Never have I been so happy to look at my yearlong outline and see that I had already designated an entire series on this idea of holiness as being set apart – because the research for all of this is so rich. There’s way too much to pack into one post.
It’s an incredible thing to realize and to see with my own eyes how the idea of qodesh, or ‘holiness’ from the set apart perspective, is woven throughout the entire Bible:
“Qodesh designates all that is set apart to God’s unique sphere of purity, otherness, and moral perfection…. It signals separation from common use and consecration to divine purpose. The idea pervades the entire Old Testament…so that holiness becomes a unifying thread in redemptive history.”1
And that’s just the noun form of ‘holy’ – and only in Hebrew. In case you’re wondering, there are two Greek nouns for ‘holy’, and they carry a similar sentiment. We embark on a journey today that will give us the sky-high view of what being set apart looks like, but we shall swoop down and get a much closer view during our set apart weeks of Lent!
For now, it’s good to know that this idea of holiness, of being set apart for God, goes all the way back to Exodus and the days when the Almighty called the recently freed slaves of Egypt to be set apart from all nations in the world in order to be God’s “holy nation” (Exodus 19:6; Deuteronomy 14:2). God was doing a new thing on the earth; it was the next step in His redemption plan. And because God is wholly set apart, completely ‘other’, everything associated with God also becomes ‘holy’, or set apart – including His people.
And before we’re tempted to think, “Yeah, but that was under the old covenant,” we should consider how God’s redemption plan carries beyond the old and into the new. In Jesus. And through the Church. Jesus followers are set apart because the “new covenant extends this holiness to all believers.”2 I’m already awakening to the fact that if we, who claim to be God’s people, miss this key truth – that we are to live set apart – we are missing the actual point of redemption.
Old Covenant Set-Apartness
So many great Bible teachers say on repeat that “context is king,” meaning that as we read Scripture, it’s imperative we understand when and where it was written as well as to whom – because, first of all, these holy words were written ‘then’ for ‘them’. And if we attempt to read the Bible for ourselves first, through our cultural lenses, we’ll not only miss a great deal but risk misinterpreting or misappropriating the text.
With this in mind, let’s do our best in the space we are given to enter into the context of Moses’ day. The story of God’s people is set in the thriving nation of Egypt – a people group who worshiped a pantheon of gods identifiable through nature. The sun god. The frog god. The water goddess. The lioness goddess…. Pharaoh himself was worshiped as the embodiment of a god. For four hundred years, this was the context for God’s people, immersed in dark arts and unholy worship of many, many gods.
These slaves were called out of this context, delivered not only from enslavement but from the clutches of such idolatry and evil. Alas, even as the Israelites exited Egypt, they soon discovered that every nation in the lands of their day worshiped idols. With their own collection of deities who were associated with storms and seas, sex and child sacrifice, the Canaanites surrounded God’s people with the unholy. In other words, everywhere a human could go, blatant worship of the dark forces on earth was rampant. Abundant. Normal.
American Christians have little to no context for such other-ness as monotheism would have been in the days of Moses and the wilderness wandering Israelites. In that era of history, there was nothing like worshiping one God – much less an invisible, forgiving, self-giving One. And yet, God’s plan for redeeming humanity back to Himself moved forward with the proclamation that these former slaves were His, set apart from every other nation on the planet.
“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy* nation.”
Exodus 19:5-6 NIV
Holy. Different. Other. Set apart from all the rest.
God’s redemptive plan continued to unfold with training and equipping, hence the laws. For a people who had never governed themselves, they needed guidance and direction. For a people who had a muddled history of mixing their theologies, they required the preciseness of the tabernacle, offerings, and holy days – all of which were set apart. God gave them what they needed to move into this new role as His holy people. As a kingdom of priests.
God, in His intentional ways, set out to teach His people how “to distinguish between the holy and the common” (Leviticus 10:10 ESV). And now we better understand why so much of the Old Testament contains chapter after chapter of instructions and laws – because this was their means of knowing how to live set apart.
