As I was thinking about shalom this morning, I was reminded of the troubles of the Israelites. The Israelites’ journey from Abraham to the Exodus was filled with ups and downs. It was a story of a people from its inception through prosperity, slavery, and deliverance. It was a telling of God’s love and abiding with his chosen people. It was also a fulfillment of a covenant with one man, Abraham. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses gives an account of the Exodus, the trials, struggles, victories, and promises that the Israelites experienced. One thing to note, though, is that God never promises “peace,” at least not as how we see “peace.”
The Israelites still faced trials. They still faced temptations. They even encountered battles. They had to face giants and take the land that God promised them. But the key element is all of these things is that Yahweh Shalom was with them. They had the confidence that they would and could overcome because they had GOD on their side. And as long as they worshipped God alone, he stayed with them.
If you read the book of Joshua, you will see a passing of leadership from Moses to Joshua and the promise of the people to follow the commands that Joshua gives. The people are reminded again that if you continue to follow God, you will win in battle. They are in the process of taking the land that God has for them, the land that God promised them. He never said that the land would be uninhabited or that they would be handed the “keys to the city” on arrival. It was theirs for the taking; all they had to do was step out in faith, trust God, and follow his commands, and the victory would be theirs.
A funny thing about the Israelites is that they often got caught up in what others were doing and shifted their focus from God to self-interests and other idols. And THAT is when turmoil sets in.
Shalom was no longer apparent. Things did not go their way, and the enemies started having the victory. When they repented and turned back to God, then they were reconciled to God, and the peace that only God could give would return.
Remember, our God is El Kanna (jealous God). He is jealous FOR the worship we give. He wants us FOR him.
Joshua says in chapter 24:25, “Choose this day who you will serve; as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”
When we are devoted to God, our El Kanna, we experience His peace, His Shalom. He is our Yahweh Shalom. When we are in Him, we have His gift of peace. Just like the Israelites, we will face trials, struggles, and battles, but when Yahweh Shalom is with us, we have peace despite the junk around us.
What stands out to me with the Israelites is that the peace was never tied to the quietness or events of their lives. It was about walking with God. When they were focused on God, they had peace, confidence, and courage. When they wandered away from God, they lost all of those things.
The battles of our lives are the same. When we are focused on God, the mess doesn’t seem as messy or as burdensome; when we focus on the mess, we get overwhelmed, anxious, and stressed.
Follow Joshua’s invitation: “Choose this day whom you will serve.”
Will you choose to be devoted to El Kanna and rest in the peace of Yahweh Shalom?
Shalom is not found in perfection but in the presence of Yahweh.
When we think of peace as the world sees it, then we think of the absence of conflict. But what about the times when we are in the middle of conflict. Maybe the climate in our home is one that is lacking peace. Maybe we have lost trust in our spouse, or perhaps the kids are straying down a path that has us concerned, or possibly one of us has lost their job and things are tense in the home and you’re not sure how you will survive this season.
Where is the peace then?
Maybe if you take a moment and stick your toes in the sand and watch the waves roll in, you will find some peace. Or perhaps you can go take a walk in the woods and look out over the mountaintops, then you will feel peace. What if you had the chance to take a long hot bubble bath and relax for a couple of hours?
Would you have peace then?
Chances are you would, for a moment, but the chaos would return, the stress would still linger, and the confrontation would still be there. The peace you need and the peace you are looking for is the peace, or the shalom, that comes from God.
Galatians 5:6 tells us, “As far as our relationship with Christ Yeshua is concerned, what matters is a faith that expresses itself through love.” And then in vs 22-23, “But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Shalom is a gift. It is not something that we obtain. That gift is given to us through relationship with God.
I have faced trials in my life, ones that I didn’t think I could find a way out of, and some I wasn’t walking with God that closely and in those I felt no peace. Only turmoil, stress, and total frustration.
