It began way back in early history recorded for us in our own scriptures - an obsession with worshipping a female god.
Manasseh, an extremely evil king, went so far as to make a carved image of Asherah, who was a Semitic mother goddess of Baal, and set it up in Solomon’s temple that was to be holy to the Lord God! (II Kings 21:7)
The people of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord by worshipping Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians.. (Judges 3:7, I Kings 11:33)
King Solomon, at the end of his life - in spite of his wisdom and experiences with God - built a temple for Ashtoreth, who “was the abomination of the Sidonians”. (II Kings 22:13)
The people of Israel also worshipped the Queen of Heaven . She probably identifies with Ishtar, known in Mesopotamia as a goddess of love and war and the planet Venus. (Jer. 7:18, Jer. 44:17)
We have the history of many cultures who had female gods: Isis, Sophia, Shakti, Aphrodite, Athena - to name a few.
Christianity, of course, has held to the masculine when referring to the God of all Creation and the God of the bible.
Until recently......
Suddenly, there is a rebellion, an aversion, a shift away from an unquestionable 'He' to referring to God in the feminine pronoun.
New bible versions lean to the gender inclusive, hymns are reworded, books like The Shack go to the extreme in portraying God outright as a woman, voices are arguing for the validity of ‘mother’ God.
A justification reason is that God is beyond gender .. therefore is neither male or female, and since there has been an imbalance in the insistence of declaring Him male there is need to now portray him as feminine. Another reason given is that many people have a problem with the father figure in their life and they find it much easier to accept God if they see him more like a mother.
What is it we want ? Do we think that if we can visualize God as a mother , we will fear Him less ? that we can count on a more benevolent god, one more easily moved to compassion and One who will overlook our sinful ways ? One less inclined toward judgement ?
I have never had a problem with God being spoken of as HE - in all references referred to in the masculine. It is the language of the bible and I have never been tempted to wish it to be otherwise.
But with the changing popular trend around me I have been forced to think about it and
have come to a firm conclusion...... There is a very solid reason to not move away from the Father/male image of God.
It came to me the other morning while my husband was praying before breakfast.
When God created man , He created Adam first – then took Eve out from his side.
The woman was created out of man. (Gen 2:23)
Yes, MAN - created in God’s image - is male and female… BUT … the woman was created FROM man… she is therefore ‘a part of man’.
God can never be ‘a part’ or spoken of in terms that indicate 'coming from someone or something ' else !! He must be the whole, the first! Therefore He cannot ever be spoken of in female terms.
He speaks of Himself in the masculine… as the Father -- because that is the only accurate description of who He is and how we are to think of Him!
"A FATHER of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in HIS holy habitation." (Psa 68:5)
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Showing posts with label the Holiness of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the Holiness of God. Show all posts
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Saturday, September 8, 2007
The Word that Stands Alone
There is a word in our English language that is unique from all others.
It is unique in its limited usage.
It is a word for which we have no succinct definition.
It is a descriptive word that when used correctly can refer to only one thing.
As far as I know, there is only one word that fits the above criteria.
The word is Holy.
This word has no applicable use other than to be descriptive of God.
It has no easy definition. It is the word that connects our minds to the mysterious otherness of God – that part of God that man cannot touch or understand or define.
It is a word that I love.
The very sound of the word brings shivers of awe and other-world awareness through my body. It brings me into that Presence of the Eternal where God alone lives.
It is the word that the beasts before the throne of God repeat over and over , day and night, never ceasing….”Holy, Holy, Holy!” Their awe of the essence of God is never diminished…and forever expressed in this one unearthly word, “Holy!”
I think it will be the first word that will come to our lips when we step into God’s real Presence and look upon the One we worship. “Holy!”
In one of my July posts Glory of God , I appreciated a comment left by Pam from Colorado .
She said , “I do not use the word ‘awe’ very often as it represents to me, the very feelings I have for God. This picture is awe inspiring and instantly grabs my attention and turns it to the mightiness of God and all the beauty and wonder he represents.”
I know what she means and I agree…I don’t often use the word-awe’ either unless it in connection with God or His creation.
The word ‘awe’ however is understood – it means something so incredibly beautiful or mind-boggling that only God could have done it !!
The definition of ‘awe’ is written out in God’s glorious universe.
Holy…is the part of God that He did not display in His creation. It is the hidden part of God that our physical limitations do not allow us to embrace or even begin to understand.
We are, however, given some glimpses into the awesomeness of what this word speaks of...
