Holy God
4 min read
52 “The Israelites are to set up their tents by divisions, each of them in their own camp under their standard. 53 The Levites, however, are to set up their tents around the tabernacle of the covenant law so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are to be responsible for the care of the tabernacle of the covenant law.”
Numbers 1:52-53
Part of the point of assigning the Levites to the care of the tabernacle (maybe the whole point, actually), is to take seriously the holiness of God. The idea is that the community needed special agents who are trained to handle the holy objects properly so that the wrath of God would not break out against the community.
We find here another reason why many people may not like reading the Old Testament. Why is God so uncompromising and so full of wrath in the Old Testament.
But again, we need to recognize that the God of the New Testament is the same as the God of the Old Testament. And so our minds, and then our hearts, need to work a little bit in order to understand what the Bible in the fullness of its counsel is truly telling us about God.
And what the Bible reveals to us about God is that He is absolutely holy. If God were a compromising God, He would not be absolutely holy. And God is full of wrath against sin. If God were not full of wrath against sin, He would not be absolutely holy.
It’s just that in the New Testament, all of that uncompromising, wrathful holiness was laser-beam focused on His Son—instead of us. And because of that grace and mercy, we have the freedom to perform our duties as a holy priesthood without the fear of God’s wrath when we make mistakes (not if)—even mistakes we make in our minds and our hearts.
When we understand the uncompromising holiness of God, then we can see the unfathomable mercy and freedom that is Christ Jesus. And then we can worship and serve God with that perfect mixture of repentance and joy that reveals His glory.
Father, You have established Your church through the blood of our Lord Jesus, so that through us, Your manifold wisdom and glory may be revealed in the universe. Forgive us when Your revealed truth falls on complacent and self-serving hearts. Transform us to know Your holiness and the mercy we have in Christ Jesus. In Jesus’s holy name. Amen.