However, as I have gotten older and worked on my relationship with God, when I have faced a mountain I have had that peace. That shalom that only comes from walking in step with Him. That shalom is indescribable. It’s just there. Holding you like a warm blanket. It’s whispering in your ear that no matter what you face, God’s peace will sustain you.
I pray you have that peace today. I pray that you are walking with God and experience that peace that only comes from Yahweh Shalom.
Last week talked about Qedosh Yisrael, Holy One of Israel. I spent the week posting about what it means to be holy.
What does it mean to you to be holy?
To me, it means being set apart. Living differently than the world lives. Walking with God daily and following His commands and trying to live for Him.
So this week we will be studying Yahweh Shalom, The Lord is Peace.
What is peace?
For many of us, it’s calm, it’s the absence of war or conflict.
“Shalom” is more than the English word “peace”; it means completeness, soundness, welfare, prosperity, good health, happiness, and rest. It is a conventional harmony. The word “shalom” was used about 237 times in the Old Testament, and it describes a right relationship with God, neighbor, and creation.
The first time “shalom” is used is in Genesis 15:15 when Elohim is telling Abram, “You can know for sure that your descendants will live in a land that is not their own, where they will be slaves, and they will be oppressed for 400 years. But I will punish the nation they serve, and after that they will come out with many possessions. But you will die in shalom/peace and be buried at a very old age.”
The only time Yahweh Shalom is used is in Judges 6:24.
In Judges 6, we see that the Israelites have disobeyed God, and he has turned them over to the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were too strong, so they were hiding out in the mountains and in caves. During this time a Messenger of Yahweh, or Jesus before he was Jesus, the capital LORD, appears to Gideon, who is hiding out, and says, “Yahweh is with you, brave man.”
Gideon responded with, “Excuse me, sir! But if Yahweh is with us, why is all this happening to us? Where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? They said Yahweh brought us out of Egypt, but now he has abandoned us.”
Yahweh turned to him and told him that he, Gideon, would be the one to rescue Israel.
Gideon, again, responded with, “Excuse me, sir! How can I rescue Israel? Look at my whole family. It’s the weakest one in Manasseh. And me? I am the least important member of my whole family.”
Yahweh replied, “I will be with you. You will defeat Midian as if it were only one man.”
At this time Gideon asked for a sign. He asked the Messenger of Yahweh to stay put until he could bring him a gift. Gideon made up some unleavened bread and brought out a pot of broth and some meat and brought it out to him. The Messenger told Gideon to take the meat and the bread and put it on a stone and then pour the broth over it.
Then the Messenger of Yahweh touched the meat and the bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared up from the rock and burned the meat and the bread. If you remember a couple of weeks ago when we talked about Esh Oklah, here we see the fire again.
Then the Messenger of Yahweh disappeared. Gideon realized who he was talking to and said, “Adonay Yahweh! I have seen the Messenger of Yahweh face to face!”
The LORD said to Him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die!”
“So Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh. He called it Yahweh Shalom.”
Gideon seems a bit frustrated, maybe even sarcastic, at the initial meeting of the Messenger because this Yahweh he grew up hearing about has seemed to have abandoned them, and now this Messenger appears and says that Yahweh is with him and wants Gideon to deliver the Israelites. Gideon asks for a sign, receives the sign, realizes he is in the presence of God, and God says, “Peace! Do not be afraid!” and Gideon built the altar to Yahweh in reference to that peace. The name Yahweh Shalom is given during a time of fear when the Israelites were being oppressed.
Yahweh Shalom is more of a title than a name. God IS peace, IS completeness, and He brings security.
C.S. Lewis once wrote, “Life with God is not immunity from difficulties, but peace in difficulties.”
Philippians 4:4-7 says, “Always be joyful in the Lord! I’ll say it again: Be joyful! Let everyone know how considerate you are. The Lord is near. Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. Then God’s peace/SHALOM, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Yeshua.”
Numbers 6:26 says, “Yahweh will look on you with favor and give you peace/SHALOM.”
