In Exodus 19:9-14,18, the passage talks about God asking Moses and the children of Israel in Mount Sinai to sanctify themselves and wash their clothes. He basically wants them to separate themselves from sins in appearance and in manner.
God emphasizes on the Holiness of His coming on the third day, that even touching the border of Mount Sinai is worthy of death. That’s how severe God’s holiness is, and verse 18 points out that God came down with a smoke.
How can we connect smoke with holiness? We usually associate smoke with something bad.
Revelation 14:11 “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”
Nonetheless in Exodus 19, smoke is connected to God’s holiness. This shows that what people see as unusual or bad, maybe deemed otherwise in God’s words or will. For example, our world emphasizes so much on love, peace, and sharing. However, the Bible’s topmost prioritized doctrine and teaching are not about love, but about the holiness of God.
We have been corrupted by the profanity of the world, we do not understand the seriousness and importance of holiness.
Holiness Does Not Mean More Empathy
We have been so programmed and conditioned to live in sin, hence some of us may perceive Pastor’s teaching to be convicting, or too strict for our liking. For instance, if we are used to seeing murder on a daily basis, then we would perceive murder to be a severe sin. On the contrary, if we are used to living in God’s words, and separating what is clean from the unclean, then even the smallest sin can be considered as a high crime.
James 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
That is how seriously God views sin. If we were to walk according to His way, then we would have perceived in the same way too.
God exists, functions, and lives out of holiness. If the universe and heaven are filled with sin, then God would not even exist. Holiness is one of God’s most important attributes, just like happiness is ours. Imagine if we constantly live in depression, we will be short-lived.
This is why we can never depend on our holiness, but on God’s, and only through our faith in what Jesus did on the cross to get saved, not by our own works and holiness.
Holiness Does Not Mean More Earnings
Living a holy life for God does not mean we are more deserving of earnings. The Christian lives experience a lot of unfairness oftentimes. Being a good testimony causes us to be persecuted by the world or even our family members.
1 Peter 1:15-16 “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
Being holy is a calling from God, it is considered our duty. For example, a toddler’s potty training is a mandatory step; it’s considered as part of his/her development, rather than a learning option in exchange for rewards.
This reminds us to not always expect a reward by living a holy life, we just have to do it for the Lord.
Holiness Does Not Mean More Ease
2 Thessalonians 1:4-5 “So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:”
Suffering for the Lord helps build up the holiness in us. It is so important for us to go through hardships because it transforms us and build up more maturity in us as well.
We have been too spoiled by the idealized world, we have become so entitled and always expect things to go our way. Thus it causes us to think that just living slightly holier for God makes us worthy of some huge reward.
God suffered for us way more than we can ever suffer for Him, we should go beyond the smoke to truly see God’s holiness.
Holiness Does Not Mean More Equality
Serving God more faithfully than our brethren and sisters may not always earn us more amount of rewards, or guarantee us better lives than them; sometimes it may even be the opposite.
God deals with everyone differently in terms of how He wants us to live in holiness for Him. God knows our limitations.
Ezekiel 4:4-8 “Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year. Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it. And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.”
This passage may paint God’s instruction to be weird and difficult to comprehend in our understanding, but Ezekiel did what God commanded him to do anyway. This is because God sees Ezekiel to be holy enough to carry out this task for Him.
Don’t compare our burden and unfairness with one another, because God assigns different tasks for different people based on our ability. God chooses us for a good reason, we should be honored instead of feeling burdened.
Holiness Does Not Mean More Enjoyment
Carrying out God’s duties and living in holiness may not always be joyous. However, it is better to be holy, than to live in joy but full of sin.
It may seem that if we truly want to live an enjoyable life, we would use our riches and power to exploit others and take advantage of them. However, most of us would not do that because of the holiness we have in us through the spirit of God. Some sins are just so abominable that committing those sins and hurting others make our lives more miserable than enjoyable.
Genesis 5:5-6 “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”
If we can just see how much it grieves God if we continue to live in sin, then it will make us more convicted and want to stay away from sin as much as we can.
Holiness Does Not Mean More Exhilaration
When we live holy for the Lord, we may not always feel happy or exhilarated. Holiness does not equate to joy, it involves suffering, and living in righteousness. In spite of its hardships and sacrifices living in holiness, there should be the joy that comes with it as well.
1 Peter 1:6-8 “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:”
This passage points out that even though we go through a lot of misery, we can still be happy. This is because of love; when we love something so much, we are willing to put up with the hardships and misery.
For example, if we love watching television, we will still find enjoyment watching it after a long and tiring day. Just as if we love Jesus so much, we will be willing to suffer for His sake, and still, find joy in doing so.
In Revelation 4, the passage shows us that when John goes past the cloud and smokes, he clearly sees the awesome holiness of God, and the cherubims surrounding the throne crying ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’, which shows the holiness of God and how it should be glorified.
When we pass all the smokes and clouds and witness Heaven’s glory, our eyes will open wide and we will be so shameful of our sins before the throne of God.