Lev. 11:45 ‘For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
This verse is reminiscent of the first Commandment, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt…” We observe then that God’s bringing them out of the land of slavery, idolatry and Satanism proclaims His holiness. The very nature of God is sacred and holy; there is no other who is inherently holy. Therefore, to fully understand what holy means we also have to know who God is. First we should unearth the Hebrew roots of holy.
Godesh
6944. qodesh [871c]; from an unused word; apartness, sacredness; consecrated, sanctified.
Ex. 3:5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
Certainly God set that place apart from the rest of the terrain, and because He set it apart, it became holy, sacred and sanctified. Furthermore, removing one’s foot ware, like taking off one’s hat shows respect and reverence, demonstrates one’s unworthiness to stand in a place so profoundly consecrated and holy.
An analysis of holy in the above verse is:
“The word (qodesh, “holy”) indicates “set apart, distinct, unique.” What made a mountain or other place holy was the fact that God chose that place to reveal himself or to reside among his people. Because God was in this place, the ground was different – it was holy.” --Unknown
Ex. 15:11 “Who is like You among the gods, O LORD?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?
This first poem and psalm proclaims the eminence of God; it notes God’s majesty, a title of greatness for The Ruling Authority, defining His holiness; it notes God as the holy Creator who worked wonders.
Psa. 47:8 God reigns over the nations. God sits on His holy throne.
The previous verse reiterates God’s sovereignty as the one Ruler of all He created.
Lev. 22:32 ¶ “You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the LORD who sanctifies you,
God’s name is holy, which will be delved into in a later article. Additionally, God must be sanctified, set apart as the One who is The Holy One.
Psa. 98:1 O sing to the LORD a new song,
For He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
Psa. 108:7 God has spoken in His holiness:
“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem
And measure out the valley of Succoth.
Everything God says emanates from His holiness, which, therefore, makes the person who speaks His Words part of His holiness, when he proves His words by is deeds.
Is. 52:10 The LORD has bared His holy arm
In the sight of all the nations,
That all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.
While hordes of evil promoters and doers dominate the Earth, God’s salvation will succeed because of His holy power of righteousness as shown in the metaphor of “His holy arm.”
Qadash
6942. qadash [872d]; denom. vb. from 6944; to be set apart or consecrated:
Gen. 2:3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
Only God can make a day holy, no man or demon can. God made the Sabbath holy by resting from the work of creation. Being the only holy day, people keep the day holy by resting from their work, such as occupations and businesses.
An analysis holy in this verse is:
“The verb is usually translated “and sanctified it.” The Piel verb קִדֵּשׁ (qiddesh) means “to make something holy; to set something apart; to distinguish it.” On the literal level the phrase means essentially that God made this day different. But within the context of the Law, it means that the day belonged to God; it was for rest from ordinary labor, worship, and spiritual service. The day belonged to God.” Unknown.
Ex. 29:43 “I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory.
Is. 29:23 But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst,
They will sanctify My name;
Indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
People can only be holy when they conform to their true nature: made in the image of God. Then His manifested sanctity glorifies them.
Qadad
6915. qadad [869a]; a prim. root; to bow down:
Neh. 8:6 Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Those who receive God as holy will worship Him.
Qedumim
6917. qedumim [870c]; from the same as 6924a; perh. ancient:
This root sound has no verses, which talk of God being the ancient of days or eternal One.
Qadosh
6918. qadosh [872c]; from the same as 6944; sacred, holy:
Psa. 111:9 He has sent redemption to His people;
He has ordained His covenant forever;
Holy and awesome is His name.
Is. 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
“I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
Mic. 7:18 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity
And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession?
He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in unchanging love.
Mic. 7:19 He will again have compassion on us;
He will tread our iniquities under foot.
Yes, You will cast all their sins
Into the depths of the sea.
Our holy Father, after the great fall from grace by Adam and Eve, continued to redeem His People.
Hos. 11:9 I will not execute My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim again.
For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in wrath.
Qedem
6924a. qedem [869c]; from an unused word; front, east, formerly: eternal, everlasting, old.
Psa. 44:1 O God, we have heard with our ears,
Our fathers have told us
The work that You did in their days,
In the days of old.
Psa. 68:33 To Him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, He speaks forth with His voice, a mighty voice.
Psa. 74:12 Yet God is my king from of old,
Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.
The root sound connected with qedumim, above, demonstrates the relationship between God’s eternal nature and His holiness.
Qol
6963. qol [876d]; from an unused word; sound, voice:
Gen. 26:5 because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.”
Gen. 22:18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Ex. 15:26 And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.”
Ex. 19:5 ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;
The final root sound relates God’s holiness to what He says. All His words are holy and His commands bring holiness into people’s lives as the above verses demonstrate. When people study, speak and do the Torah, God’s holiness permeates them.
The Nature of God
What makes Him holy, set apart and different. The following are a few distinctive traits of God.
Ex. 3:6 He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
God tells Moses who were the great people in the past that recognized Him as the One, holy, God.
Deut. 8:7 “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills;
God is giving them "good land," which reminds us of the statements made by God in the creation, "and it was good." The verse further shows that God gave us the good Earth because of the kind of loving Being He is.
God Is Faithful
Deut. 7:9 “Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
“Heb “who keeps covenant and loyalty.” The syndetic construction of בְּרִית (bˇrit) and חֶסֶד (khesed) should be understood not as “covenant” plus “loyalty” but as an adverbial construction in which חֶסֶד (“loyalty”) modifies the verb שָׁמַר (shamar, “keeps”).” --Unknown
Num. 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
God Is a Consuming Fire
Deut. 4:24 “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
“The juxtaposition of the Hebrew terms אֵשׁ (’esh, “fire”) and קַנָּא (qanna’, “jealous”) is interesting in light of Deut 6:15 where the Lord is seen as a jealous God whose anger bursts into a destructive fire. For God to be “jealous” means that his holiness and uniqueness cannot tolerate pretended or imaginary rivals. It is not petty envy but response to an act of insubordination that must be severely judged (see H. Peels, NIDOTTE 3:937-40).