When Moses drew near to the burning bush, when Joshua encountered the Commander of the Lord, both were told to remove their shoes for they stood on Holy ground.
Just as we remove our shoes before we step onto someone’s white carpet, so also the contamination of this world cannot touch God’s holiness.
Shoes also provide a barrier to protect us from the elements. There is nothing man-made that can protect us from God’s Holiness.
And protection we need !!
Holy speaks of the ‘terrifying’ side of God – the part that fills us with fear!!
It is the ‘Holy’ of God that caused Isaiah to say “Woe is me, I am undone!” (Isaiah 6:5) The sight of God’s Holiness was so ‘terrible’ that Moses exclaimed.. “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling!” (Heb. 12:21)
Even John the beloved disciple, who knew Jesus so intimately, when he saw his Holiness….”fell as His feet as dead!”(Rev. 1:17)
And it is not without cause that man cannot stand for fear before God’s Holiness.
God warned the Israelites over and over that if they so much as touched anything God declared Holy…. They would die !!
“but..they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die!” (Num.4:15) And God was serious….When Uzza reached out to keep the Ark of the Covenant from tipping, God immediately struck him dead! (I Chron. 13:9.10)
God gave the priests a special recipe for the perfume, the holy anointing oil. It was not to be poured upon man’s flesh, nor could they try to imitate the recipe for their own use - It was Holy !
Punishment for disobedience ? death (Ex. 30:31-33)
God’s Holiness is not to be taken lightly , no matter how secure we are in His love and care and faithful tenderness.
David, a man so close to God’s heart, stands in awe of God’s holiness. “Let them praise thy great and terrible name…for it is HOLY.” (Ps. 99:3)
One of my favourite verses that always brings awe into my being is in Hab. 2:20, “The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
I find it interesting that man through the ages has not found another usage for the word ‘Holy’. It is as though God has preserved even the word for Himself.
Except !
Satan, knowing what this word represents, has taken it and put it into men’s mouths as a swear word.
I am more offended when people use the word “Holy” as a swear word than any other and then so often coupled with words describing the basest of earth’s elements.
God has declared, “You shall not profane My Holy name……” (Lev. 22:32)
And yet, Holy as God is , fearful and terrible to our human flesh, He has found a way to ‘touch’ US with His holiness.
To His children, He has given His Holy Spirit…that mysterious otherness of God that we cannot see….abides within us to make us Holy, even as He is Holy.
God has called us to be a people separated from the world, a people ‘touched’ with God’s holiness.
“And you shall be holy unto me for I the Lord am holy and have severed you from other people, that you should be mine !” (Lev. 20:26)
What an honor!!
I am reminded of a time we were moving when my daughter was three years old. She wanted so badly to help carry stuff to the car. The boxes of course were too heavy for her, so I gave her a jar of pickles and told her it would be a very special help to me if she carried them carefully to the car. I can still see the pride in her face , and how extra careful she was not to drop it, guarding the trust given her. To her at that moment nothing was more important than to carry that jar safely to the car.
Is that not how we should live our lives as Christians? Ever aware of the most Holy thing that we carry within us??
There is a verse at the end of the Book that tells us what the end times will be like. There will be an exaggeration of evil but also a rising up of God’s saints !! The usage of the word ‘still’ means that the condition is set …on going.
“He who is unjust, let him be unjust still, he who is filthy, let him be filthy still , he who is righteous , let him be righteous still, he who is holy, let him be holy still !!! (Rev. 22:11)
“I saw the Lord…and the train of His robe filled the temple, Above it stood seraphim, and one cried to another and said,….
’Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts , the whole earth is full of His glory !!!”
(Is. 6:1,2)
It is unique in its limited usage.
It is a word for which we have no succinct definition.
It is a descriptive word that when used correctly can refer to only one thing.
As far as I know, there is only one word that fits the above criteria.
The word is Holy.
This word has no applicable use other than to be descriptive of God.
It has no easy definition. It is the word that connects our minds to the mysterious otherness of God – that part of God that man cannot touch or understand or define.
It is a word that I love.
The very sound of the word brings shivers of awe and other-world awareness through my body. It brings me into that Presence of the Eternal where God alone lives.
It is the word that the beasts before the throne of God repeat over and over , day and night, never ceasing….”Holy, Holy, Holy!” Their awe of the essence of God is never diminished…and forever expressed in this one unearthly word, “Holy!”
I think it will be the first word that will come to our lips when we step into God’s real Presence and look upon the One we worship. “Holy!”
