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Holiness
“Be
ye holy, for I – Yahweh your God – am holy.”
Pentecost Theme
–
June 9, 2008
Today
is Hag Shavuot / the Feast of Pentecost. It represents the
betrothal of Messiah and His Bride. The prospective bride is the
slave-girl that was redeemed by the Passover Lamb from Egyptian
bondage, which represents bondage to sin. On Yom Teruah / the
Day of Trumpeting, which we rehearse in four months, Messiah will
return for His Bride. The one betrothed today will be the bride in
the Marriage of the Lamb, which we celebrate at Hag Sukkot /
the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall. The bride must be holy.
Wives,
be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is
the head of the wife, as Messiah also is the head of the church, He
Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject
to Messiah, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in
everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Messiah also loved
the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify
her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having
no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy
and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives
as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for
no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it,
just as Messiah also does the church, because we are members of His
body. FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND
SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.
This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Messiah
and the church. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is
to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it
that she respects her husband
(Ephesians 5:22-33).
It may
be noted here that, though a betrothed couple were not permitted to
cohabit until the marriage ceremony, they called husband and wife,
and the betrothal could only be broken by divorce.
Those who were redeemed out of Egypt about
3500 years ago were first referred to as “the church” (Heb. qehal
of Ex 12:6, Lev 16:17, et al translates to Gr. ekklesia of
Acts 7:38, Matt 16:18, et al). It was not an organization started
2000 years ago. (See
www.messianic.ws/synagogue.htm.)
Yahweh
our God is holy!
Josh 24:19 1Sam 2:2, 6:20, Psalm 99:5, Prov 9:10, Isa 8:13, 41:14,
47:4, 49:7, 54:5
Holy,
holy, holy is Yahweh of Hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory
(Isaiah 6:3).
Holy,
holy, holy is Yahweh our God, Who was and Who is and Who is to come
(Revelation 4:8).
These
are the two places in the Bible where a triplet is used for the
greatest emphasis.
There
is no one holy like Yahweh
(1
Samuel 2:2).
Who is
able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God?
(1
Samuel 6:20).
Exalt
Yahweh our God, and worship at His footstool; holy is He
(Psalm
99:5).
The
fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding
(Proverbs 9:10).
Our
Redeemer, Yahweh of Hosts is His Name, the Holy One of Israel
(Isaiah 47:4).
God’s
Name is holy.
My
mouth will speak the praise of Yahweh, and all flesh will bless His
Holy Name forever
(Psalm
145:21).
(See
www.messianic.ws/name.htm.)
God’s
Torah (Instruction) is holy.
The
Torah was given to His church on Pentecost at Mt. Sinai about 3500
years ago, fifty days after the redemption from Egyptian slavery –
the Egyptian Passover.
God’s
instructions (“laws”) are Biblically divided into three categories:
judgments, ordinances, and statutes.
(See
www.messianic.ws/mitzvot.htm.)
God’s
judgments are what we usually see as moral laws. They are generally
understood by believers to be proper rules for life. They include
being respectful toward God and neighbor (no idolatry, no murder or
stealing). While these things may seem obvious, they are grossly
misunderstood. Christendom is rampant with idolatry which is not
generally recognized. Lying is commonly excused as preferable or
insignificant.
God’s
ordinances are much less understood. They are acts we perform to
display spiritual truths – both to keep them in remembrance before
ourselves and to display them before the world. They generally
prophetically display Yeshua as Messiah and help us overcome sin.
They include Sabbath and Holy Day observances, and various
cleansings and offerings. (Many in Christendom see them as being
only baptism and “The Lord’s Supper.”)
God’s
statutes are instructions to sanctify (distinguish) us as His
people; they have no obvious discernable basis. They include
regulations of permissible foods – those things for which God gives
His blessing for us to eat.
We are
repeatedly commanded to be holy.
