I Found God: The Holy God
For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall, therefore, be holy, for I am holy. Leviticus 11:44-45
The iconic Aussie, Mick Dundee, in the movie Crocodile Dundee was asked if he was afraid of dying. He replied; “Nah. I read The Bible once. You know God and Jesus and all them apostles? They were all fishermen, just like me. Yeah, straight to heaven for Mick Dundee. Yep, me and God, we'd be mates.”
There’s humour in that and I’ve heard the line quoted by ministers, but something about it doesn’t sit right with me. Humour is often created when two very different and surprising scenarios are placed next to each other. In Mick Dundee's case, we have a very human scoundrel comparing himself with a very great God, and presuming based on God’s grace, that they’d be mates. Although there is some truth in Mick’s theology, he is missing a critical point- God is Holy, perfectly and unimaginably Holy, He cannot be compared to Mick Dundee.
In Leviticus 11, God introduces Himself as a holy God, you shall be holy for I am holy. Interestingly, God introduces Himself as being Holy, before He introduces himself as being a God of love. In Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, God is the Holy God. Not until Deuteronomy does God introduce himself as a God of love.
To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power. Deut 4: 35-37
Additionally, the Bible talks about God’s Holiness more than it talks about His power, His omnipotence or His omnipresence- combined. Knowing God’s holiness is of primary importance if we are to understand and know God.
Mick Dundee is not alone in not comprehending God’s holiness. The Bible records some noteworthy times when people took God’s holiness for granted and suffered the consequences. In 2 Samuel 6, we find the account of David transporting the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Apparently, there was some celebrating going on, because of their victory over the Philistines. The oxen that were pulling the Ark stumbled and the Ark began to topple over when a man named Uzzah grabbed the Ark to prevent it from falling. The Bible says God’s anger burned against Uzzah and he died there beside the Ark.
King David quickly developed a Godly fear for the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the presence of a Holy God, and therefore was to be treated as Holy. What King David and Uzzah had neglected to remember, was the Ark of the Covenant was not their plaything. God had given very specific instructions as to how it was to be moved. It was to be carried by the priests, not dragged along by oxen. And no-one but sanctified priests were allowed to touch it. God’s Holiness was not, and is not, something we are to take for granted.
In Isaiah’s time, King Uzziah was struck down with leprosy when he, also, belittled God’s holiness. Uzziah, like David, had been successful in battle and took it upon himself to burn incense in the temple. However, God had been very clear regarding whom and how people could approach Him, and burning incense at the altar was a privilege reserved for priests. As a result, Uzziah remained a leper for the rest of his days and was buried in shame. (2 Chronicles 16)
So, what is Holiness? To understand holiness we can look at it from two sides.
The first is that holiness is perfection, or rather, being free from any faults or imperfections. God is simply perfect. A being cannot be more morally correct, purer, more powerful, more perfect in every way. Imagine the most perfect picture, and God is more beautiful. Imagine the wisest person you know, and God is infinitely wiser.
The second is, because of God’s holiness, he would never be involved in any base, immoral or profane act. Holiness is being morally perfect in all that you do. All of God’s acts are holy. They are morally perfect and complete.
It is hard for us to understand holiness because we live in such an imperfect world. We can compare cheap fake corner store jewellery to the Queen's crown jewels, in that sense the crown jewels can be said to be holy. They are so far beyond the two-dollar store jewels we can’t compare the two. Children play with fake jewellery in the dirt. If they break we sweep them up and throw them out. Not so the Crown Jewels.
Isaiah was a privilege to get a glimpse of God’s holiness. Isaiah was a man of God, who lived a life in sincere worship and service of God. But when Isaiah saw a glimpse of God’s holiness he was struct down with his own inadequacy.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above 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. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And 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!”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” Isaiah 6: 1-6 ESV
King Uzziah did not honour God’s holiness. King David learned about it the hard way by dishonouring the Ark of the Covenant. We may be living under grace, but we would do well to remind ourselves, as we come to know God, that He is first and foremost, Holy… very very Holy.
