Holy, Holy, Holy (Leviticus 11:44,45)

“For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44a).

When holiness is ascribed to the Lord, it does not signify one single, definite attribute. The term actually bears a more general character, having to do with God’s divinity, with who He is and how He relates to His creation. A. W. Tozer wrote, “We cannot grasp the true meaning of the divine holiness by thinking of someone or something very pure and then raising the concept to the highest degree we are capable of. God’s holiness is not simply the best we know, infinitely better. We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. Only the Spirit of the Holy One can impart to the human spirit the knowledge of the holy.”

When Isaiah received his call to be a prophet of God, he beheld a vision of seraphim before the throne of God, singing, “Holy, holy, holy.” This is the only three-fold repetition of an attribute of God in the entire Scripture. The repetition was given for emphasis, as if the word “holy” were underlined or followed by several exclamation points. God’s holiness is stressed because He alone is truly holy, for there is no one like Him in heaven or on earth. He stands alone, as Tozer said, unique and incomprehensible. Even in our glorified state, we will still stand in awe of God because He is so holy, set apart from His creation because of who He is.

God calls His people to be holy. He does so because He wants His people to be like Him. He wants there to be a difference between us and the world, just as there is a difference between Him and the world. It is because of this holiness, this separateness, that Christians must strive to be different from the world. If we look at ourselves in the mirror and see that there isn’t a great deal of difference between us and our pagan neighbors, we’ve got a problem. If we are called His people, then we must reflect His holiness in our lives. That means that we can’t do the same things the world does. We can’t set our minds on earthly desires, on the things that are corrupt and which pass away. Our thoughts should be more transcendent because our God is high and lofty, because our God is holy. Even though we live in the world, our life should be rooted in God, not the world itself. We must be holy even as He is holy.

If you compared your activities, your thoughts, your priorities, and your values to those of an unbeliever, what would be the main differences? Are there more similarities than you might care to admit? Examine your life today and ask yourself, “How can I be holy even as God is holy?”

The Holy Place (Jeremiah 5:20-25)

“Do you not fear Me?” says the LORD. “Will you not tremble at My presence, who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?” (Jer. 5:22a).

Augustine wrote an interesting and insightful passage about coming into the presence of God. He said, “What is that which gleams through me and smites my heart without wounding it? I am both a-shudder and a-glow, a-shudder insofar as I am unlike it, a-glow insofar as I am like it.” As Augustine reflected on this question concerning the holiness of God, he seemed to have an ambivalence about it. He was both captivated by it, yet frightened by it. To come into the presence of the Most Holy God created a deep sense of fear and trembling in Augustine. This fear sprang from the realization that God is different from us, that He is above and beyond us, separate and holy, that He is pure while we are sinful. Yet, despite this difference, we find comfort in Him because He is our Creator and we are like Him.

The normal human response to the holiness of God is this kind of ambivalence. That which is sacred both attracts and repels us. This tension can send confusing signals to the person who wants to know God, but who is afraid to approach Him. We can only understand this ambivalence when we consider the vast difference between God and man. He is holy, we aren’t. He is transcendent, we are earthly.

When we think of the holiness of God, it is so beyond our comprehension that we find it difficult to handle emotionally and to grasp intellectually. God is so different from us that, while we are drawn to Him, we hesitate to come into His presence. When we read the Scriptures, we see this time and again with those who approached the Lord in worship. Awed and captivated by the purity and glory of God, they approached with a deep sense of need and devotion. Yet, at the same time, they approached with reverence, with fear, and with trembling. Moses understood what it meant to be standing on holy ground, to come into the presence of something so totally other that it was beyond his imagining. Isaiah understood what it meant to behold the holiness of God, and his response was one of self-deprecating humility.

We live in a culture that is longing to come into the presence of something that is alien, that is different from ourselves, that is above us. Sadly, our society is looking in all the wrong places when it should be looking in the most holy place of all, to God Himself.

Do you know what it means to experience the kind of tension that Augustine experienced in his relationship with God? Does the holiness of the Lord both attract and repel you? If so, this is not unusual. You should tremble before the Lord, yet this should not keep you from Him. Go to Him today, reverently but confidently.

The Lord Sanctifies (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).

The word holy, as we have learned from our study of Exodus, refers to persons and objects that have been set apart from their common sphere and placed in a particular relation to God. The root of the Hebrew word for holiness means “to separate,” and therefore indicates apartness or separateness. In Exodus 3:5, the ground is called “holy” because it has been set apart for God’s service. Throughout Exodus, we read of holy assemblies, sabbaths, coats, fields, censers, bread, and various other items set apart from common use.

In each of these cases, the word “holy” does not signify an ethical attribute, but indicates that the objects and persons are consecrated unto the Lord and to His service. This relationship, of course, is not sustained by the objects and persons themselves, but is maintained by God. Because of sin, all of creation is separated from God, and so by nature we are opposed to Him. Therefore, all of creation is profane and unfit for His service and for communion with Him. Only by His sanctifying power can anything be made fit to serve Him. This is accomplished by the Holy Spirit, who is represented by the anointing oil in the tabernacle. Only when this oil was spread over all the objects were they considered “holy.”

