Set Apart

I've been giving some thought lately as to what it means to be holy. You don't have to read too far in the Bible to see that God takes holiness very seriously. We see this in both the Old and New Testaments. For example, 1 Peter 2:6 tells us:

Since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

That seems pretty impossible at first, especially when we take the conventional idea of what we consider "holy". I think of things like the "Holy Bible" or "holy water", and songs like "God of Wonders" with lines in it like, "You are holy, holy." We tend to think of holy as being something perfect and godly.

That is certainly true, but what it really means is "set apart". My daily reading has me in the book of Joshua right now and that gives us a very clear picture of how God wants His people to be set apart. Most people know that Joshua won the battle at Jericho with the marching and the trumpets. Many people know about the family of Rahab the prostitute that was spared because she helped the Hebrew spies. But how many consider this passage:

Joshua 6:21 -- Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.

Wow. I've read this several times, but as I write this I can see the photo of my daughter on my computer's desktop. To think that God would command my Lily to destruction if I were a regular guy in Jericho is tough to take. Yet God commanded this. Why would He do such a thing? Why would such a loving God do this?

God takes His holiness very seriously. The temple had an area called the "Holy of Holies". The High Priest only entered once a year to atone for the sins of the people. The other priests tied a rope around this guy's ankle so that they could pull him back out if he died from offering a sacrifice in an unworthy manner. Again, it's clear that God takes holiness very seriously.

How does that affect me? It tells me that I need to be different from the world. I don't want to "go with the flow". But I also need to physically be near those who need to hear the gospel and present it in a relevant way. But then I consider this from Luke 18:

9He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed[a] thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' 13But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

It's so easy for me to be the Pharisee. I need to remember that, although I do some of this holiness stuff pretty well, I'm still a sinner who needs grace. I marvel at yet another one of God's paradoxical commands that are impossible to fulfill on my own power, but possible by His grace.