June 26, 2019

Author: Pastor Gordon Cook
June 26, 2019

Exodus 3: 1-6

In this familiar passage, Moses is face to face with God. We call this Old Testament manifestation a theophany. (Read Ex 3: 1-6)

The most amazing thing about prayer is that we get to talk to God. We see how amazing it is when we realize who God is. Who is He? From our Bibles, the word glory tells us about God. His glory is reflected in his holiness. If we only had one attribute to describe God’s greatness and majesty, it would be His holiness.

Theologians used to speak of the two kinds of God’s holiness: His moral holiness and His majestic holiness. Majesty has to do with His greatness and holiness expresses how He is different, distinct and separate from us. He is a God who is transcendent, far above us. There is no one greater than God.

The first time we are introduced to holiness in the Bible is here in Exodus 3. This comes through when God tells Moses he is standing on holy ground. What is Moses’ response? He hides his face; he is afraid to look at God.

The classic Old Testament text that references God’s holiness is Isaiah 6: 1-6 when Isaiah has the sight of God, high and lifted up, and those mysterious creatures called seraphim who repeat “Holy, holy, holy.” It is a superlative, repeated three times. The thrice repeated “holy” is also found in Revelation.

We have seen in Exodus 3 that God’s holiness affects everything. The fact that Moses stands on holy ground, for example. What else? The holy temple and all the instruments in it, holy throne, holy people.

Where should we go to get a greater understanding and appreciation of God’s holiness? Christ and His cross, certainly. Christ Himself is the holy Son of God. Everything He did and said was marked by holiness. Also, God’s law. Paul tells us in Romans 7:12, we go to the holy law to learn about the holy God. We worship a three-person God, each is perfectly holy. What makes prayer amazing is that we get to talk to a perfectly holy God.

 

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