God made a covenant of peace with Levi as it’s recorded in Malachi 2:5-6: “I promised Levi life and peace. He lived with me in peace and honesty and turned many people away from sin.”
Covenant shalom isn’t a feeling. Covenantal peace is the evidence of an established relationship with God, one that is anchored by obedience and trust in his promises.
We have often heard of Israeli or Jewish people who will say “shalom” as a greeting. In 1 Samuel 1, when Hannah was pouring out her heart to God, Eli told her, “Shalom,” or “Go in peace.” In 1 Samuel 20:42 Jonathan told David to “Go in peace!” or Shalom. So when you say “Shalom” as a greeting, you aren’t saying hello or goodbye, you are wishing wholeness over one’s life.
Shalom has moral implications. Isaiah 32:16-17 says, “The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness will live in the fertile field. The fruit of his righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.” And Isaiah 48:22 says, “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” So shalom is both a gift and a demand of God’s people.
So the shalom that quieted Gideon’s fear is the same peace that comforted Hannah and is the same peace that is promised to us to guard our hearts and our minds. This shalom is what flows out of those who are anchored in Christ. It’s not just the absence of conflict, but the steadiness to stand when life is hitting hard. It’s the trust in knowing that Yahweh Shalom is with us, holding us, and giving us a quiet confidence and a calling to justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
As we study Yahweh Shalom this week, ask yourself, “Where is God trying to bring peace in my life?” and “Where do I need to trust him more deeply? ”.
Deuteronomy 28 is a chapter of blessings and curses. I honestly think we should start telling people, I wish Yahweh would “strike you with hemorrhoids, sores, and itching that won’t go away” (Deuteronomy 18:27, seriously, go read it!) when they upset us. Biblical insults are kinda funny when you think about it. But the curses are the curses that Yahweh would bring upon the Israelites if they did not follow his commands and laws.
However, if they would faithfully follow his commands and laws, he said that they would be “Yahweh’s holy people, as he promised you with an oath” (Deuteronomy 28:9). Sunday, we talked about what it meant to be holy. We said that it meant being set apart, acting like you are set apart, and living like you are set apart.
Being holy is in faithfully following his commands and laws. It’s in walking in step with God and having a relationship with him. I know I say this a lot, but this is something that I somehow missed for many, many years. Knowing about God is not the same as knowing God. I want you to KNOW GOD. Get to know him on a personal level.
Yes, he is holy and reverent, and we should fear him and approach him in awe. But I also think that God wants us to talk with him, embrace him, walk with him, and meet with him over a cup of coffee. He should be as familiar to us as our next breath. To become holy as he is holy, we need to know him so that we can become like him.
Romans 12:2 says, “Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.”
This is what it means to be set apart, different from the world, going against the flow. Is your life a life that looks like you are set apart? Do your actions point others to Christ? Do your words match those of the world of those who reflect the Savior?
If you can’t say it or do it inside the church building, then why are you doing it outside the church building?
Now I have to be honest. After I wrote that last sentence, I stopped, closed my laptop, and went and talked to Braxton. I had to spend some time mulling that one over. Are there things I do and say that aren’t ok to do and say inside the church? I’m not talking about wearing a hat or a swimsuit to church; those are obvious things. I’m talking about my everyday language and habits. When I speak outside the four walls of the church building, is it obvious to others that I am set apart? When I face a difficult situation, is my response one that shows that I am different? When my child isn’t picked for the team, do others see my reaction as a person who has God in their heart? Or what about when I am driving, and traffic is proving to be less than ideal, am I acting in a way that would signify that I am holy?
(I can honestly say no to the last one. Not even gonna pretend I am the most patient driver. But I normally have my kids in my truck with me, so I have to watch myself because they are watching me.)
As Moses was delivering all these remembrances, blessings, and curses, he concluded with, “Pay attention to all these warnings I’ve given you today. Then you will command your children to faithfully obey every word of these teachings. Don’t think these words are idle talk. They are your life!”
