I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. (Leviticus 11:44) This Torah verse illustrates the need for proper reverence for the holiness of Elohim. In the prophetic portion when King David was bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Israel’s new capital of Jerusalem on a cart pulled by oxen. The Ark had been in storage since the destruction of the Tabernacle in Shiloh, so the people on the journey with David were rejoicing. When the oxen stumbled, a man named Uzzah reached out to steady the ark. In a manner reminiscent of Nadab and Abihu, he was immediately struck down by the Lord. “The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.” (2 Samuel 6:7) Although we tend to think that these kinds of instant-death judgments for irreverence, insincerity, or hypocrisy happened only in the Tanakh (Old Testament), Elohim demands holiness in both the Tanakh and the New Covenant. After all, He does not change. For I am YHWH, I do not change. (Malachi 3:6) And so in the Brit Chadashah that a husband and wife named Ananais and Sapphira conspired to deceive the Apostles with a show of religion—faking that they were donating the entire proceeds from the sale of their field. Peter discerned the truth and told them that they were lying to the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), and they instantly died. (Acts 5:1–11) Because of incidents like these, Elohim is quite often misrepresented as being an angry, vengeful, divine being who would gladly strike us down for the least infraction of His strict rules. But this is not accurate. Judgment is actually a sign of Elohim’s love. We can understand this better if we consider that only parents who love their offspring invest their time in disciplining their children. Elohim does not delight in destroying the wicked, especially not His own children: “As surely as I live,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11) Elohim is holy and sin breaks our fellowship with Him, and often causes others to sin, as well. The history of Israel and the early Believers in Yahshua helps us to understand the holiness of Elohim so that we can live in His presence. Ananais and Sapphira personally saw the work of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) and, yet, they lied in His presence. Uzzah was entrusted with the Ark of the Covenant—a symbol of Elohim’s holy commandments; yet, he defied His direct instructions on how to handle it. The greater our experience of Elohim’s grace, mercy, and holiness, the greater our responsibility to not take advantage of it—and the greater the consequences when we do. Conversely, some present our Heavenly Father as a God of love without justice—a liberal, lenient God who will always give us what we ask for and never holds us accountable for our wrong actions. Such sentimental views of the love of God are out of step with the Word of God. God’s wrath and His love are entirely in keeping with one another. “Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land.” (Psalm 85:9)
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 14:42:15 +0000