God is holy…and what does that mean
So, today I wanted to talk about a topic that I have been wrestling with for years. Very easy topic to start with, very easy to discuss and a very interesting topic to discuss. Not so great a topic to get the full scope of the majesty and grandeur of the reality of it. And I also didn’t want to post a picture of what our minds would construct as what God looks like. He has an image, and we don’t know what it is. So, without violating my own post, this picture I posted, will suffice.
The holiness of God.
We often say in a nonchalant emotion, that God is holy. But we never really see the impact of this. So let’s start with a few verses. Be patient, I have a few of them for tonight’s lesson.
Genesis, 1:1 – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Exodus 20
3“You shall have no other gods beforea me.
4“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing steadfast love to thousandsb of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
8“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
14“You shall not commit adultery.
15“You shall not steal.
16“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Isaiah 6
1In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the traina of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”b
4And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
So, now that we have read a bit of text, let’s dive in.
The first text that we read, was about the creation. Chapters 1 and 2 point to the creation of the universe, and then the creation of man. Essentially, this is God exercising his authority over man, and all that he has created.
This is mentioned without mentioning it. When he created, there was no one else. He was taking orders from no one. And within 6 days, everything was created, angels, universe, planets, life, non-life, invisible, visible. Laws of nature, laws of logic, laws of morality, everything.
Man wasn’t there to give him advice, God created everything good, as is mentioned every time he created something.
As I had mentioned in a previous message, when it comes to God and creation, as holy, majestic and powerful as angels are, they still have more in common with an earth worm than they do with God. Worms and angels are both created beings. Very different in function, power, utility and appearance, but both are created.
Then we move on to the 10 commandments. We’re going to look a little deeper in to these. Anyone here notice a pattern in the commandments?
Let’s break them down. It’s almost as if they are listed in a manner of hitting your conscience.
The first 4, are all in relation between you and God. The first one is that you shall have no other gods before God. That could be anything, a statue of someone / something. Could be a sport, could be a food, hobby, anything. Anything we place before God is an idol. So you could say, in a sense that the second one is a continuation of the first one.
And, what if God does have an image, and he doesn’t want us to mess it up. Since none of us have seen God, there’s no way to see what he looks like.
Then the 3rd one, sure, you might not have an idol, and you might not have other gods before him, but taking his name in vain…same thing. His name in Hebrew was Yahwe, and the Hebrews / Jews knew the seriousness of even just saying his name wrong was a bad offence.
Then, you have everything lined up. You don’t have other gods, no idols, you don’t take the name of the Lord in vain…but you work on the sabbath…you’ve broken another commandment.
Then it switches gears. It changes to our relationships with other fellow humans.
First one, honor your mother and father. No conditions, no requirements. Doesn’t say they have to be ideal parents, rich, poor nothing. Honor them. And again, you might have the first few commandments are directed towards God well done. How are you with your parents.
Then the next 5…they are hitting the heart more, and more, becoming more and more impossible to achieve.
Murder, that’s not an accepted crime in many countries. So most people agree with this one. What about revenge…murder. Defense, murder…either way, you’re taking a life.
Adultery, well, my wife isn’t there for me, or my husband. I don’t get the emotional support I need. So I got it somewhere else. Today, it’s accepted everywhere.
I remember talking to an old friend a few years ago. He works at Blue Cross, and he said in his training classes, the married women were with their husbands till a better one came around. Can you imagine finding out you’re disposable?
Then stealing. You didn’t exactly hurt someone. But you took something that wasn’t yours. A life, a spouse, an object….
Spreading rumors and lies. You can’t take those back. Pillow on the roof example.
And the last one, is the most damning one.
Coveting, this is the only one, that no one around you knows you’re doing. If I really like someone else’s house, car, pool, job, income…and the list goes on, no one knows I’m thinking and feeling that except me.
I can hide that one all day long.
So in summary of the 10 commandments, can anyone tell me why they are listed? What’s their purpose.
Is it a bunch of rules for us to keep? Like laws in a city?
They are a reflection of God. That’s why they are impossible to hold. They reflect his holiness and perfection. And that’s why this just created yet another layer of separation between us and God.
First you had the creation account. We’re not the creator, so we have absolutely no say in what God decides, no matter the topic or situation. There’s no negotiation with God. Then he lays out his perfect law. And you break the first commandment every single day. So the rest are not going to be held.
Now we’re going to switch gears again.
When it comes to the holiness of God, we think we have a clue about something. I will tell you something right now. The more you understand your heart, the more you will cry out to Christ daily, hourly, even every minute some days.
This is what Isaiah felt in chapter 6. Let’s read the text again.
1In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the traina of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”b
4And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Imagine the scene that Isaiah just saw. The Lord sitting upon a throne. High and lifted up. A symbolism of authority and power and holiness. He’s not sitting below anyone, that’s not his place. His place is above everyone, to be worshipped.
Then you have the train of his robe. It filled the temple. We’re not told how big the temple is, however, if it’s God’s…it’s not a camp. But this is interesting symbolism as well. The more power and authority and glory the king had, the longer his robe.
A quick search online, found only a few robes with trains, which is the tail of the robe, essentially, for earthly kings, it just swept the floor. But the longest I was able to find was about 20 – 30 feet. Barely enough to go from one room to another.
God’s train filled the temple? What a victor, and an established statement. God is not one to claim to be holy and not be able to back it up.
Then the description of the seraphim. Seraph is a single angel, and seraphim is 2 or more. So, based on the text, we can assume there are probably more than 2. Imagine the glory of those beings. Six wings. But bigger than that. Those things are much, much holier than we are. They live in heaven in the presence of God all the time.
And look at the description. 2 of the wings, covered their face. In their stature and power and might, they can’t even look upon God. 2 other wings cover their feet. Feet are considered unclean so they can’t be shown before God.
And the last 2 wings are to fly. And then, the proof that there are at least 2, Holy, holy holy…
I can’t even imaging seeing angels, that could burn up a city within a few minutes, and some commentators put angels at a low rank on the hierarchy of things compared to the seraphim. Whether that’s true or not…but one thing is certain, I believe this is the only place in the bible where seraphim are mentioned.
And what a place to be mentioned, 24 / 7, worshipping God. But they can’t even look at him.
Then look at the 4th verse. They are so majestic, that when one calls to another, the foundations of the thresholds shake at the voice. And yet they can’t even look unto God!!
Then the exclamation of Isaiah.
5And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Isaiah knew what he saw. And he knew he was ruined. Seeing God, in his glory, power, might and holiness. The ESV does a poor rendition of this. He wasn’t just lost, the NIV and the KJV do a better job here. He’s ruined, he’s undone. There’s no bringing him back. He’s claiming a status of absolute hopelessness and helplessness.
He knew he was living as a prophet for God, and therefore had some authority on behalf of God, but then seeing God, that just ruined him when it came to his status. It’s as if he saw every single sin he and the world committed flash before his eyes and realized how deadly they are and the effect they have.
So when man thinks they have a chance to negotiate with God, just think, Isaiah was much more righteous than any of us. He saw the seraphim speak, and the door posts shook, and they couldn’t even look unto God.
What a hierarchy. Of course I could turn this into a series, however, I think that’s enough to chew on for now.