#123 The Holiness of God

The Book of Genesis Day 123 Ge 15:12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. Abram has dropped off into a deep sleep or trance, and “behold” (behold, is the Scripture’s way of telling us to pay attention to what’s going on!) What are we to behold? We are to behold the horror of this great darkness that fell upon him!Seems a little strange doesn’t it, that darkness and horror would overtake Abram, when he was being visited by God, the Father of Lights? It’s possible that the horror came as God gave Abram, a picture of what was in store for his descendants. I mean 400 years is a long time to suffer affliction. But I believe this horror and darkness is brought on by the appearance of a holy God! In times past, we have read that the “Word” of the Lord came to Abram, but this time God shows up in person as He walks between the halves of meat set up for the covenant. Mercifully, God puts Abram to sleep for as Ex 33:20 puts it, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." One of the things that makes horror films horrific is that the creatures portrayed are so “other.” And that’s the idea of holiness in Scripture! God is “holy!” He is completely void of sin! He is “other”! So “other” that men like Isaiah became completely “undone” in His presence. (Isaiah 6:5) And when Peter realized Who had been telling him where to fish, he realized that he was in the presence of God (Jesus) and he fell on his knees and said ”Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8) In his deep sleep Abram caught a sense of the contrast between his own sinful self and the sinlessness of God , and he trembled with horror! Oh if we would more clearly understand the holiness of God! How we would tremble! How much more time we would spend appreciating and applying the blood of Jesus before rushing into the throne room of God! (Heb 10:19) How much more we would appreciate the New Covenant given to us in Holy Communion! As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have been granted a special relationship with a holy God. But I’m afraid many of us have trivialized our worship and turned it into a “back slapping” good old boy, relationship with the King of the Universe, forgetting about His holiness. God is our friend through faith and the sacrifice of Jesus, but let us never forget His holiness. May God give us all a fresh glimpse of His holiness, because when He does, our heart will tremble on one hand and on the other set ablaze with fresh and meaningful worship of the Holy One of Israel! Pray: Father, I thank Thee that I may approach the holy of holies through the blood of Thy dear Son Jesus, but never let me forget Your holiness/ Let me never trivialize my sin!