These words are your life! Are we living as though God’s words are our life? Are we feasting on His word daily? Are we allowing Him to sustain us through the good and the bad, or are we praising him on the mountaintop and forgetting him in the valley?
This phrase struck me to my core. I don’t want to just read the Bible; I want to ingest the Bible. I want the word of God to be a part of my make-up, my DNA, the lifeblood that runs through me. No, I don’t want to be a “holy roller,” and I hope I never appear to be “holier than thou”; that is NOT what I meant. I want His words to be my life. I want His words to be the breath I breathe, to speak them over and to my children, to pray them in my home, and to live them with my life.
Isn’t that what it means to be holy as he is holy? Wouldn’t that cause me to be ‘set apart’? I don’t want to live as the world lives. (I’ve seen how the world lives, and they are a little crazy.) I want to be holy as he is holy because that is what he has called me to be.
Maybe the question isn’t ‘are we following his commands?’ Maybe the question should be, do we know him well enough to WANT to?
Have you ever noticed that married couples that have been together for years start to look more like each other? In the same way, the more time you spend with God, the more you get to know him, and the more you look like him, act like him, and talk like him, the more you are ‘set apart.’
Becoming holy isn’t just about a behavior modification; it’s about a heart transformation.
“These words are your life” isn’t just about what we read or something we quote. It’s something we live, breathe, and speak in our homes, in our conversations, and in our reactions and responses.
At the end of the day, if we take the time to think about who all saw us, we will realize that our children are watching us, our neighbors are watching us, and so are classmates, coworkers, ball field fans, and grocery store clerks.
I don’t want God to be my afterthought; I want Him to be my first thought when the world starts pressing in. That’s what it means to be holy, to be set apart. To reflect the one from whom we are made.
In my personal study and chronological Bible reading plan, I finished reading Deuteronomy today. Earlier in our studies, we saw how much Abraham grew in his faith from when he passed off his wife as his sister and tried to take matters into his own hands to fully trusting in God when asked to offer his son as a sacrifice. Today, I saw the culmination of Moses’ life as he died and was buried by God. If you remember when we talked about Esh Oklah, consuming fire, we talked about Moses and approaching this burning bush. God asked Moses to go to Pharaoh, and Moses started digging in his heels in protest and had a list of reasons as to why he couldn’t do what God was asking him to do.
But I want to pause at that burning bush for just a moment. Esh Oklah was present in that bush, but the bush was not burning up. However, when Moses stepped forward, “Elohim said, ‘Don’t come any closer! Take off your sandals because this place where you are standing is HOLY ground.”
Holy ground.
Now, I am sure that many people and animals had walked all over where that bush was long before Esh Oklah used it for heart-calling purposes. But at this moment, this ground was HOLY. There wasn’t anything special about that ground. The dirt was just dirt, and the bush was just a bush until Yedosh Qisrael showed up. The ground wasn’t holy because of what it was—it was HOLY because of WHO was there.
In Joshua 5:13-15, it says, “When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you one of us or one of our enemies?” He answered, “Neither one! I am here as the commander of Yahweh’s army.” Immediately, Joshua bowed with his face touching the ground and worshiped. He asked, “Sir, what do you want to tell me?” The commander of Yahweh’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals because this place where you are standing is holy.” So Joshua did as he was told.”
Again we see, where the presence of God is, the ground is holy.
But why are they asked to remove their shoes?
Well, what do our shoes have on them? I mean, do we really want to think about it? Dirt, gravel, that pile of something you stepped in and didn’t mean to step in, and now your whole house stinks because you didn’t realize you stepped in it….. yeah. Let’s just take our shoes off.
If the shoes we wear represent the messes we literally walk through and the junk we step in, then it’s understandable why God wants us to remove them when we are in his presence. Take off the stuff that is weighing you down. Feet to earth.
