"How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
{Exodus 33:16} (NIV)
We understand holy to mean ‘like God’, or ‘God like’, for we know that God is HOLY. As we read the Bible we discover that holy means different than our norm. We see that in the story of creation, the seventh day is to be holy, different than the other days. In Exodus the mountain is holy and is to be treated differently than the land around it. The people are to be God’s holy nation, that is, different than the other peoples of the world. We see it in the tabernacle; the Holy Place is different than the outer courts, and the Most Holy place is different than the Holy Place.
I choose to use the word different because Moses makes the point that it is the Presence of God in their midst that distinguishes (makes them different) than the peoples of the earth. How does God’s Presence distinguish them? His Presence guides them, provides for them, protects them, causes them to prosper and causes them to live their lives, or to behave in a specific God, reflecting Way. This different behaviour is the whole purpose of the Covenant and the Law.
Paul makes exactly the same point to those of us who are included in the New Covenant by the Presence of the Holy Spirit in our bodies. It is good for us that God is HOLY, that He operates completely different than humans do. Praise His HOLY Name! What about us? Are we holy? Do we operate any differently in our lives than the peoples who live around us?
No comments:
Post a Comment