Years ago, five friends joined me in the reading of Dr. Sandra Richter’s book, Epic of Eden. Though the seminary textbook was far from an easy read, we dug deeply into the concepts Dr. Richter so brilliantly presented – especially this idea of understanding the cultural contexts of the Old Testament. A major light bulb illuminated my mind when I learned how God’s Rescue Plan (His plan of redeeming us to Himself) continued by choosing a people for Himself.2 Generations after sin had separated all humanity from their Creator, these set apart Israelites became the way God could draw near to people again (insert mind-blown emoji)!
And now, as I have begun researching ‘holy’ for this series, a major revelation (already) has dawned on me: part of Israel’s set-apartness was to demonstrate God’s holiness to the rest of the world so that they might fear and follow Him, as well!
“I will accept you as fragrant incense when I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I [God] will be proved holy* through you [Israel] in the sight of the nations.”
Ezekiel 20:41 NIV
“I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
Isaiah 49:6 NIV
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
‘Holy’ is not a vague idea of God, as though He sits far away on a throne, unapproachable, distant, aloof. Rather, ‘holy’ is the very essence of God. He is ‘other’, but He also longs to draw near to the people of His creation. For this reason, He gathered a group of people and called them His own, teaching them how to live holy so that He could dwell among them. He asked them to live set-apart from every other nation of their day because it was for their good. For God’s glory. And, for the gain of everyone else who could see God’s holiness through them.
Wow.
Set-Apartness Under the New Covenant
God’s Rescue Plan didn’t end with Israel’s failures; it merely moved forward into the next act as God ushered in the Redeemer Himself, smack-dab into the middle of this set apart nation. Jesus, “who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God,” fulfilled the Law and Prophets as the long-awaited Messiah (Romans 1:4, emphasis mine).
This holy man, incarnate as an Israelite, moves through the land of His ancestors spreading holiness.3 Unlike any human before Him, Jesus doesn’t absorb impurities; He purifies with a touch. He doesn’t become contaminated by all our physical and spiritual filth; He cleanses with a word.4 And as He ministers to those in His path, He goes beyond borders, expanding the Kingdom of God to all nations, to all who will believe Him to be the Son of God (Mark 1:14-15; Luke 9:2).
In doing so, Jesus makes “the holiness of God available to us in a new way.”3 By faith. With grace. And through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls His people, global as we are, ‘living stones’, “built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5 NET).
As the Father’s plan has moved forward, the mission hasn’t changed. But the mission field has grown, and the means of salvation has shifted. The chosen ones of God are no longer limited to one land or a single nation, yet we are still called to holiness, to live as holy people. Set apart not by national borders but by the light that dwells within us. Called out of the world, just as the Israelites were called out of Egypt and Babylon, to be different. Other. Separated from unbelievers in the way we remain untainted by worldly worship of lusts and greed, power and all its “filthy things” – “for we are the temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18 NLT, emphasis mine).5
And something deep inside of us knows that temples are holy.
This ‘new’ way of living holy, however, easily gets lost in the messiness of our humanity. Sometimes we think there’s no way we can be holy – we aren’t good enough; I’m not worthy enough. Other times we convince ourselves that if we follow all the rules and check all the boxes, we’ll be holy enough to be let into heaven — missing the whole point of life hidden with Christ in God right here on earth.
Then there’s the reality that our American culture has lost touch with what ‘holy’ truly is – because we’ve made everything common in our attempt to wrap our minds around it, to make everything more relevant or tolerable or attainable. And with the loss of our reverent grasp of holiness, we no longer see the need for our own holiness.
And so it is that we are, right here and now, reclaiming the truth that as believers in Jesus Christ we are called to holiness, to be a set apart people who, “according to the promises of God,” purify “ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).
My friends, if we fail to embrace the idea of living set apart in the world, we are missing the holy call of God in our lives. He desires that we live differently than every other people group on the planet so that He can dwell in us and work through us. He has called us out of the slavery to sin, out of the unholy world, so that we will live ‘holy’ – so that we will reflect the light of His holiness to others so that they might know Him.