(Did you know that when you walk barefoot in the grass, your mood lifts, your blood pressure lowers, and you can reduce stress? Funny how the act of removing our shoes and physically connecting with Elohim’s creation can do that, huh?)
But let’s also look at John 13. Before Jesus went to the cross to take on all our sin, he removed the sandals of his disciples and washed their feet. He humbled himself, removed the shoes of the ones who had walked with him, the one who would deny him, and the one who would betray him, and washed their feet. He removed the dirt, the junk, and the crud. He removed the barrier between them and himself as they were in his presence. (And yes, there is a different message in that passage about serving one another, but I thought the imagery was a great picture of our God and his holiness.)
While we can remove the physical dirt (i.e., our shoes), it is Jesus who removes the unseen dirt.
Qedosh Yisrael is holy. His presence is holy. We cannot be in his presence covered in the filth of this world. This, I believe, is why he is calling us to be holy.
Deuteronomy 34 is the recording of the death and burial of Moses. Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eyesight never failed, and his physical strength never wavered. God buried him in the valley of Moab, and no one knows where his grave is. Vs10-12, “There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom Yahweh dealt with face to face. He was the one Yahweh sent to do all the miraculous signs and amazing things in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his whole country. Moses used his mighty hand to do all the spectacular and awe-inspiring deeds that were seen by all the Israelites.”
Do you remember the Moses who didn’t want to go to Pharaoh? The one who stuttered and stammered and protested against what God was asking him to do? The one who begged Adonay to send someone else?
There has never been another like him.
Yahweh dealt with him face to face.
He was the one Yahweh sent.
I have to admit, I teared up. My emotions welled up inside of me. I have questioned God and what he has asked me to do. I have dug my heels in in protest. But if God can take a stuttering shepherd who had to run for his life in fear and turn him into a man that he dealt with face-to-face, I can only imagine what he can do with me if I allow him to.
When I die, will it be said of me that there was no other like me? Will the mark I make on this earth leave a lasting impact? Will my legacy of faith be such that people will remember me as one who loved God?
Maybe the first step isn’t striving harder but surrendering sooner and taking off my shoes and realizing I’ve been on holy ground all along.
Last week we talked about Esh Oklah, El Kanna—consuming fire, jealous God. This was spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy 4:24. He was reminding the children of Israel of all they had been through since leaving Egypt, as well as reminding them of their actions and God’s responses. As Moses was reminding them not to have any other god or idol other than Him, he said, “Yahweh your Elohim is Esh Oklah, El Kanna.” “The LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”
Why do you think the Lord said that his name is El Kanna, jealous God?
I think it is a reminder that he wants our total devotion, worship, and adoration. He has, does, and will pursue us because he wants us WITH him. He is jealous FOR us.
Malachi 3:2-3 says “But who will be able to endure the day he comes? Who will be able to survive on the day he appears? He is like a purifying fire and like a cleansing soap. He will act like a refiner and a purifier of silver.” What does it mean to you that he is a “purifying fire, a refiner and purifier of silver”?
To me it tells me that he holds me when I am going through trials that are meant to refine me and burn away the impurities/sin in my own life. He is molding me into what he needs me to be.
This week we will be studying Qedosh Yisrael, which means Holy One of Israel. I will admit, like a lot of these names, I look at it and wonder how I am going to teach this name. We have studied other names whose characteristics point to God’s holiness. This name, itself, means Holy. He is holy, his name is holy.
Qidosh Yisrael is described to us in Leviticus 19:2. Yahweh is speaking to Moses and giving him instructions for how the Israelites are to live. Yahweh says, “Tell the whole congregation of Israel; Be holy because I, Yahweh your Elohim, am holy.” However, the first time the name is used is in 2 Kings 19:22 when the Assyrians were threatening Jerusalem and mocking God. King Hezekiah brought the letters from the Assyrians to the temple and prayed to God. God’s response was delivered through the prophet Isaiah and Yahweh said, “My dear people in Zion despise you and laugh at you. My people in Jerusalem shake their heads behind your back. Whom are you defying and slandering? Against whom are you shouting? Who are you looking at so arrogantly? It is Qedosh Israel!”, The Holy One of Israel.
