We are in Exodus chapter three with our word for today. קֹ֫דֶשׁ set apart, apartness, sacredness, holy, holiness, consecrated to God. It is used 468 times in the Old Testament. Our word is used to describe God’s direction. Psalm 77:13 Your ways, God, are בַּקֹּ֣דֶשׁ holy. What god is as great as our God? It is also used of things that are sacred or proper for worship as opposed to what is common. Exodus 28:31-36 Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the הַקֹּ֜דֶשׁ Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die. “Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: קֹ֖דֶשׁholy to the Lord. This is the same sense how our word is used today in our chapter. Exodus 3:3-6 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is קֹ֖דֶשׁ holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. What made this ground holy was quite simply because God was there speaking to Moses. As we will see throughout the Bible anything that God associates himself with is also Holy. This is different than someone claiming to be associated with God but rather when God himself declares something that he is connected to. When Jonah is in trouble he prays toward God’s temple which is how God made himself known in a special way back during the Old Testament time period. Jonah 2:4-7 I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your קָדְשֶֽׁךָ holy temple.’ The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit. “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your קָדְשֶֽׁךָ holy temple. The temple that God set up for the people to connect with him and an inner part that was even more special than the special temple itself. Exodus 26:33-34 Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the קֹ֥דֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִֽׁים Most Holy Place. Put the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant law in the בְּקֹ֖דֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִֽׁים Most Holy Place. This phrase is literally the holy of holies. Because of Christ work on the cross saving us and making us holy like himself we can now be in God’s presence in this unique way that was very rare before Christ made it possible. When we accept Christ and receive God’s spirit which lives in us, the Holy Spirit we have God’s presence living inside of us. There is a lot to this which we will look at as we journey though the words of the Bible. For now, I’ll close with this amazing truth about our new reality being in Christ and a challenge for us. Hebrews 10:19-25 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
