One of the major problems in American Christianity today is an over superfluous and rather flippant view of God. Because as Christians we are under grace instead of the law, many have completely misconstrued this teaching into a form of antinomian thinking (that is, we are ultimately free to do whatever we want in some anarchy fashion and God will forgive us anyway). And it is not just in moral issues that we as a collective have done, but in the things of God. This is a lesson I’m only starting to realize how guilty I am, so please keep in mind I am keeping a finger pointed at myself in this post.
One of the repeated themes throughout the Old Testament is to not touch the sacred thing. There are certain places and certain objects that God calls “holy,” separated out for Him and His purposes. Whenever anyone did touch that which God said not to touch, bad things happened. When people listened to this, it was always with great reverence. American Christianity as a whole has lost any real reverence for God, though there are a few voices out there who still have it.
Moses was in the desert and saw a bush burning without being consumed. When he came to check it out, God showed up and told him to remove his sandals because it was holy ground. This spot was special and unique. It was the first time in 400 years that God has spoken to anyone in or from Israel who had been held as slaves in Egypt. There was nothing special about the ground itself except the fact that God was present. When Joshua faced Jericho, he met the Angel of the Lord and he too had to take off his sandals because he was on holy ground. Why? Because God was there. In both cases, both men bowed in awe, reverence, and worship, knowing they deserved death just by being in the presence of God.
But there are two men who heard the commands of not touching the sacred things and did not listen, and it cost them their lives. The first is Achan. God told Israel to sack Jericho but to not touch any of the spoils, because they belonged to God. Achan saw some silver, some gold, and a garment, and he took them, hiding them in his tent. That decision cost Israel its next battle at Ai and 36 men. God brought the problem to Joshua’s attention and exposed Achan. Achan and his family were executed.
The other was a man called Uzzah. David was so excited about finally bringing the Ark of the Covenant to his new capital city of Jerusalem that he built a new cart for it, instead of following the commands that it was to be carried on the shoulders of Levites. On its way, the oxen pulling the cart stumbled and the cart with the Ark on it began to tip over. Uzzah, in his zeal to protect the Ark from falling, reached out and touched the Ark with his hands. God killed him on the spot. Why? Because having the Ark tainted with earth was one thing; touching the Holy thing of God with sin-tainted hands is something entirely different.
You cannot treat the sacred things of God lightly. He means business and we need to as well. There is a reason God required Israel to worship ONLY at the Tabernacle/Temple but not at any of the high places: because He is holy, unique, separated. Israel often worshiped God at the same high places as they worshiped the other idols. God was not going to share His glory with a fake replacement. Yet, this notion of being able to worship God in whatever manner you want is rampant today, and it’s directly contradictory to what Scripture teaches. I have another set of posts I am “cooking” about these high places that I will get to later on.
As I have read biographies and listened to sound sermons about prayer, one thing I have picked up was that the secret closet of prayer is sacred ground. Paul Washer brought to my attention that of all the things the disciples asked Jesus how to do, it was to pray. It wasn’t on how to do a miracle or preach or even how to love others, but how to pray. And often, they waited until He was done praying to find out what was going on. What does that mean? It means when they listened to and watched Jesus pray, it was a sacred thing that you didn’t dare touch. When a person is truly in that state of prayer, when they are in that deep communion with God, there is an air about them that you simply will not dare disturb. I’ve only had glimpses of this. I’ve been in prayer meetings that are really just fluffy spiritual sounding chitter-chatter. Much of my own prayers have been little else than that. But on occasion, I’ve had glimpses and snapshots of the real thing and it’s something that when you are in it, you don’t want it to stop. And if you are on the outside of it, you leave it alone. You watch in awe or you leave it be, but you don’t mess around with it. Prayer is a sacred thing, a holy thing, and it is not something to take flippantly. We are not to touch it. We cannot violate that sacred thing with sin-tainted hands and expect to get God’s blessings.
That which God has called holy and sacred is not to be touched by that which has sin. If we are to approach God, we must be holy as God is holy. That is why we MUST appropriate the cross. Only by the blood of Jesus can we be washed clean and can touch the sacred things. Only by the blood of Jesus can we approach the throne of God and receive His grace. This is no excuse to let us sin at will because God will cover it. Instead of thinking as Achan or Uzzah who thought they could touch the sacred thing and being given mercy in the end, let us think as Moses and Joshua who treaded the sacred ground with reverence and awe and worship, knowing that at any moment, God could kill them and would be right in doing so. God is holy, and that which He sanctified is holy. Do not take it lightly.
Next week, I’ll examine how God’s dealings with man are holy.
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3 comments:
A convenient device for the Church to define what is Holy. The Christian pastor is a modern day Pharisee defining sin & Holiness.
Too right, Charlie sounds like bonafide Pharisee. The example of Moses and Joshua doesn't accord with his topic nor his other examples. When they took their sandles off they touched the sacred.
I also think about David eating the shewbread.
The Pharisees obsessed over holy things, especially the sabbath. The Pharisees obsessed so much about purity they began to follow Eve's example by adding commandments and new laws.
13 Yet now, in Christ Jesus, you, who once are far off, are become near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He is our Peace, Who makes both one, and razes the central wall of the barrier
15 (the enmity in His flesh), nullifying the law of precepts in decrees, that He should be creating the two, in Himself, into one new humanity, making peace;
16 and should be reconciling both in one body to God through the cross, killing the enmity in it.
17 And, coming, He brings the evangel of peace to you, those afar, and peace to those near,
18 for through Him we both have had the access, in one spirit, to the Father.
19 Consequently, then, no longer are you guests and sojourners, but are fellow-citizens of the saints and belong to God's family,
20 being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the capstone of the corner being Christ Jesus Himself,
21 in Whom the entire building, being connected together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord:
22 in Whom you, also, are being built together for God's dwelling place, in spirit. Ephesians 2
12 in Whom we have boldness and access with confidence, through His faith. Ephesians 3
Charlie is like the Pharisees and zealous Jews who wanted to remain under the old covenant seeking a righteousness of their own through demonstrations of holy acts, thereby waiving the righteousness of God apart from the law which is by faith of Jesus Christ.
Anonymous, I'm not sure what your experience at other churches, but could you explain where I am trying to define "holiness" and "sin" for my own gain?
David, I can see you at least partially read the post, but you most certainly missed the entire point.
Jude 4 warns against those who try to use the grace of God to live and believe whatever you want to believe. Or as David Wilkerson put it: "The church is at the height of apostasy when it calls "obedience" "legalism." But thank you for demonstrating what my post is talking about.
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