The holiness of God

I was reading, meditating and praying over my devotion today which was in 2 Samuel Chapters 5-7. In 2 Samuel Chapter 6 we read the story of David and all the people of the Lord dancing, singing and celebrating. And two verses later Uzzah sticks out his hand to keep the Ark of God steady and the anger of the Lord blazed forth and struck him dead. Just let the scene play out in the video camera of your mind before we move on. Do we understand the importance when it comes to the holiness of God? Have you ever followed up on the cross references in this particular story? Well, if you are reading in a study Bible there should be a cross reference that takes you to Numbers 7:4-9 and then Numbers 4:5-15. By reading the cross reference you come to understand that God told Moses "who" was to carry the sacred objects of the Tabernacle and "how" they were to be carried. When God gives instructions He expects them to be followed out exactly as He has given them.

Can you think of any other Old Testament narratives that display the holiness of God in this way?
Leviticus 10:1-3 is the story of Aaron's two sons who were stuck down by fire from God because they offered a strange first before the Lord in relation to the incense.

How about in 1 Samuel 6:19 when the Ark of the Covenant came back to Israel on the back of a cow. Apparently the Israelites decided to take a look and in the NASB translation is says that over 50,000 men were killed by God.

What the message? God's holiness is to be honored, praised and exalted and it must not ever be tainted, besmirched or trampled. Have you ever caused harm to the holiness of God with your thoughts, speech or actions? Why did He allow you to live? Isn't the only correct Biblical answer to that question because of His mercy and grace? Do you have a fear of God to the point that you tremble in view of offending His holiness? We American Christians have become so encapsulated within this sinful and evil culture that we don't have a proper fear of God. This doesn't mean a cowering fear as if God was an abusive Father, but a fear in reverence of His greatness, and His glory.

So is this just the God of the Old Testament? You should know better than that just look at Acts 5 and the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They according to Peter lied to the Holy Spirit about the sale of their property and God struck them both dead.

Keep reading and go to Acts 12 and the story of Herod the king. He received glory from the people that should have gone to God and God struck him with worms that ate him from the inside out and he died 3 days later.

Is the church today preparing the people of God in the importance of holiness training? It seems that we are much more concerned about how we can relate, appease and appeal to the culture. There is little concern about holiness when you compare the stats of those who aren't Christian as opposed to those who say they are Christians.

Do you know what the disconnect is in the church? We have abandoned the intense and ongoing training in the doctrine of God. Many American Christians have an imaginary picture of the God they would like instead of the God of the Bible. I personally have seen in my last 4 years of intense pastoral ministry the need for people to know the God of the Scriptures. In several sermon series, one on the Trinity and the other on the sovereignty of God a number of people commented how they never knew these things or ever studied them.

It is time for the church to get back to the basics of the God of the Bible. I have done this in the past several years but ask the average Christian to give the following definitions regarding the following attributes of God:
1. Sovereignty
2. Immutability
3. Holiness
4. Glory
5. Omniscience
6. Omnipotence
7. Omnipresence
8. Grace
9. Mercy
10. Wrath
11. Justice
12. Love

In conclusion, I must say that the devotion today in 2 Samuel brought me to a sense of God holiness in a powerful way. There are many examples of His justice and I remain on planet earth today as an example of His great mercy. I pray that these kind of devotion times continue to bring me to my knees in thankful exaltation of my great God!

Therefore when we take on a subject like in this blog that is related to the holiness of God there is an overall lack of understanding and study on this subject.