Tag: holiness

Once and for all sacrifice

Reflection based on Hebrews 10:1–14.

This chapter starts with a reminder of what a poor, temporary job animal sacrifices did. The first few verses point out that they could never free us from our sin and make us holy – but simply served as a reminder of sin. The old system was, by its very nature, unfinished. The priest had to make sacrifices day after day, and go into the Most Holy Place year after year on the Day of Atonement, but Jesus made a once and for all sacrifice. It does not need to be repeated, as it was perfect. 

The verses in Hebrews 10 talk about how constant sacrifice was the rhythm of a priest’s life, and yet, once Jesus had made His sacrifice, He sat back down next to the Father. He had completely opened the way for God to commune with His people. This does away with any notion that we as humans may be made holy through our own efforts. There is nothing we can do. Yes, when we respond fully to the amazing truth of our salvation, we willingly serve and obey God, but that is not the means of our salvation; Jesus has already provided that through His sacrifice.

Interestingly, verse 10 describes us as having ‘been made holy’, whereas verse 14 talks about us ‘being made holy’. This is the difference between justification (I like the explanation ‘just as if I never sinned’) and sanctification (the process of being made holy). When we accept Jesus, God looks at us and sees us as holy, and yet we are on a journey of discipleship – we still need to grow in our holiness.

Reflection: Think about any times when you have tried to ‘earn’ your salvation through your own efforts, say sorry to Jesus and thank Him for His once and for all sacrifice. 

Jesus’ teaching

Reflections based on Matthew 5:17–30 and Mark 9:33–41.

As I mentioned last week, Jesus’ teaching often went further than Old Testament laws. At the start of our Matthew reading, He tells His listeners He’s not there to do away with the Law, but to fulfill it. He goes on to use the following phrases a number of times: ‘You have heard it said … But I tell you’ (vv21, 22, 27, 28). His standards here seem so unreachable, but He was calling out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law – and also affirming that He is totally holy and without sin. He was providing a fuller understanding of why God had made the Law in the first place; that it was all about the heart. Indeed, He reveals that God already knows what is going on in our hearts when He tells the listeners in our Mark reading that the one who wants to be first should be last. He knew what His disciples were arguing about so went straight for the heart issue.

What He talks to His disciples about reveals the characteristics of a life of holiness. Not only are we called to be humble and unified, but we should love everyone – even those who cannot do anything for themselves, such as little children. In verses 38–41 the disciples are grumbling, jealous of someone who has healed in Jesus’ name, more concerned with their group’s position than whether any good had been done.

The verses in the rest of Mark 9 reflect what we read in Matthew 5:20–30. Jesus uses incredibly violent language, not to call us to literal maiming of ourselves but to help us realise how seriously God takes sin – and so must we. Jesus teaches His disciples – and us – how ruthless He wants us to be about living a life of holiness. 

Reflection: Is there anything within Jesus’ teaching that you find jarring? If so, explore why you think that is.

 

Do not treat holiness lightly

Reflections based on Leviticus 9:1–10:3.

Leviticus 9 sees the priests begin their duties as those who will enter the Tabernacle and sacrifice on the altar on behalf of the people. Moses’ brother Aaron and his sons are chosen as priests and the start of our passage details how Aaron follows God’s instructions to the letter. We are told that Moses and Aaron then enter the Tent of Meeting and when they came back out God’s glory appeared. A fire from His presence burned up the offering and the people responded to His presence in joy but also by humbling themselves, recognising they had just witnessed an incredible display of His holiness.

Unfortunately, there were two among them who didn’t take God’s holiness as seriously. Underestimating God, they offered up unauthorised fire to Him – and were consumed as a result. It seems harsh to our modern eyes but these men had been warned. They had followed God’s commands on how to be ordained as priests, which involved a long and complicated process (see chapter 8). They had seen God at Mount Sinai, had heard how God told them not to allow His fire on the altar to go out (in chapter 6) and seen Moses and Aaron go inside the Tabernacle and emerge unscathed. And yet, at this critical moment, they choose to offer ‘unauthorised fire’. It is as if they had grown cocky somehow, or, at the very least, indifferent. Whatever was going on in their minds, they chose to ignore God’s command at their peril. The details were there to protect them from God’s holy fire; their disobedience cost them their lives. This is a sobering reminder that God is holy; we are not. 

Prayer: Father I can see that You gave strict instructions in order to shield Your people from Your holy fire. I humbly acknowledge You are still a holy God today. Amen.

Instructions on offerings

Reflections based on Leviticus 1:1–17.

In the latter part of Exodus, God continues to give instructions to the Israelites on what is necessary for Him to dwell with them. In an amazing act of humility, He tells them that He will come and dwell with them in the Tabernacle that He instructs them to erect in the campsite. One of the Hebrew words used in Exodus to describe the Tabernacle tent is miqdash, which means holy place. God also instructs them to set apart priests to work in the Tabernacle. Leviticus starts with God speaking to Moses from the Tabernacle about the types of offerings the people should give. The whole of Leviticus is centred around God’s holiness – the very word holiness is mentioned more times than anywhere else in the Bible (152 times)! 

To our modern eyes, Leviticus seems like a blood-filled, strange book. But just think – God had taken up permanent residency with the Israelites so they needed to continue to consecrate themselves. If they wanted to continue to enjoy His favour and presence then, as we see in this first chapter, blood had to be shed. As God said to them in Leviticus 11:44, ‘consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.’ In order to approach their holy God, the people’s sin had to be atoned for. This first chapter of Leviticus talks about the burnt offering, while the subsequent few chapters cover the other four types of offerings. In each one it is the perfection of the sacrifice that was so important – and by laying hands on the sacrifice the priest was transferring peoples’ guilt to it. This all points towards the final sacrifice that was to come: Jesus, the Lamb of God.

Prayer: Loving God, just as blood sacrifice was a way of atoning for the Israelites’ sins thank You that Your Son provided a way for us to be saved. Help me never to take that for granted. Amen. 

Commandments to live by

Reflections based on Exodus 20:1–20.

In amongst the cloud and fire, God spoke directly to Moses, giving him the Ten Commandments to take back down to the people. So often these are viewed as a list of rules to live by — if we manage to keep them all in our own strength then somehow we will be holy enough to be allowed to call ourselves Christians. However, as Phil Moore points out in his book Straight to the heart of Moses, the timing of when God gave the commandments is critical. He didn’t give them to Moses when he met him at the burning bush and sent him as His messenger to the Israelites in Egypt. They were given after God had saved them. They were given to show them how they should respond to the salvation God had provided for them. 

Far from a standard that we need to live up to, the Ten Commandments, and indeed the whole Jewish Law, can be seen as a measuring stick of holiness. God uses them to convince Israel – and us – that there is nothing we can do in our own strength to make ourselves spiritually holy. 

Interestingly, when Jesus walked the earth He referred back to the Ten Commandments, sometimes even going further than they do (for example, v14 talks about not committing adultery; in Matt 5:28 Jesus says if a man even looks at a woman lustfully he has committed adultery). No, these commandments are not things for the Israelites – and us – to strive to do. They are to convince us all of the need to accept God’s salvation — and holiness. Indeed each commandment says ‘You shall’. We can read this phrase as a barked order – or a loving promise. Which do you think God meant? 

Prayer: Father, while You lovingly revealed to the Israelites ways in which they could commune with You, I cannot be holy without accepting Your gift of salvation. I do so again today. Amen. 

A holy nation

Mount Sinai

Reflections based on Exodus 19:1–25.

We looked previously at Moses’ song of praise to God for delivering the Israelites. After crossing the Red Sea, they travelled for weeks until they camped at the foot of Mount Sinai. It was on this mountain that God would speak to Moses about why He had rescued them. He had chosen Israel to become ‘a holy nation’, not because of anything they had done but because He had made a covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15). God wanted a nation that would represent Him on earth, which He could teach His ways to and, ultimately, be the nation that our Saviour would be born out of. 

In later blogs we will be looking at the various laws, commandments and sacrifices, which God instructed Moses that the people needed to adhere to. To us it can seem incredibly confusing and yet we need to understand the reason they were necessary.

In Exodus 29:46, God says, ‘They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them.’ Just ponder that phrase for a moment: ‘So that I might dwell among them.’ Isn’t it incredible, that the holy God of heaven and earth longed for relationship with His people?

We will look at the elaborate lengths that God went to in order to bring Israel close to Himself until the appointed time when His Son would be sent. As a perfect, holy being, God cannot entertain sin of any kind: laws and sacrifices were the way in which Israel was able to enjoy God’s presence. We can see in Exodus 19 that God instructed Moses to consecrate (make holy/dedicate) the people so that He could appear to them in cloud and fire.

Reflection and prayer: Reflect on the amazing lengths God went to in order to dwell with His people, then spend some time thanking Him that, through Jesus, He has made His home in you.

Our response

Do we have clean hands and a pure heart?

Reflections based on Psalm 24:1–10.

Technically I am still on leave as my kids aren’t back to school until Monday, but I wanted to sneak in another devotional so here it is 🙂 Spending time considering God’s holiness – and how we are called to be holy too – is a great way to start the New Year. This psalm affirms that God is totally sovereign, but when we consider David’s comments about who is allowed into God’s holy place, we can be stopped in our tracks, much as Isaiah was. If we are honest, who in this world has clean hands and a pure heart? Who has never lied or allowed a false idol to be a part of their lives? 