So God himself is saying that he is Holy.
If I asked you to describe God, how would you describe him?
We would probably say all powerful, all knowing, omnipotent, forgiving, loving, creator, etc.
There are three places in scripture that use the statement “GOD IS”.
John 4:24- “GOD IS a spirit. Those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
1 John 4:7-8-”Dear friends, we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God because GOD IS love.”
1 John 1:5-”This is the message we heard from Christ and are reporting to you; GOD IS light, and there isn’t any darkness in him.”
He is all of those things BECAUSE he is Holy. None of that can exist without his holiness.
In Isaiah 6, Isaiah is explaining a vision of God’s majesty. He said, “Angels were standing above him. Each had six wings: With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They called to each other and said, “Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Tseboath! The whole earth is filled with his glory. Their voices shook the foundations of the doorposts, and the temple filled with smoke.”
Now this scene shows that the angels are declaring his holiness. And it’s not like they just say one time “Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Tseboath”, no it is being repeated, constantly. Picture yourself in a superbowl stadium in the middle of the game and everyone starts shouting “Holy, holy, holy”. Its in stereo, its repetitive, its a declaration of his holiness, of who he is. It’s not a question, its a statement.
But what does it mean to be holy?
Webster defines it as “exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness”. Humanly it means to be “set apart”. In scripture it is scared.
Braxton’s chair is holy. That is his chair. He is the only one “allowed” to sit in it. It is set apart, it is “holy”. Don’t tell him I said that.
Now, because God is holy, there is nothing imperfect in God. God can do everything except one thing. He cannot lie, he cannot sin because he is Holy.
In Exodus 19, two months after the Israelites came out of Egypt, they came to the desert of Sinai. This is where Yahweh called Moses up onto the mountain and talked to him. Yahweh said, You have seen all the things that I did in Egypt and how I carried you out. “If you carefully obey me and are faithful to the terms of my promise then out of all the nations you will be my own special possession, even though the whole world is mine. You will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.”
Moses took this to the leaders of the Israelites and they all agreed that they would follow God. So Yahweh told them that he is coming to them in a cloud so that THEY WOULD HEAR HIM SPEAK with you and will always believe you. They had two days to get ready. In those two days they had to wash their clothes and “they must set themselves apart as holy.”
Now, I don’t think I will ever be set apart as holy because I still have laundry needing to be washed, folded, and put up and it’s been way more than two days.
What is said here is confirmed in Deuteronomy 5 after Moses is recalling to the Israelites when God gave their ancestors the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai, in verse 22 he said, “These are the commandments Yahweh spoke to your whole assembly on the mountain. He spoke in a loud voice from the fire, the cloud, and the gloomy darkness. Then he stopped speaking. He wrote the commandments on two stone tablets and gave them to me.”
So Moses wasn’t the only one who heard the laws being given by God despite what our childhood Bible lessons taught us. They all heard it. Also, it wasn’t just the ten commandments written on those stone tablets, but all the rules and laws that God said to them.
In order to be holy, we must be sinless. In Genesis 3:8 it says that “In the cool of the evening, the man and his wife heard Yahweh Elohim walking around in the garden. So they hid from Yahweh Elohim among the trees in the garden.”
So before sin entered into the world, God walked alongside us, his creation. It was sin that separated us from him. He could no longer be physically with us because his holiness won’t allow him to be in the presence of sin. However, God already had a plan for this, in Genesis 3:21 it says, “Yahweh Elohim made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife and dressed them.”
Where do animal skins come from? Do you think the animals took them off to share with Adam and Eve?
No. They were sacrificed.
