“You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD” (Ex. 28:36).
A golden plate fixed to the front of the turban, which the high priest wore about his head, bore the engraving “Holiness to the Lord.” By this signet, the priest was reminded that God is holy, and that His priests must be holy. This is a primary theme in Scripture, but sadly it is one that many people fail to consider. Our understanding of religion and of God Himself is clouded by worldliness rather than illuminated and lifted up by the holiness of God. The high priests, being sequestered from the world and separated from everything unclean, were never to forget the holiness of God. So important was it that God inscribed it on their foreheads as a reminder of His character and of what He requires from man.
So, all that attend God’s house, His church, must have “Holiness to the Lord” written on their foreheads. They must be holy and devoted to the Lord, purposing to live for His glory in all they do. This must appear on their foreheads, as an open profession of their relation to God, as those who are not ashamed to live by it and to answer the world according to it. The engraving must be deep and lasting, sincere and durable, even when we suffer for His holy name.
In this way, the priest was a type of Christ, the great Mediator between God and man. Through Him, we can come before God’s holy presence without fear of judgment. The Law is strict and demands that we be clean when we come into His presence. But despite our sin, we are welcome because Christ has borne our iniquity and we are accepted as holy because of His name.
This does not mean that we remain passive in our service to God. We are accepted before His throne on account of the holiness of Christ, but He has given us His Spirit who transforms us into the image of Christ by His power. We, then, must be striving to put away our sinful ways and to pursue holiness. This should be a daily goal: to be holy before the Lord. Holiness means separation. If we want to be holy unto the Lord, we cannot be friends with the world. We must be different and set apart for the service of God. In this, we must not be ashamed, but we must walk boldly and with confidence as the world mocks us because of our profession. But though the world despise us, we will be accepted by the Lord.
Read and meditate on Psalm 47:8; 48:1; 86:2; and 93:5. How often do you think about the holiness of God? How consciously do you pursue holiness every day? What does it mean to be holy before the Lord? Pray today that you will revere God’s holiness and strive to be holy even as He is holy.