Fallen human beings are unable to sanctify themselves. No matter how much they wash themselves, they cannot make themselves pure and undefiled. God made this point to Israel when He said that, though they wash themselves with soap, they will not be clean. Only the Lord Himself can wash us and make us fit to come into His presence. David recognized this when he prayed in Psalm 51 for the Lord to wash him and make him clean, then and only then would he know the joy of God’s salvation.

God sanctifies. It was He who sanctified the nation of Israel, the priests, the temple, and the altar. He was the one who chose the men who would serve Him, and He was the one who declared, “I am the LORD who sanctifies you” (Ex. 31:13). Those whom God sanctifies are chosen from among others, separated unto Him, and dedicated to His service by certain regulations. He separated the people of Israel by choosing them from all the nations of the earth, by making a covenant with them, and by giving them His laws to obey.

If you cannot sanctify yourself, how can you hope to be pure enough to please God? Do you rely on your good works, or on the righteousness of Christ to be approved by God? Though God sanctifies you, as one set apart for His service, you are to obey His laws. What then is the relation between personal obedience and holiness?

The Holiness of God (Isaiah 6:1-5)

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isa. 6:3b).

The artisans constructed a golden crown to be placed on Aaron’s head with the inscription “Holiness to the LORD.” This signified that Aaron and his household were set apart for the Lord’s service. This same designation is given to all within the household of believers, for they are called the “holy ones” of God, set apart from the world and brought into His family. Those who have been called into God’s service reflect His character, of which the attribute of holiness is primary. Because of the emphasis Scripture gives to this moral attribute of God, we will spend the next ten days taking an in-depth look at the holiness of God.

The most common definition of the holiness of God is “purity, free from every stain, completely and thoroughly perfect and immaculate in every detail.” This definition would certainly reflect the care and attention given to the construction of the tabernacle. The perfection of the tabernacle reflected the perfection and purity of God.

The concept of holiness, however, is not meant to be merely an abstraction. It is generally accepted that holiness indicates not only an essential divine quality, but God’s relation to the world, though not everyone agrees on the exact nature of the relation. Some theologians see it as God’s condescending goodness or grace. This would certainly apply to passages like Hosea 11:9, “I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I am God, and not man, the Holy One in your midst; and I will not come with terror;” and Isaiah 57:15, “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.’ ”

Others maintain that God’s holiness expresses His absolute transcendence and power over His creatures. Passages such as Jeremiah 17:12 and Isaiah 63:15 suggest this meaning: “A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary;” and “Look down from heaven, and see from Your habitation, holy and glorious.” Such a definition appeals to God’s inapproachability and consuming majesty, which would also be reflected in the construction of the tabernacle with its Most Holy Place and its inner and outer courts.

What does it mean to you that you worship a holy God? According to the Scriptures, how does this bear on the way you should approach the Lord in worship? If you are the image-bearer of God, how should your life reflect the holiness of God? Spend some time today meditating on God’s holiness.

Clothed in Humility (Exodus 39:1-31)

"Of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread they made garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses" (Ex. 39:1).

The garments of the priests were called the “clothes of service.” Those that wear robes of honor must look upon them as clothes of service, for those who are given the highest honor are expected to serve the most. It is written that those arrayed in white robes stand “before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple” (Rev. 7:13, 15). Matthew Henry comments, “Holy garments were not made for men to sleep in, or to strut in, but to do service in; and then they are indeed for glory and beauty.” The Son of Man, who veiled His majesty for a season, did not come to be served, but to serve. We can do no less as priests in the kingdom of grace. If we expect honor from the Lord, we must be willing to be the least, to come last, and to serve even the lowliest among us.

As New Testament believers, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, we often take too much pride in ourselves. The church is filled with arrogance, with boastful ambition and pride, as we exalt our own greatness over the weakness of our brothers. Too often, we are more concerned about our own recognition than about the status of others. We want to be noticed, to be exalted, to be praised for our good deeds, for our God-given abilities and talents, and even for our own testimony of His grace. What folly this is! Paul reprimands such attitudes in his letter to the Ephesians in which he reminds us that we have nothing of which to boast. We only deserve judgment and condemnation. We are almost nothing, empty and bereft of nobility and honor. Anything that we have is given to us by God’s grace. We have done nothing to earn that favor. We have nothing about which to boast.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:8–10). The robes we wear are the robes of Jesus Christ. The righteousness of which we boast is the righteousness of Christ. And the lives we are to live are to be consecrated unto God in holiness and in service to Him. There is no place for arrogance, ambition, or pride in the life of any Christian because we belong to Him. We are bought at a price for His glory and praise, not for our own.

Meditate on Ephesians 2:1–10. Think about the kind of person you were before you were saved. What do you really deserve? Of what do you have to boast? Confess your pride, your arrogance, and your selfish ambition today. Ask God to give you the grace to live humbly and to serve others.