Holiness

Have you ever desired a greater awareness of God’s holiness? I know I have.

The first mention of the word ‘holy’ in the Old Testament is in the book of Exodus, when Moses is shepherding his father-in-law’s flock. Let’s revisit the scene.

Alone again with his thoughts, the old shepherd’s face breaks out with new furrows. Too many hours trekking in the wilderness and scorching sun has turned Moses’ skin tanned and leathery. He calls out to the sheep he is tending. All at once, they lift their heads and turn in his direction.

He leads them across a rocky embankment until they reach the foot of Mount Horeb.

A flash of light catches the corner of his eye. A burst of fire. Moses squints, narrowing his focus. Could his eyes be playing tricks on him? In the distance, a flaming bush is alive with tongues of fire. He ponders the impossibility of the scene—the bush refuses to burn down to ashes.

He creeps in closer. He looks behind him, waving his staff in the air to scare a few curious sheep shadowing him. He takes a step and then another toward the flames.

A voice calls his name from the burning bush. “Moses! Moses!”

Moses is transfixed. His breath catches in his throat. He forces his tongue to unhinge itself.

“Here I am.”

“Stand back,” God says, “and remove your sandals because the ground you’re standing on is holy.”

And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.  Exodus 3:5

In this verse the word ‘holy’ in Hebrew is qodesh which means different, set apart, or sanctified.

One of the characteristics of God that we Christians admire is his holiness. We know that God is distinctly different to the creatures that he has made. As Barclay puts it, “he belongs to a different scale and sphere of life.”

Pagan belief

In ancient times, even Pagans believed their gods were holy. The gods they worshipped were different to themselves and set apart from humans.

Pagan gods filled their worshippers with anxiety and dread. In order to appease the anger of the gods they would perform various rituals and sacrifices. It was unclear to them what ceremonies would pacify these gods.

Worshippers devised and invented religious practices in a hit and miss fashion in the hopes of pleasing their gods.

None more horrendous than the practice of offering children as human sacrifices to Moloch.

Hebrew belief

For the Hebrew, their God Yahweh, the one true God was different. He was looking for people who were willing to walk with him in friendship and loving obedience, rather than trembling in fear of him.

Unlike the pagan gods, Yahweh clearly proclaimed what he required, while also inviting people to an intimate relationship with him.

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?   Micah 6:8

Like the pagans, Hebrews believed God was different, but for them it meant Yahweh was entirely free from all that was sinful or impure and therefore, morally perfect.

The main teaching of the Jews was the holiness of God.

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.  Isaiah 6:3

Even amongst his chosen people some warped ideas about God’s holiness developed over time.

In the Jewish mind, God was so different from men that to approach God at all was dangerous, even life threatening.

How much more life threatening then was a testosterone fueled wrestling match with the divine!

Jacob struggled with a ‘stranger’ for hours through the night. Jacob scrabbled with him on the ground, straining with sweat. Muscles and bones collided, bodies contorted, and Jacob’s torso coiled in pain. Then at daybreak, it all ended. And it dawned on him in perfect clarity—Jacob wrestled with the Holy One, the Almighty. 

He’d seen God in the flesh and lived to tell the tale.

And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved     Genesis 32:30

Similarly, Gideon cried out in terror when he realised he’s seen God face to face. God had to reassure him that he would not die. 

And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.   Judges 6:22

Many Old Testament prophets spoke of the patient love and the mercy of God. However, mainstream Jewish thinking clouded this message. Placed in the forefront; however, was God’s holiness. In their minds, God’s holiness demanded the destruction of the sinner.

And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.  Isaiah 1:28

Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.  Psalm 11:6

This was why the scribes and Pharisees were horrified when they saw Jesus eating with tax collectors and prostitutes.

“Judaism stressed the holiness of God. That holiness stretched a great gulf between God and man, it surrounded God with a certain sublime unpredictability without any responsibility to men; it tended to make men think of God as the sworn enemy of the sinner.”  Barclay 1960:102

So when Jesus came to earth, he had to clear up the misleading ideas about what God was like.

Every false religion is based on a distorted picture of God. The Greek and Roman gods in New Testament times acted in open hostility and suspicion against humans.

The gods resented anything mortals achieved that was successful or prosperous. It was better to be an ordinary citizen than to rise above the crowd. A ‘tall poppy’ was likely to be crushed by the gods.

Even gods turned on other gods that showed an inkling of concern for human kind.

Prometheus argued with Zeus for his unfair treatment of humanity. As a result, Prometheus stole fire from heaven and bestowed it upon men. The enraged Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock where an eagle tore out his liver every day. His liver would regenerate only to be torn out again and again.

The two main philosophies during the New Testament era were Epicureanism and Stoicism. 

Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? Other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.   Acts 17:17

In Epicureanism, the gods were not interested in human affairs.

The gods were in such a state of peace, and free from worry or care that they didn’t even realise humans existed. Thus, eliminating the need for mortals to try to please them on earth.

In contrast, Stoics believed in striving towards godly perfection and yielding to the divine will.

Yet, a person could not develop a personal relationship with God. God was unknowable, though he was everywhere, in the universe, in nature and in man.

God was incapable of feeling, and thus could not show compassion or love.

The idea of God becoming man would have been inconceivable to a Greek.

So when Jesus came he brought good news about God and salvation. He came to announce to men things that they didn’t understand or realise about God’s character.

Jesus achieved this through glorifying God in the way he lived his own life, and in claiming that he was indeed God made flesh.

Join me for Part 2 on this topic in my next blog post.

Bibliography

Author unspecified, 2021. ‘Prometheus’, Greek Mythology.com. Retrieved 15 August 2021 from

https://www.greekmythology.com/Titans/Prometheus/prometheus.html

Author unspecified, 2021. ‘Who were the Epicureans? What did the Epicureans believe?’ Compelling Truth.com. Retrieved 15 August 2021 from

https://www.compellingtruth.org/Epicureanism-Epicurean.html

Barclay, W.1976, The Mind of Jesus, Harper & Row, London.

Spangler, A. 2015, I am with You, Daily Meditations on knowing and experiencing God, Tyndale House, Illinois.

Tucker, A. 2013, The Biographical Bible, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Unger, M.F. 1988, The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, Moody Press, Chicago.

Wyatt Kent, K. 2011, Deeper into the Word Old Testament, Bethany House, Minnesota.

Image credit

Jacob wrestles with God, 1860 woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld