Articles / Class Lessons
“Appreciating God's Holiness”
There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.
Exodus 29.43-46 ESV
TODAY’S READING: Exodus 28-29
Taking today's reading along with yesterdays, I see a recurring emphasis on the holiness of God. The worship Israel offered was to be taken with the utmost level of seriousness. The specificity of the law in these passages is amazing. The attention to detail is incredible. While reading, our first reaction might be the expression of relief that Christians are no longer under the requirements of the Old Testament law. And while the Old Law has passed away, there is a purpose for these chapters being included in the Biblical text. These rules and expectations were put in place to reinforce the eternal principle that says the Almighty God must be approached in reverence and awe. I wonder if this has been lost today. How do we approach worship? Do we understand the significance of what we are doing when we gather together on the Lord's Day? Have we brought our mind under control in order to focus on God? Do our actions and attitude reflect a heart that has completely surrendered to Him? Let's move away from the idea that turns the emphasis of worship toward us and move it back to where it belongs: the almighty and awesome God who loves us and deserves every ounce of respect our hearts can muster. I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the LORD', Psalm 122.1.
