Has God’s holiness changed since the time of the Exodus? Obviously not! We must discern in our time how to keep the holy things holy—a difficult task given that we have very few required rituals and regular practices that taught the people of old the lessons of holiness. Jesus taught us that holiness had more to do with the attitude of the heart than outward acts of religious observance. Yet God’s holiness still demands and deserves a people who distinguish between the holy and the common.
Going Deep // Focus: Exodus 30:36-37
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather fragrant spices, [grind it] into a very fine powder and put it in front of the Ark of the Covenant, where I will meet with you in the Tabernacle. You must treat this incense as most holy. Never use this formula to make this incense for yourselves. It is reserved for the Lord, and you must treat it as holy.
We live in a generation that does not distinguish between the holy and the common. We mostly treat them as one and the same. In an attempt to make our weekly worship of God comfortable and our daily walk with God casual, we have lost sight of his holiness and the fear of the Lord that grows out of his holiness.
Yet God was very clear with his people that in their worship, certain things must be kept holy and not turned into common objects or everyday practices. In the case of the incense, God wanted it reserved for sacred use because his holiness both demanded and deserved it. And in keeping the holy from becoming common, it reminded the people of the holiness of God, inspiring among them a proper and healthy fear of the Lord.
Has God’s holiness changed since the time of the Exodus? Obviously not! We must discern in our time how to keep the holy things holy—a difficult task given that we have very few required rituals and regular practices that taught the people of old the lessons of holiness. Jesus taught us that holiness had more to do with the attitude of the heart than outward acts of religious observance. Yet God’s holiness still demands and deserves a people who distinguish between the holy and the common.
Perhaps one of the ways we can honor God’s holiness and teach our children the same is to keep the day of worship holy. This seems consistent with God’s instructions in Exodus and apostolic injunctions in the New Testament teachings. We have “forsaken the assembling of ourselves together” by filling our schedules with a host of good things—soccer for the kids, golf for dad, shopping sprees for mom, brunch, football games, and on the list of compelling activities and invitations goes. But have these good things crowded out the best thing—to worship God in the assembly of his people?
Maybe keeping that time, whether Sunday morning or Saturday evening, or whenever your faith community gathers for corporate worship is one of those ways to keep the sacred from become casual.
Perhaps you can come up with some other ways—and as long as spirit of your efforts isn’t replaced with legalistic application of the law, your efforts will be well worth your while.
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