the weak is better than harming them. Justice is better than injustice. These aren’t just personal opinions or cultural preferences—they are objective truths.

But where do these moral truths come from? If the universe is just a product of chance, and we are merely advanced animals, then morality is nothing more than a human invention—rules we made up, like a game that could be changed at any time. If that were true, then kindness and cruelty would be equally valid choices, depending only on what society happens to prefer.

Yet, deep down, we all know that morality is more than that. We don’t just feel that things like murder and slavery are wrong—we know they are. This points to the reality that moral laws must come from something beyond us, something higher than human opinions. Just as laws require a lawgiver, moral laws require a source—God Himself.

Without God, morality has no solid foundation. But because God exists, right and wrong are real, rooted in His unchanging character. Goodness, justice, and love are not arbitrary—they exist because they come from Him. That’s why Christianity makes sense: it explains why we instinctively recognize good and evil as real and not just subjective ideas.

So when the Lord declares, "For I am the LORD," He is revealing that morality is not random or self-created—it flows from His very nature.

Why do right? Why be moral?

Because God is the ultimate Reality, and all that is good and right stems from His character.