These verses can be extremely sobering, which is only right, as we need to assess ourselves honestly. This psalm was probably used in corporate worship – I have read that verses 7–10 were used as a re-enactment. The people would call for the temple gates to be opened up, and the priests inside would ask ‘Who is this King of glory’. The group outside would answer ‘The Lord strong and mighty’ etc. Verses 9–10 repeated the process before the temple gates were swung open. All of this symbolised the people’s desire to be in God’s presence. Do we have this desire, and are we willing to humble ourselves before our holy God?

Meditation: Why not meditate on this psalm and consider your heart response this weekend?

Acknowledging God’s greatness

Reflections based on Exodus 15:1–19.

The song in Exodus 15 was written after God miraculously delivered His people from the Egyptians by parting the Red Sea for them and then allowing the water to gush back over those pursuing them. Moses begins by worshipping God for what He has done, describing how He ‘hurled’ Pharaoh’s army into the sea. But he goes on to talk about what it is in God’s character that caused Him to act as Israel’s salvation. He is saying through this that God’s mighty acts reveal His majesty, power and holiness. Look, for example, at verse 7: ‘In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you.’ The language that Moses uses reveals how incredible his God is – that with a simple blast of His nostrils the water was parted. Verse 11 states that there is no one – no god – like God, and later verses talk about how the surrounding nations will hear of what God has done and tremble. Interestingly, Moses also affirms the belief that God will lead His people to His ‘holy place’ (see v13).

God’s holiness can be seen reflected throughout the passage: in His destruction of Pharaoh, His hatred of sin and His wrath against those who refuse to turn from it and His faithfulness in rescuing His people.

This song was written for the whole of Israel to sing. It was a way of honouring God for His rescue – a way of giving thanks for His glory. Israel’s God-fearing leaders often led the people into offering God a holy, consecrated song or prayer. Even today, home-grown worship songs and prayers can help local congregations to thank God for the specific ways He has revealed His holiness to them.

Prayer: Thank You Lord that all Your actions reveal Your holiness. Help me to take the time to recall how You rescue and keep me, and then give You praise and thanks for doing so. Amen.

 

A vision of our holy God

Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Unsplash

Reflections based on Revelation 4:1–11.

These verses in Revelation were given as a vision of heaven’s throne room to John. The rich, descriptive language gives us a sense of opulence and majesty. Much has been made of the symbolism; for example, the 24 elders are said to represent all of God’s redeemed people (as there were 12 tribes of Israel in the Old Testament and 12 disciples in the New Testament). The four living creatures are symbols of God’s character. Before the throne is ‘a sea of glass’. Commentators speak of how rare glass was in New Testament times so this highlights the magnificence of God. 

Whatever can be deduced from the symbolism, what is clear is that the vision is depicting God’s awesomeness and holiness. The living creatures are constantly declaring His holiness; the phrase they use repeats the word ‘holy’ not just twice but three times. The Hebrew word ‘holy’ (qadosh) means ‘separate’ or ‘set apart’ and was used to describe the ‘otherness’ of God. I think the repetition shows us how vital an understanding of His holiness is. When we think of Him, it is not another attribute, such as love, compassion or gentleness – all the ones that we find safe and familiar – but holiness that should be uppermost in our minds.

The elders’ words remind us of how His holiness is partnered with glory, honour, power and authority. They recognise that all that is created has only been done so because it was His will. His power and authority are different to ours – infinitely greater. The elders are wearing crowns, so have the signs of authority themselves, but lay their crowns before the one that they know has an authority that far surpasses theirs. What a vision!

Prayer: Holy God, the elders and living creatures all responded to Your holiness with never ending worship. As I learn more about Your holiness, may that be my response too. Amen.

Holiness

I am delighted to finally be resurrecting my devotional blog. I hope to do it weekly as before – let’s just see if I manage that!

Reflections based on 1 Peter 1:13–16.

I am excited to be exploring the theme of holiness with you for this next devotional series. I think it can often be a theme that is somewhat overlooked these days, but I believe it is very important to have a clear understanding of it, as it helps us to lead our lives well. Of course, the starting place for such a study has to be God.

Too often when we think of holiness our minds immediately turn to all the things we think we should be doing and know we aren’t. And yet, while that is where the 1 Peter passage starts, it all stems from the fact that God is holiness itself. Yes He does call us to be holy, and we do need to remember and not belittle that, but He does so because He is.

So let’s start by looking at the majestic holiness of God, as it is only when we truly understand His holiness that His call for holiness from us makes sense. His holiness far surpasses what human holiness can achieve because, in essence, it is the fact that He is God. What is incredible is that God Himself chose to find ways in which He could commune with His people – and offers us ways in which to partake of holiness for ourselves.

Prayer idea Take some time to thank God for choosing to come close to you and ask Him to reveal more about holiness as you engage with this new weekly blog series.