As we begin the year, the first attribute of God I want to cover is Holy because I believe if we understand that He is holy and all He does is out of His holiness we set a standard and foundation for everything else we read about Him. If we read something about God that is not within the character of holiness then we know that either there is something we do not understand or what we read was wrong.
When studying the Bible I highly recommend using a concordance.
A concordance will show you the meaning of a word and its root words. This can be helpful when you come across a word such as ‘love’ which in the Bible can mean one of many types of love. Making the distinction could open up the meaning of the verse in question for you. It may also show you other verses in the Bible using the same word. If you do not have one you can use one online such as
https://www.biblestudytools.com/concordances/strongs-exhaustive-concordance/
Or
http://www.thekingsbible.com/BibleConcordance.aspx
Or
http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html
You could also download the free software at:
https://www.e-sword.net/
Be sure to check out all the add-on features that they offer.
(I am not affiliated with these sites/businesses and do not make a profit if you choose to use them.)
On this site I will be using either the King James Version or the American Standard Version of the Bible as they are in the public domain. At home I lean towards using the English Standard Version which should pop up if you hover over a scripture reference.
Let’s begin…
Exodus 15:11 Who is like unto thee, O Jehovah, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
In this verse the word ‘holiness’ is the Hebrew word qôdesh and is the Hebrew word # 6944 (H6944) if you are looking it up in your concordance. It means holy, sacred, consecrated, dedicated.
Exodus 15:11 tells us that there is no other ‘god’ like the One True God. His holiness is glorious (magnificent / H142 / ‘âdar), is to be reverenced (feared / H3372 / yârê’) in our praise, and performs miracles.
Holiness in this verse comes from the Hebrew root word qâdash (H6942) which among other things means to be made or pronounced clean.
Rev 4:8 And the four living creatures, having each one of them six wings, are full of eyes round about and within: and they have no rest day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.
In this verse holy is the Greek word hagios (G40) and means sacred, pure, blameless. Because He is holy, (clean, pure, sacred) we can be sure that all He does is holy. Even when we do not understand or we witness evil, He does not change. If you watch or read the news, it could be easy to understand why someone could question God. There is so much hatred in the world, some of it released by those professing to be Christians. However, if we know the Word of God and understand more of His nature, we will not have our faith shaken nor will those who claim to be His but are wolves in sheep’s clothing fool us.
Search:
Over the next week take time to look up other places in the Bible that describe God as Holy. You might want to create a notebook or journal to keep track of what you study and what the verses mean to you. You may find them a source of encouragement during a time of need.
Here are a few to get you started:
1 Peter 1:15-16
Isaiah 6:3
Leviticus 19:2
Reflect On:
What it means to be holy. How does knowing God is holy change the way you see Him?
Pray:
For God to reveal Himself as Holy to you.