Holy is… Set Apart
Lord God Almighty, You are holy. You are so set apart from us by your very holiness that we would not be able to come into your presence if it were not for the death and resurrection of your Son. We stand in awe of your heart for humanity – for all the people on earth, all of whom You have created. Your longing to have us restored to You has pushed You, through all of our known history, to work out your plan of redeeming us back to You. We marvel at the way your mission has never changed, only expanded through each era. How grateful we are to live in a time where we Gentiles now have places at your table. Thank You for inviting us into your holy family and for sending your Spirit to dwell inside of us. Holy Spirit, we ask that You would continue to teach us about what it looks like and how it works to live holy lives, set apart for the God who loves us – who sent His Son to free us from sin, to deliver us out of the world. Help us, we pray, to desire to live set apart in this world, believing that we are your holy temples. And trusting that living ‘holy’ is not only for our good but for God’s glory and for the gain of every person who has yet to know Jesus for themselves. Help us to live as true lights so that we reflect the holiness of God to all we meet. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
(inspired by 1 Peter 1:15-16; Exodus 33:19-20; Matthew 27:50-51; Exodus 19:5-6; Ezekiel 20:41; Isaiah 49:6; 1 Peter 2:5; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Matthew 5:14-16)
*Please recall that my presentation of these themes and biblical terms is simplified. For instance, although my focus today is the noun,qodesh, these (*) ‘holies’ are actually the adjective form. It would be so nice if words stayed in their unique categories, but the truth is all forms of the word ‘holy’ can carry the idea of being set apart.
Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.
- 1 – Bible.com – Qodesh
- 2 – Epic of Eden^ by Sandra Richter is one we should all read a few times in our lives. In fact, I’m overdue to read it again. Dr. Richter sets out to help us, today’s Christians, tap into our story of origin as laid out in the Old Testament. She effectively sets up ‘hangers’ on which to organize our messy Old Testament closets, and by doing so she gives us history with order and meaning, including the big picture of God’s plan of redemption that unfolded in five eras: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David.
- 3 – Taken from Dr. David F. Watson’s “Spiritual Holiness” article in the Good News magazine. Scroll to page 10.
- 4 – More imagery from the Bible Project video, “What Makes God Holy.”
- 5 – I would love for you to read 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 NLT in its entirety. Paul beautifully weaves into his exhortation for holiness direct quotes from books of the prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel!! With all that we’ve learned about holiness today, its words resonate with deeper meaning:
“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:
“I will live in them
and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
Therefore, come out from among unbelievers,
and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.
Don’t touch their filthy things,
and I will welcome you.
And I will be your Father,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.” - Our Holy is… playlist is really a collection of songs about the way God is holy. So this week I’ve searched and found a song that can be our prayer — to be set apart, “Different,” in the world — for Jesus. It’s by Micah Tyler and has a completely different vibe than the other songs, and yet what it’s doing is picking up the holiness of God and asking Him to help us for that same set-apart holiness. XOXO
- Each Wednesday I upload a “Teacup” teaching video that carries on the topic here. You can find all the videos on my Facebook Author Page, Instagram, and YouTube.
- Many of you have found me on Substack. Thank you so much! And, if you’d like to listen to (rather than read) these weekly posts, you can do so on Substack. It’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post. While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective.
- My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes the first week of each month to those who have subscribed on my website. I also post them on Substack. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.
Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike.
- This first series of our new year invites us to give considerable thought to what ‘holy’ is. We will be challenged to bring to our level what is so lofty that we really won’t fully grasp it. And yet, we are called to know God and to know His holiness — to allow His holy-ness to shape a higher reverence for Him, to grow within us a humble respect for His utter majesty. And now we’ve added to this whole understanding the fact that we too are meant to be holy, to be set apart for God.
This week we talked a lot about light — the way God’s light dwells in us and the way we reflect that holiness to others. What else speaks to you about holiness that is ‘set apart’?
- We’re all called to share the truth about who Jesus is. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. May we use our whole selves to tell others about our holy God!!
Featured Photo by Dewang Gupta on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” Photo by Sahand Babali on Unsplash.
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