If you have been following this summer’s series of Doctrinal posts on talkofJESUS.COM you have just read about Sola Scripture, that is: Only Scripture. And IF you believe ‘what is written’ then you know that both blessings and curses are conditional.
Scripture also speaks for the LORD! God commands. We must listen and obey.
Jesus COMMANDS His followers and they encourage us in the Gospel what WE must do. THEREFORE Christians must believe that JESUS will do what HE has said.
Although this scripture was not part of many which could have been a part of the theme of this 3-part series, it is its theme:
Then the Spirit of God covered Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest like clothing; and he stood above the people and said to them,
“This is what God has said,
‘Why do you break the commandments of the LORD and do not prosper? Because you have abandoned the LORD, He has also abandoned you.’”
God is faithful. So why would you abandon your Scripture faith?
The Gospel proclaims that JESUS IS LORD!
We must not question the Lord Jesus’ intentions for us.
His Command is clear: in the Good News of a New Testament our Lord Jesus calls the church to ‘a NEW Commandment.’
A Commandment of Scripture worth repeating
Earlier this year I linked this post to my series on the Gospel of John, but in case you missed it this post from seven years ago should command your attention. For after all, Jesus IS GOD and Scripture is God’s word.
Maybe a Saint or Pope? Perhaps an angel? How about a Priest or holy man dedicating their life to God? And what about holy men and women of other faiths? WHO CAN BE HOLY?
No question about someone’s preaching or teaching is more important than, “What do you mean by that?”
So as I begin this series addressing various doctrines, please allow me to address what I mean by three terms in this first doctrine: God, Isand Holy. (What do I mean when I preface my teaching on the Bible by saying, ‘God is holy?’)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth..
gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God
also (plural intensive – singular meaning) i.e. the true God
We cannot exhaust all of the words used for ‘God’ here as we speak of doctrine, but we must look at one additional (and somewhat ambiguous) synonym, ‘Lord.’
28 One of the Torah-teachers came up and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He [the Messiah Jesus] had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?”
‘Sh’ma Yisra’el, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, O Isra’el, the Lord our God, the Lord is one], and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
Mark 12:28-29 from NASB & CJB
Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘.. The Lord is our God, the Lord is one..’
Holy, Holy, Holy
I remember from early days of my childhood growing up ‘in church’ hearing a cappella worship and the ethereal lyrics of ‘Holy, Holy, Holy.’ The ‘otherness‘ feeling of these moments of worship transported my soul to a higher undefinable place. It was worship I would not come to understand until until I received the Holy Spirit many years later in this mortal life.
Although we cannot even approach the heights and depths of the doctrine of Trinity in this brief look at holiness, I offer you, beloved fellow believer, this one insight:
You may have heard of the Trinity before, but it will not impact your faith until you receive the Holy Spirit.
Awe becomes a most humbling reaction to the Holy presence of Almighty God!
We witness mortals experiencing this holiness in Moses and many others. Take the reaction of the prophet Isaiah for instance:
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
“God is not a man, that He would lie, Nor a son of man, that He would change His mind; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good.
This Latin expression from early church fathers describes God’s holiness as the “tremendous, tremor-inducing and awe-inspiring, mystery,” a reverence for the Lord rarely present in 21st century worship by the church.
God is Other Plus
Can man pursue Other?
God IS other, but God is also more than Other. The LORD is above all His Creation plus in it as well. The Personal God of the Bible made Himself known to those He chose; that is, Moses, Elijah and the Prophets, David and others.
Although we hallow God (and we must), our awe and fear of the LORD draws us to His love that conceived each of us in His image as body, mind and spirit.
Again, returning to a description by Otto, who secular philosophers accuse of pursuing the irrational, it is better to say “supra-rational.”
God is NOT other than rational just because man cannot understand a God so ‘other’ than mankind.
Theologians seek to study “that rational aspect of that supreme Reality we call ‘God.”‘ Although the Holy trembles the hearts of men, the pursuit of God’s holiness draws us to the other supra-rational being who out of His own love pursues us.
God defends HIS HOLINESS!
Scripture records that God has met up with some brash men and responded. (So have we.) Some sought answers from the Lord while others offended God by bold disrespect or by profane ignorance of the Almighty.
Secular ambivalence to God denies that which is holy, while cultural inclusion of that which is not holy diminishes the Divine Authority of He Who IS other and above all creation.
GOD defends His holiness and His Holy Name.
Roger@talkofJESUS.com
The Lord’s defense of His holiness is sometimes subtle and gentle, yet at times severe and final in execution of His judgment.
Scriptural Defense of God’s Holiness
“Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” – Exodus 3:5
“You shall be holy people to Me, therefore.. – Exodus 22:31a
..the ground that was under them split open..
So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
Fire also came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. – Numbers 16:35
.. Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, because the oxen nearly overturned it. But the anger of the LORD burned against Uzza, so He struck him because he had put out his hand toward the ark; and he died there before God. – 1 Chronicles 13:9b-10
Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
.. and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.” – Luke 3:22
In the synagogue [at Capernaum] there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Leave us alone! What business do You have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, it came out of him without doing him any harm. And amazement came upon them all.. – Luke 4
A Rebuke of the Church
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:
I know your deeds..
A plea of grace
Are you, dear saint of God, looking to the holiness offered to sinners — undeserved holiness by grace from the Perfect Other Son and Sacrifice –Jesus Christ — Who was and IS and will be — judge of all living flesh and judge of each dead saint or sinner?