Ex 2:31 Lev 11:44,45 Lev 19:2 Lev 20:7 Lev 20:26 *Lev 22:32
Num 15:40 Tzitzit Deut 7:6 Deut 14:2
(Isa 4:3) (Isa 62:12) Eph 1:4 1Pet 1:15-16 Rev 20:6 Rev 22:1
Be ye
holy, for I – Yahweh your God – am holy
(Exodus 2:31, 1 Peter 1:15-16).
Note
that this word given through Moses was reaffirmed by an Apostle long
after the crucifixion of Yeshua.
Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord
(Hebrews 12:14).
Though
we do not become without sin in this life, if we are not on the
narrow path of dedication to God, then we are not headed for eternal
life with Him!
God’s
priests are to teach holiness.
God’s
priests are responsible to teach God’s people the difference between
what is holy and what is common.
Moreover,
they (the priests) shall teach My people the difference between the
holy
and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and
the clean (Ezekiel 44:23).
Her
(Jerusalem’s) priests have done violence to My Torah and have
profaned My holy things;
they
have made no distinction between the holy and the common,
and
they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the
clean;
and
they hide their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them
(Ezekiel 22:26).
We are
responsible to learn holiness.
Our
responsibilities before God begin with personally overcoming sin and
learning to live by God’s instruction.
Next
we are responsible to lead or encourage and show our family members
to walk with God. Then the Congregation members become our arena of
responsibility. Our town, then our country, and finally the world
are before us looking for our input. God commands us personally to
walk with Him; He does not command us to save the world.
Being
holy does not mean doing what feels right or what seems best to us
in a given situation. It does not mean being lovey-dovey in the way
we treat others. It does not mean going to church, contributing to
its finances, or singing in the choir.
Doing
something called “prophesying” or “speaking in tongues” is not being
holy to Yahweh our God. Seeking wealth so that we can do more for
God is not being holy. It is not about “doing something for God.” To
those who think so, Yeshua says, “Many will say to Me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name, and in Your Name cast
out demons, and in Your Name perform many works of power?’ And then
I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who
practice lawlessness’ ” (Matthew 7:22-23). This does not mean that
some will wrongly say such, but rather that any who would say
such are on the wrong path. A supposed “doing the works of God” does
not makes us holy or fit for the Kingdom of God.
Being
holy to Yahweh our God means being sanctified by his Word – it is a
matter of the heart that controls our life. It means that we are
made distinct from the rest of the world by following God’s Holy
Word – the Bible. It means that we learn what God calls loving Him
with all our heart and loving our neighbor as ourselves – through
following His written instruction, the Torah of Life. It means
learning to walk by His judgments, ordinances, and statutes! It
means learning to not mix them with idolatry – the ways of the
world.
Being
holy means that our thoughts, our perspectives, our desires, our
motives, our attitudes, our words, and our actions are brought into
line with God’s instruction. It does not mean that our thoughts or
feelings represent the Holy Spirit, but rather that we seek to have
our thoughts and feelings brought into subjection to the Spirit of
God, as He reminds us of His Holy Instruction (Torah) which we have
learned! It does not mean that all of our actions are righteous, but
rather that we continually seek to understand our errors of thought,
word, and deed – and repent! It does not mean that we have arrived,
but rather that we are walking on the narrow road to eternal life!
It doesn’t come with a false pride that we have become something
great or that we are doing something great, but with a realization
that we are continually dependent upon the grace of a loving God.
Being
holy means continually praising our Creator for His glorious
sovereignty and grace toward us. It means continually seeking His
will through His Word and prayer. It means learning to take to heart
that everything in our lives is part of His purpose for our ultimate
good. It isn’t giving up feelings, but comes with a real inner
peace, while we can at the same time cry for others.
Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, Ruler of the Universe,
Who
has sanctified us
(made
us holy) by His Word,
and instructed us to . . .
(The
beginning of Hebrew blessings prior to performance of mitzvot
/ Torah acts).
You
are holy, and Your Name is holy,
and holy ones praise You every day, forever!
(Shemoneh
Esrei: third benediction)
He
knows my thoughts from afar, and He knows my end from my beginning.
He is very awesome – He is holy!
[ADD
portion on “Firstfruits” from Machzor.]
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