Tag Archives: Purity

On Holiness

Posted on by under God, Scripture

Journal 2018

One of the most profound and moving hymns of my childhood was Holy, holy, holy. In my little mind, I defined holiness as moral purity or perfection—a quality belonging only to God and something I could never attain. Thus “holier than thou” turned into a derogatory term meaning pride.

Some dictionary definitions of holiness include absoluteness, majesty, exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness. With these definitions, only God is truly holy, so why do the Scriptures tell humans to be holy? (Lev. 11:44; 19:2)

Another aspect of holiness suggests divine separation from all that is earthly, set apart, sacred, dedicated or consecrated to God. With this definition, a person cannot be holy-er. Either you are set apart or you’re not. You cannot be both holy and unholy. A vessel that was set apart in the temple was either used in the temple or it wasn’t. It’s like either you’re pregnant or you’re not.

Here’s a quick Bible verse search for the word holiness. Something to chew on.

  • Holiness adorns your house for endless days O Lord. (Ps. 93:5)
  • Glorious is holiness (Ex. 15:11)
  • The beauty of holiness (I Chron. 16:29)
  • Give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. (Ps. 30:4)
  • The throne of his holiness (Ps. 47:8)
  • The mountain of his holiness (Ps. 48:1)
  • Highway … called The Way of Holiness. (Isa. 35:8)
  • Courts of thy holiness (Jer. 23:9)
  • Words of his holiness (Jer. 23:9)
  • The spirit of holiness (Rom. 1:4)
  • Put on the new man, which after God is created in … true holiness. (Eph. 4:24)
  • God hasn’t called us to uncleanness but unto holiness. (I Thess. 4:7)
  • Partakers of his holiness (Heb. 12:10)
  • Follow peace with all, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. (Heb. 12:14)
Lit candle in a ceramic holder on a rustic wooden table with a book nearby

The Moral Dilemma of Vengeance

Posted on by under Choices, Emotions, God, Scripture

Journal 2006

The Dilemma: Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, defiles Dinah, the daughter of the Patriarch Jacob. (Genesis 34)

Man’s Solution: Simeon and Levi (Dinah’s brothers) decide to avenge the wrong. They deceive Shechem and the leaders in the city, kill all the males, and along with Jacob’s other sons, seize all the plunder, including women and children. (As an aside, I find it interesting that it’s Levi, the future priestly line, who avenges. A strong sense of justice and fairness becomes imbalanced.)

It seems that God allowed for vengeance in the Old Testament (an eye for an eye), even though the Mosaic Law had not been given yet. Yet murder is not an equal retribution for rape. If only the brothers had asked God what to do, He could have brought judgment on Shechem, and his blood wouldn’t have fallen on the brothers’ heads.

God’s Solution: Jacob is now scared of retribution, and God answers that fear. He instructs Jacob to move to Bethel (where he first met God at the ladder to heaven) and to build an altar. (Genesis 35:1).

Man’s Response: The Scripture doesn’t say God instructed Jacob to get rid of idols. Maybe He did say it, or maybe Jacob is taking the final step of obedience and loyalty to His God. Remember that Rachel (Jacob’s favorite wife) had taken her father’s idols when they fled Paddan Aram. I also suspect the women and children whom the brothers captured from Shechem’s town also brought idols with them. Nonetheless, Jacob instructs all his household to give him all their idolatrous paraphernalia (which he buries) and to purify themselves and put on fresh garments—outward symbols of an inward change of heart.

God’s Response: When Jacob obeys, God protects. “The terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them” (Genesis 35:5 NIV).

My Response: When I’ve been wronged, it’s easy to believe that taking vengeance into my own hands will make me feel better. But “Vengeance is mine,” says the Lord (Deuteronomy 32:35). His retribution is fair and just and better than anything I can dream up.* Best to let those feelings go and face my pain.

I may take many detours in life, responding with poor choices, but I’m safest in the place where God dwells, in obedience, and in purity.

*I’ll never forget the day I was working with a D.I.D. client. When Jesus asked one of her Little Ones if she’d let HIM punish her perpetrator instead, her eyes got big. “He be in big trouble!” she exclaimed.

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Feeling at Home

Posted on by under Choices, Emotions, God, Peace, Scripture

Journal 2006

. . . His Spirit in your inner self [indwelling your innermost being and personality] (Ephesians 3:16 Amplified)

Since my innermost being is home to the Holy Spirit, I want to make Him feel as at home and comfortable as I possibly can. I know how icky it feels in my earthly home when there’s tension and discord and fighting and self-centeredness. How at home does the Holy Spirit feel when I’m angry, peevish, sulky, self-centered, lonely* or at worst—when I sin, leaving dirty smudges on the windows of His house, keeping others from seeing His light shine through?

[*“Why are you lonely? Aren’t I here?” says the Holy Spirit]

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