He knows your deeds — your works for the Lord, as well as every impure act in thought, word and deed.
Hear the cries of the souls of the saints beneath the Altar of Heaven:
“How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who live on the earth?”
Are these not souls like ours crying out to the Lord God for Justice?
How long, O Lord, can it yet be in these last days of this 21st century?
Do you, my fellow saint, recall what follows in John’s apocalypse from Jesus Christ — what response to God’s holy refining of heaven and earth?
And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood and the stars of the sky fell to the earth..
The sky was split apart .. and every mountain and island was removed from its place..
excerpt from the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 6:12-14
The LORD God: Father, Son and Spirit: are ONE and ALL are Perfectly HOLY
Out from the throne came flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder…
..and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.
..day and night they do not cease to say,
“HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, who was and who is and who is to come.”
Revelation 4:8b NASB20
Let those with ears hear what the Spirit says — GOD IS HOLY!
The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in faithful love, forgiving iniquity and rebellion. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generation.
Numbers 14:18 CSB
Numbers 15: Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them,
‘When you enter the land where you are to live, which I am giving you, then make an offering by fire to the Lord..
32 Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the sabbath day… 35 Then the Lord said to Moses,
“The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.”
complaint of bread from heaven
Do you recall their disobedience during the days of Manna In The Wilderness?
IF you have been following ALL of the disobedience of this people you know this is NOT the first death in the wilderness for disobedience. We can easily look back upon violation after violation of the Commandment and instructions by THE LORD our GOD!
Then Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field..” Yet it came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?”
Now Korah .. the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, .. sons of Reuben, took action, and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown.
A coup of 250 leaders of the nation sought to appoint their own Levite Priest (Korah) to lead the Nation whatever way they wanted.
3 They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst..
Moses, Israel’s leader anointed by the LORD & Aaron, Israel’s anointed Priest of the Tabernacle now confronted by 250 men of an opposing party. They oppose the LORD and have an agenda of their own.
Do you remember when?
3000 Deaths – Punishment by the LORD!
‘The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand men fell dead that day among the people.’
Exodus 32:28
REMEMBER the VOTE about entering the ‘Promised Land?”‘
MOSES lost that vote:
10 Leaders AGAINST;
only Joshua & Caleb FOR.
They had feared the LORD briefly, so they sent Moses to Sinai to Represent them before the Lord God! Then they appointed 120 Elders from the twelve parties (tribes) representing a remnant rabble of redeemed slaves through the wilderness.
Now the MAJORITY brings a force of 250 against just Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Caleb, and unnamed loyal followers of the LORD!
The LORD will Prevail
And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. – Lev. 10:2
Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the ears of the LORD; and the LORD heard them and His anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some at the outskirts of the camp. – Numbers 11:1Rabble & Rebellion
Fire also came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. – Numbers 16:35
WE remember so easily miracles and blessings by the LORD of us, yet how easily we forget our promises to Him and punishments for breaking Commandment, instruction or promise.
4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: and he spoke to Korah and all his group, saying,
“Tomorrow morning the Lord will make known who is His, and who is holy, and will bring that one near to Himself;
indeed, the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself..
.. You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”
.. He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? But are you seeking the priesthood as well?
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
Insolence against the LORD!
The answer of Dathan and Abiram to Moses points back to Egypt and their former life in slavery to Pharaoh!
13 Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey.. to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also appoint yourself as master over us?
Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey..
Recall that these were among the 10 who voted against Moses and Joshua and Caleb for continuing into the promised land of the LORD.
.. nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”
The LORD instructs Moses to send for them. After receiving their reply, as Korah and the others had gathered before the LORD as instructed by Moses, he replies to the conspirators.
15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord,
“Pay no attention to their offering! I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.”
16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your group be present before the Lord tomorrow, you and they along with Aaron. And each of you take his censer and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, 250 censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.”
The Glory of the LORD consumes His enemies!
19 So Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation..
21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, so that I may consume them instantly.” ..
26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying,
Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of their’s, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
30 But if the Lord brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have been disrespectful to the Lord.”
Death penalty!
31 Just as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah’s people, and all their possessions.
They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.
Numbers 16:33 CSB
34 At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too!”
35 And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense…
And yet another reminder
38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel..
40 To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the Lord; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the Lord said to him by the hand of Moses.
They murmured against the LORD’s punishment
41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron..
DO YOU MURMUR AGAINST THE LORD OR LEADERSHIP OF YOUR CHURCH?
by implication, to stay permanently; hence (in a bad sense)
to be obstinate (especially in words, to complain):—abide (all night), continue, dwell, endure, grudge, be left, lie all night, (cause to) lodge (all night, in, -ing, this night),
(make to) murmur, remain, tarry (all night, that night).
Don’t WE tend to look back on what the Lord or our pastor did to us?
Exo 15:24 So the people grumbled H3885 at Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
Exo 16:2 But the whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled H3885 against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
Exo 17:3 But the people were thirsty for water there; and they grumbled H3885 against Moses and said, “Why is it that you have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
“And it will come about that the staff of the man whom I choose will sprout. So I will relieve Myself of the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling H3885 against you.”
Numbers 17:5
Who will survive the Wilderness?
Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment.
Numbers 16:45a KJV
For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
Deuteronomy 5:26 KJV
Some would not be led into the promised land. We who have known the great blessings of the Lord our God have seldom recalled the warnings to those who did not obey Almighty God.
NEXT: In the conclusion of this series we will look to the example of Joshua in the wilderness and upon entry into the promised land.
