Travel back with me to the Middle Ages and imagine that you are a serf out working in the fields. Suddenly, a knight in shining armor rides up to you and informs you that your presence is requested by the king and escorts you to the royal palace. Would you be trembling in fear? Would your knees start shaking and your hands grow clammy with nerves as you approach the throne room of the most powerful person in the land? Would you be wondering why the King desires to see you? Would you wonder if you were in trouble or had done something wrong?
Well this is how the prophet Isaiah felt as he was transported into the throne room of the Most High. As he records in Isaiah 6:1-5:
"I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 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. And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 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!'"
Isaiah was terrified! Not only was he in the presence of the most powerful King of all history—past, present, and future—but he was also in the presence of pure holiness. No wonder Isaiah shook with fear!
The hypothetical example mentioned previously, and the story of Isaiah the prophet both give us a picture of the honor, respect, and reverence due our Sovereign, the King of kings. However, do you view God as someone to be honored and feared? In this day and age, the world honors and respects celebrities, royalty, and other high profile people, often times placing them on pedestals and idolizing them, and we tend to follow suit. But the question is do we give the same amount of reverence or more to God, who alone is worthy of all honor and glory?
Over the past month, we have studied two different attributes of God, and now we are ready to look at a third: God is HOLY.
The hypothetical example mentioned previously, and the story of Isaiah the prophet both give us a picture of the honor, respect, and reverence due our Sovereign, the King of kings. However, do you view God as someone to be honored and feared? In this day and age, the world honors and respects celebrities, royalty, and other high profile people, often times placing them on pedestals and idolizing them, and we tend to follow suit. But the question is do we give the same amount of reverence or more to God, who alone is worthy of all honor and glory?
Over the past month, we have studied two different attributes of God, and now we are ready to look at a third: God is HOLY.
“But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.”
~Isaiah 5:16
~Isaiah 5:16
This is fundamental because the way in which we view God’s holiness will shape and define the relationship we have with Him. God is not your buddy or someone you can treat as an equal. He is the Creator of the universe, the Lord of Hosts, God Most High. Therefore, as you develop a personal relationship with Him—which I sincerely hope and pray you’re doing!—you must remember that while God is your Abba Father, Savior, Friend, and Comforter, He is also mighty, powerful, and holy. Just like the king not only incites love and loyalty but also respect in the lowly serf that another, fellow serf would not, so also God should invoke a reverence and fear in us that man, no matter how prestigious or powerful, could not.
“There is none holy like the LORD…” ~I Samuel 2:2a
But what does holy mean? Sacred, set apart, pure, blameless; these are just a few of the definitions. Holy is unmarred by blemish, spot, or stain; it’s sacred and set apart from everything else because of its perfect state. Therefore, when God says that He is holy, it means that He is pure goodness, perfect, set apart, and unmarked by sin, error, and evil. This is why God deserves all honor, glory, and reverence, because He alone in the entire universe is holy!
On the other hand, as we’ve seen in previous studies, we are fickle, selfish, proud, dissatisfied, and above all, sinful. Our human nature is as far away from holy as one can get. So when Isaiah the prophet stood before God in His throne room and said, “Woe is me!”, it was because he was confronted with God’s holiness and his own corruptness. Likewise, as we seek to grasp the holiness of God, we should also become more aware of how far we fall short and show more honor and respect to the Holy One.
Therefore, let us give God the honor, glory, respect, and reverence He deserves and join the heavenly hosts in Revelation 4 who never cease to praise God!
On the other hand, as we’ve seen in previous studies, we are fickle, selfish, proud, dissatisfied, and above all, sinful. Our human nature is as far away from holy as one can get. So when Isaiah the prophet stood before God in His throne room and said, “Woe is me!”, it was because he was confronted with God’s holiness and his own corruptness. Likewise, as we seek to grasp the holiness of God, we should also become more aware of how far we fall short and show more honor and respect to the Holy One.
Therefore, let us give God the honor, glory, respect, and reverence He deserves and join the heavenly hosts in Revelation 4 who never cease to praise God!
"And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, 'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!' The twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 'Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.'”
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