Qadash

Qādash

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lord, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. —Isaiah 6:1-7

If we read the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, we’ll find that Isaiah’s favorite name for God is ‘The Holy One of Israel" —the Qādash. By calling Him Qādash, he described God’s character in two seemingly opposite ways:

1. God’s holiness evokes awe. He is frightening beyond belief dan filled with superhuman and potentially fatal power.

2. God is set apart from all others and evokes our adoration and reverence. It is in ths way that we —as believers— are called to be holy. We are called “saints” — literally means “the set apart ones.” When was the last time you heard about the incredible reality of God’s holy presence? Have you ever fully considered what it means? Preferring the comforting truths of God’s love and mercy, we have lost this awesome vision of His holiness. The result is that our faith is too often anemic and malnourished by the spiritual equivalent of junk food. We talk about Him as if He were our buddy. We wallow in sin, and revel in a grace that is cheapened because it is separated from this penetrating, purifying holiness. We’ve missed such a huge piece of what it means to be alive and to be men and women connected to God. We have no identity problem when we understand ourselves from God’s perspective. When we see God as Isaiah did here, we dip our toes in the greatest experience a human being can have —to stand in the presence of a holy God. We desperately need to be gripped by this view of highness and the holiness of God. Because we have failed to let it captured our hearts, we so seldom hear what comes next in verse 5. “Woe is me! For I am ruined! (The word woe means literally the calamity has fallen or is about to fall. )

“Who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?” —Malachi 3:2

“If You, Lord, should mark iniquities . . . who could stand?” —Psalm 130:3

We cannot gaze upon the holiness of God without being overcome with a sense of our incredible, desperate need for a fresh infusion of who He is. When we experience God for who He really is, we suddenly see ourselves for who we are. May God help us be a people that will embrace not only the message about Him that delight our hearts, but also the messages that grip us and shake us to the core of our souls. We’ll have to deal with these truths about God for all of eternity; we better start the reality check now, don’t you think?

My dear friends, we know that we have been redeemed by Jesus precious blood, so now we are in His kingdom; we become God’s princes. Should we indulge in our sinful desires? I’m sure that Jesus redeemed us so that we can be what He destined us to be, not for us to enjoy our salvation by indulging our desires for sex chat, pornography, free sex, sleeping around, flirting around, drugs, living in vain, etc. My dear friends, as God’s princes, we have a much higher way-of-life than that. Come on, rise up, guys!

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. — Isaiah 60 : 1-2

Let us be a holy generation that has pure sex & relationship (thanks to Ps. John & Helen Burns). because we have a super duper holy God. Yes! We can do that, because God is our source of strength.

He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. —Isaiah 40:29-3 God bless you, guys! Debbie D. N Monday, Sept 29, 2008 ________________________ Reference: Gripped by the Greatness of God by James MacDonald