The Holiness of God

The holiness of God. I don't have time to sit and do a word study on holiness this morning. But what little I have gleaned though a quick skim is that holiness means separateness and/or withdrawal. When God spoke to Moses he told him to take his
sandals off because he was standing on holy ground. Now the ground itself wasn't holy but the fact that God was present made it holy because He is holy.

In Exodus 19 God has called Moses to Mount Sinai in order to reveal to him the 10 Commandments and Laws. In my years of glossing over these chapters because of what I saw as boring content, I totally didn't get the full impact of God coming down upon Mount Sinai. God prepared Moses and the people for the moment He was to come but they weren't prepared for what happened. In chapter 19:16-19 it says, "On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightening, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered." I can actually feel this scene. The awesomeness of God is evident in the thunder, lightening, fire and smoke. Can you imagine standing at the base of a mountain like Mount Rainier and looking up to see what the Israelites saw at the base of Mount Sinai? God was there in a big way. And because He was there, the mountain area was holy and the people were not allowed to even touch the base of it.

As I ponder these verses I've come to realize how we've taken the holiness out of God. Do we tremble in his presence? Maybe we would if we were experiencing a Mount Sinai moment because we'd be physically forced to see the awesomeness and holiness of the one we serve. God is with us each and every day because the Holy Spirit is within us. When we come before Him in prayer He is with us. When we worship Him together He is with us. We are called to be separate from the world and yet, I forget and tarnish the holy ground by walking on it with muddy unclean shoes. We should be more mindful of His presence in all that we do.

Krista Jones
1.24.08