The Holiness of God

The Holiness of God
Words of Faith 12-7-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 19
[9] The Lord said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you." Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.
[10] And the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes [11] and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. [12] Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. [13] He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.' Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain."
[14] After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. [15] Then he said to the people, "Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations."

Exactly how does one approach the mountain of the Lord when He is about to give His Law? The answer is: very carefully.
The Lord had graciously brought the people of Israel out of slavery. Now they were to receive the Law that would define their relationship with Him and one another. The most Holy God was about to communicate with a less-than-holy people. There was some preparation to be made.
In anticipation of the covenant, God ordered the people to separate themselves from impurity and to consecrate themselves to God. This process was a three-day purification ritual that included washing their garments and abstaining from sexual relations. If anyone ran ahead of the planned timing, he would be put to death.
All these careful preparations emphasized the significance of the event that was about to take place. The God of the heavens was about to make a covenant with His people. Only when summoned by the blast of a ram's horn were the people to go toward the mountain.
We do not know precisely why God set these specific requirements in preparation for giving the Law. Why washing clothes and abstinence? Why the killing of a person or animal that contacted the mountain? We do know that the Lord was in the process of teaching faith (trust) and obedience. If the people could not trust and obey in these matters of preparation, how could they adjust to living by the ordinances of God? It is interesting that just "running ahead" of the timing could draw such a harsh punishment, but we also see that there is no record that anyone did so.
These directions for preparation teach us something about the holiness of the Lord God. We live in a rather indifferent time when it comes to approaching God Almighty. Of course, we are not called to meet the Lord for the giving of the Covenant Law, but we are called to places of worship and proclamation. Yet our preparation for encountering the Lord or hearing the Word of God can be very casual or nonexistent. Perhaps because of our New Testament understanding of grace, some easily drift into a place of treating the Lord with a sort of apathetic listlessness or chummy familiarity.
We live in an age where churches try to bring in people at all costs. This is wonderful as long as our heart is actually for the people and not just increasing our "market share." Are we reaching or gathering?
We reach out with casual worship services and seeker-sensitive trappings. One wonders if we are so intent on not "putting people off" that we might put the Lord off? After all, the Lord God is the only legitimate "audience" in a service of worship.
How do we rightly prepare to come near to the Lord God? Reverence is probably not defined by any particular set of practices, but it is a quality of the heart we need to discover or rediscover.
Perhaps the point here is to give personal reflection on how we approach God. How do we personally prepare to "meet" with the Lord?
We cannot control other people and their approach to worship, nor should we. But we can reflect upon how we treat the Lord God as we approach our encounters with Him in private and public worship. Are we on time? Are we in awe? Have we grown too casual? Indifferent? Do we prepare our hearts to come before Him? Do we focus on the Lord God Almighty, or are we focused on ourselves?

Father God, forgive me for the times I have been too casual in approaching You and our times together. You are the Holy One, the Lord God Almighty. You are before all things, the beginning and end. Guide me in the right way to prepare for times of worship, quiet reflection, and encountering Your Holy Word. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.