Holiness of God
Notes
Transcript
A. Rapport for the time
Holiness—God’s holiness means that he is separated from sin and devoted to seeking his own honor. (Grudem)
This definition contains both relational quality (separated from) and a moral quality(the separation is from sin or evil, and the devotion is to the good of God’s own honor or glory). The idea of holiness as including both separation from evil and devotion to God’s own glory is found in a number of OT passages. The word holy is used to describe both parts of the tabernacle, for example. The tabernacle itself was a place separate from evil and sin of the world, and the first room in it was called “the holy place.” It was dedicated to God’s service. But then God commanded that there be a veil, “and the veil shall separate for you the holy place from the most holy”
33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.
The most holy place, where the ark of the covenant was kept, was the place most separated from evil and sin and most fully devoted to God’s service.
God’s holiness provides the pattern for his people to imitate.
2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
26 You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.
Zechariah prophesies a day when everything on earth will be “holy to the LORD.” He says:
And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar; and every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the LORD of hosts. (Zech. 14:20–21)
At that time, everything on earth will be separated from evil, purified from sin, and devoted to the service of God in true moral purity
Intro is all Grudem....
B. Reading of the text
C. Review of the text
1 The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
7 months. Just so we all remember how the ark got into the Philistines hands in the first place let’s recall how the Ark was being treated by the people of God.
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.
13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.
14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
The nation of Israel had turned to other false gods and taken their focus of the one True God. This does not happen all in one day or all at once. It very often is a slow fade away from the truth of whose you are into your own hands and abilities. We serve the god of self and pride that doesn’t have a fancy statue to place on the mantle but instead just rules our hearts.
10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.
11 And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The Israelites saw God as something to be used. We looked at how we are servants of God and He will not ever be something to be used but the GOD worthy of all Glory and our life.
1 Samuel for You Who Can Stand?
a. A battle at Ebenezer is won by the Philistines (4:1–11)
b. The ark is held by Gentiles in Philistia (4:12–22)
c. The ark plagues Philistia (5:1–12)
d. The ark returns (6:1–18)
c′. The ark plagues Beth Shemesh (19–21)
b′. The ark is held by Gentiles in Kiriath Jearim (7:1–2)
a′. A battle at Ebenezer is won by the Israelites (7:3–17)
Chiastic Structure, the most important thing is often at the centre, and a the center of this story is the return of the ark.
D. Relevance of the text
What have you and I done with the holiness of God in our life? As we will take the Lord supper together today in remembrance of what Christ has done for us, what have you done with his holiness. Has the Gospel of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ changed you?
T.S. I want us to look at the Holiness of God from three points of view this morning with the first being from the Philistines view.
I. Philistines view of God
I. Philistines view of God
16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.
17 These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron,
18 and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. The great stone beside which they set down the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
Understand that the Philistine follow after the god Dagon among other gods and they are looking for ways not to believe in God.
6 Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, did they not send the people away, and they departed?
7 Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them.
8 And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way
9 and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”
Coincidence is fully off the table so why are the Philistines not running toward the Lord in repentance to seek after his Holiness?
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
This is what unbelieving hearts do. They don’t understand the holiness of God even when he is pouring out judgement upon their hearts that are determined to get what they want. The pain subsides from the judgement of God and they go back to serve their false gods. Logic says this is silly but we can even change our Logic to fit our own narrative.
T.S. What about the Israelite view of all that has happened.
II. Israel’s view of God
II. Israel’s view of God
13 Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it.
14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.
15 And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon the great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the Lord.
Reaping the harvest indicates that the time is late May or early June
vs. 14 The This stone is not an alter but obviously a stone that everyone would have recognized.
2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock.
3 “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord.
4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
The offering should have been male and done by levitical preists.
vs. 15 Beth Shemesh is a city that Levites are permitted to live.
13 And to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands, Libnah with its pasturelands,
14 Jattir with its pasturelands, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands,
15 Holon with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands,
16 Ain with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands, Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands—nine cities out of these two tribes;
Understand they are not handling the Ark the correct way—will be very important by the time we get to vs. 19
5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it.
17 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites,
19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden,
20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”
6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.
7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.
19 And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow.
vs. 19 Judgement upon the Israelites for not dealing with the Ark properly. But didn’t the Philistines deal it incorrectly first? Yep, they did, but the Israelites know better. They failed to be obedient to what God had told them to do with the Ark and they are responsible to HIM.
He is holy as they are to be Holy.
T.S. What about our view of God and his holiness?
III. Our view of God
III. Our view of God
20 Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?”
21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.”
1 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord.
vs. 21- vs. 1 Israel finally deals correctly with the Ark of the Lord.
But verse 20
Who is able to stand before the Lord, this HOLY God?
No one can stand before the Holiness of God and live because God’s holiness places him separate from sinners like you and I.