In one of my July posts Glory of God , I appreciated a comment left by Pam from Colorado .
She said , “I do not use the word ‘awe’ very often as it represents to me, the very feelings I have for God. This picture is awe inspiring and instantly grabs my attention and turns it to the mightiness of God and all the beauty and wonder he represents.”
I know what she means and I agree…I don’t often use the word-awe’ either unless it in connection with God or His creation.
The word ‘awe’ however is understood – it means something so incredibly beautiful or mind-boggling that only God could have done it !!
The definition of ‘awe’ is written out in God’s glorious universe.
Holy…is the part of God that He did not display in His creation. It is the hidden part of God that our physical limitations do not allow us to embrace or even begin to understand.
We are, however, given some glimpses into the awesomeness of what this word speaks of...
When Moses drew near to the burning bush, when Joshua encountered the Commander of the Lord, both were told to remove their shoes for they stood on Holy ground.
Just as we remove our shoes before we step onto someone’s white carpet, so also the contamination of this world cannot touch God’s holiness.
Shoes also provide a barrier to protect us from the elements. There is nothing man-made that can protect us from God’s Holiness.
And protection we need !!
Holy speaks of the ‘terrifying’ side of God – the part that fills us with fear!!
It is the ‘Holy’ of God that caused Isaiah to say “Woe is me, I am undone!” (Isaiah 6:5) The sight of God’s Holiness was so ‘terrible’ that Moses exclaimed.. “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling!” (Heb. 12:21)
Even John the beloved disciple, who knew Jesus so intimately, when he saw his Holiness….”fell as His feet as dead!”(Rev. 1:17)
And it is not without cause that man cannot stand for fear before God’s Holiness.
God warned the Israelites over and over that if they so much as touched anything God declared Holy…. They would die !!
“but..they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die!” (Num.4:15) And God was serious….When Uzza reached out to keep the Ark of the Covenant from tipping, God immediately struck him dead! (I Chron. 13:9.10)
God gave the priests a special recipe for the perfume, the holy anointing oil. It was not to be poured upon man’s flesh, nor could they try to imitate the recipe for their own use - It was Holy !
Punishment for disobedience ? death (Ex. 30:31-33)
God’s Holiness is not to be taken lightly , no matter how secure we are in His love and care and faithful tenderness.
David, a man so close to God’s heart, stands in awe of God’s holiness. “Let them praise thy great and terrible name…for it is HOLY.” (Ps. 99:3)
One of my favourite verses that always brings awe into my being is in Hab. 2:20, “The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
I find it interesting that man through the ages has not found another usage for the word ‘Holy’. It is as though God has preserved even the word for Himself.
Except !
Satan, knowing what this word represents, has taken it and put it into men’s mouths as a swear word.
I am more offended when people use the word “Holy” as a swear word than any other and then so often coupled with words describing the basest of earth’s elements.
God has declared, “You shall not profane My Holy name……” (Lev. 22:32)
And yet, Holy as God is , fearful and terrible to our human flesh, He has found a way to ‘touch’ US with His holiness.
To His children, He has given His Holy Spirit…that mysterious otherness of God that we cannot see….abides within us to make us Holy, even as He is Holy.
God has called us to be a people separated from the world, a people ‘touched’ with God’s holiness.
“And you shall be holy unto me for I the Lord am holy and have severed you from other people, that you should be mine !” (Lev. 20:26)
What an honor!!
I am reminded of a time we were moving when my daughter was three years old. She wanted so badly to help carry stuff to the car. The boxes of course were too heavy for her, so I gave her a jar of pickles and told her it would be a very special help to me if she carried them carefully to the car. I can still see the pride in her face , and how extra careful she was not to drop it, guarding the trust given her. To her at that moment nothing was more important than to carry that jar safely to the car.
Is that not how we should live our lives as Christians? Ever aware of the most Holy thing that we carry within us??
There is a verse at the end of the Book that tells us what the end times will be like. There will be an exaggeration of evil but also a rising up of God’s saints !! The usage of the word ‘still’ means that the condition is set …on going.
“He who is unjust, let him be unjust still, he who is filthy, let him be filthy still , he who is righteous , let him be righteous still, he who is holy, let him be holy still !!! (Rev. 22:11)
“I saw the Lord…and the train of His robe filled the temple, Above it stood seraphim, and one cried to another and said,….
’Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts , the whole earth is full of His glory !!!”
(Is. 6:1,2)
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