September 21

Isaiah 5:24-7:25
Psalm 109:16-25
Proverbs 23:4-5
2 Corinthians 9:1-10:11

Quality Par Excellence
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts.
—Isaiah 6:3

Even the most casual reader of the Scriptures cannot help but notice that God is portrayed in the Bible as uniquely and awesomely holy. In fact, there are more references to the holiness of God in Scripture than to any other aspect of His character. This ought to give us some indication of how important it is.

But what do we mean when we say God is “holy”? There are three thoughts underlying the word “holy.”

First, the idea of separation, being withdrawn or apart.

Second, brightness or brilliance.

Third, moral majesty, purity, or cleanliness.

It is interesting that those who came into direct contact with the Almighty in the Old Testament were inevitably overwhelmed by His moral majesty.

Isaiah went into the temple to pray at a time when his people were in grave difficulties. Uzziah, the king who had ruled for half a century, was dying, and Assyria, a terrible and evil force, stood threateningly to the north. Whatever answer Isaiah thought he would get as he opened up his heart to God, it was not the one he received. He was given instead a vision of a holy God that shook him to the core of his being.

Why should this be? I think it was because the concept of God’s holiness is the main lesson in His school, the divine prerequisite for admission to the inner heart of God, the most important qualification for learning from the Lord.

Prayer
Father, I must search my heart this day and ask myself: Do I know what it is to serve a holy God? Have I ever received a vision of the moral majesty and purity of the divine? Deepen my understanding of all this I pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Further Study
Ex 15:1-11; Ps 99:9
What question did Moses pose?
What did the psalmist affirm?

Every Day with Jesus Daily Bible – September 21