“Two well-defined but complementary meanings are expressed through the metaphor. (a) The attitude and action of Yahweh as father towards Israel. This was one of concern, love, pity, and patience, but also discipline and correction. It is characteristic that when such texts speak of Israel, they use the singular, indicating the whole nation (Exod 4:22; Deut 1:31; 8:5; Ps 103:13; Prov 3:12; Jer 31:9, 20; Hos 11:1). This is also the dominant note in the portrayal of God as father of the Davidic king as representative of the nation (2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7; 89:26). It also implicitly underlies the language of “inheritance,” especially in Deut (lAjÎn, H5706).
“(b) The expectation of God as father from the Israelites. He is to be viewed as trustworthy, to be respected and obeyed. Texts in this category tend to use the plural “sons” for Israel, indicating the responsibility of all members of the community (Deut 14:1). This aspect can be seen most clearly in those texts where God complains that his fatherly care or authority is being abused or ignored by rebellious, faithless, disobedient sons (Isa 1:2; 30:9; Jer 3:4, 19; Mal 1:6). The combination of these two dimensions, of course, is similar to the dual direction of relationship and obligation in the covenant. It has been argued, indeed, that, for Deuteronomy at least, father-son relationship and covenant relationship were synonymous (McCarthy). They were not exactly coextensive or coterminous, however. The declaration of Israel’s sonship preceded the exodus and Sinai (Exod 4:22) and remained to be invoked even amidst the ruins of the broken Sinai covenant (Isa 63:16; 64:8; Jer 31:9, 18–20). The father-son relationship between God and Israel contained within itself an element of permanence, which injected hope into an otherwise hopeless situation. Wrath, exile, and loss of land would not be permanent. Yahweh would not abandon his people. The father could not ultimately disown his son.” NIDOTTE
God Is Our Rock
Psa. 18:31 For who is God, but the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God,
“ The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “No one.” In this way the psalmist indicates that the Lord is the only true God and reliable source of protection. See also Deut 32:39, where the Lord affirms that he is the only true God. Note as well the emphasis on his role as protector (Heb “rocky cliff,” צוּר, tsur) in Deut 32:4, 15, 17-18, 30.” Unknown
“God has already spoken to the people and their leaders through Jeremiah along these lines (Jer 16:17; 21:14). Lurking behind the thoughts expressed here is probably Deut 29:19-21 where God warns that one “bad apple” who thinks he can get away with sinning against the covenant can lead to the destruction of all. The false prophets were the “bad apples” that were encouraging the corruption of the whole nation by their words promoting a false sense of security unconnected with loyalty to God and obedience to his covenant. The first question deals with the issue of God’s transcendence, the second with his omniscience, and the third with his omnipresence.” Unknown
Psa 72:18 The Lord God, the God of Israel, deserves praise!
He alone accomplishes amazing things!
72:19 His glorious name deserves praise forevermore!
May his majestic splendor fill the whole earth!
We agree! We agree!
Exo 32:16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
Deu 7:21 You must not tremble in their presence, for the Lord your God, who is present among you, is a great and awesome God.
Jer. 23:23-24 Do you people think that I am some local deity
and not the transcendent God?” the Lord asks.
“Do you really think anyone can hide himself
where I cannot see him?” the Lord asks.
“Do you not know that I am everywhere?”
the Lord asks.
“Heb “Am I a god nearby and not a god far off?” The question is sometimes translated as though there is an alternative being given in v. 23, one that covers both the ideas of immanence and transcendence (i.e., “Am I only a god nearby and not also a god far off?”). However, the hey interrogative (הַ) at the beginning of this verse and the particle (אִם, ’im) at the beginning of the next show that the linkage is between the question in v. 23 and that in v. 24a. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.d both questions in this case expect a negative answer.
“The thought that is expressed here must be viewed against the background of ancient Near Eastern thought where gods were connected with different realms, e.g., Baal, the god of wind, rain, and fertility, Mot, the god of drought, infertility, and death, Yam, the god of the sea and of chaos. Moreover, Baal was worshiped in local manifestations as the Baal of Peor, Baal of Gad, etc. Hence, Baal is sometimes spoken of in the singular and sometimes in the plural. The Lord is the one true God (Deut 6:4). Moreover, he is the maker of heaven and earth (Gen 14:12; 2 Kgs 19:15; Ps 115:15), sees into the hearts of all men (Ps 33:13-15), and judges men according to what they do (Ezek 7:3, 7, 27). There is no hiding from him (Job 34:22; Ps 139:7-12) and no escape from his judgment (Amos 9:2-4).” Unknown
When God, or His Spirit, is within a person, the person becomes holy.
David Praises God
2Sam. 7:22 “For this reason You are great, O Lord GOD; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
Psa. 72:17 May his name endure forever;
May his name increase as long as the sun shines;
And let men bless themselves by him;
Let all nations call him blessed.
Psa. 72:18 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel,
Who alone works wonders.
Psa. 72:19 And blessed be His glorious name forever;
And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen, and Amen.
The Psalmist gives thanks for God’s holiness.
Psa. 136:3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Psa. 136:4 To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
Psa. 136:5 To Him who made the heavens with skill,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
Psa. 136:6 To Him who spread out the earth above the waters,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
Psa. 136:7 To Him who made the great lights,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting:
Conclusion
Psa. 86:8 There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord,
Nor are there any works like Yours.
Amen,
Gil Kovacs, Pastor
Sabbath Christian Church |