Then we see in Genesis 4 that Cain and Abel also made sacrifices to God and Cain killed Abel because of jealousy.
So we see God’s plan to restore us to him in the first few chapters of the Bible. Because of God’s holiness he cannot be in the presence of sin. Jesus on the cross took on all that sin and God turned his back on him as recorded in Mark 15:34, “At three o’clock Yeshua cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” Which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
So, back to our key verse, Leviticus 19:2, “Tell the whole congregation of Israel: Be holy because I, Yahweh your Elohim, am holy.”
How do we become holy? How do we become set apart?
We become holy by having a relationship with God. We develop a consistent prayer life. We spend time in scripture. We obey what God laws and what he tells us to do. We practice confession and repentance. We replace selfishness with love, patience, kindness, mercy, and truth. We live in a community of believers. We grow together in faith and love. We live set apart. We act set apart.
2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “Since we have these promises, dear friends, we need to cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit and live a HOLY life in the fear of God.”
So if we remember that Elohim created us, El Roi sees us, El Shaddai is our Almighty, El Olam is eternal, Yahweh Yireh provides for us, Yahweh is our LORD, Adonay is our Master, Yahweh Rophe is our healer, Yahweh Nissi is our banner, Esh Oklah is a consuming fire, El Kanna is a jealous God, then it is easy to recognize Qedosh Yisrael as the HOLY One. (Yes there will be a test at the end of the year. You have been warned.)
God calls us to be holy, not because he wants to make life harder for us, but because he wants us to live with HIM. It’s all about relationship.
In the beginning He walked with God in the garden. Sin was the separator, the thing that keeps us from God. He never stopped pursuing us. He never stopped wanting us to be with him. He made a way. In the Old Testament it was animal sacrifices. In the New it was Jesus.
The sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross made the way for us to be holy. “Be holy because I am holy” is an invitation. An invitation to walk with Him. An invitation to live differently. To speak differently. To act differently.
I spent the first part of the week focusing on El Kanna. I meant to spend the end of the week on Esh Oklah, but I was playing catch-up with my schoolwork that had to be turned in by last night at 10:59pm when my class ended and baking orders, which resulted in minimal sleep this week. So basically, life was lifing this week, but it’s all good. We made it to Saturday, schoolwork was turned in, and everything was baked and delivered on time. Life has so many distractions, so many things that we “need” to do, it’s easy to get sidetracked from taking time to spend with God. I made a New Year’s intention to put God at the beginning of every day. No exceptions. So I start the day, no matter if it is at 6 am or 2 am, to spend time with God first. Yes, it may require losing an hour of sleep, but what better way to make up for it than in the presence of God? I did spend time with God; I just didn’t get a devotional written and posted.
If El Kanna is jealous for me, then I need to be jealous for Him and my time with Him. I have been learning that lesson this year. I am thankful for it, and I am blessed by it. The harder part is allowing Esh Oklah to burn away some things in my life. Esh Oklah is a consuming fire. Fire burns; it destroys, but it also purifies and refines.
Malachi is a short book that ends the Old Testament; it is only four chapters long. It is found on page 1261 (in my Bible, thank you, Dad, for your sense of humor). Malachi is a record of six disputes of the Israelites and Malachi’s call for reformation and the promise of God’s Messenger.
Chapter 3 opens with:
“I’m going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way ahead of me. Then the Adonay you are looking for will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the promise will come. He is the one you want,” says Yahweh Tseboath. But who will be able to endure the day he comes? Who will be able to survive on the day he appears? He is like a purifying fire and like a cleansing soap. He will act like a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify Levi’s sons and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will bring acceptable offerings to Yahweh.”
Here, Malachi is referring to God as a purifying fire. He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver.
Do you know what the process is to refine silver?
A silversmith has to heat the silver to 1,764°F. That’s hot. Like really, really hot. The silversmith heats the silver until it reaches nearly 1,800 degrees. In that intense heat, the impurities rise to the surface and are removed. He has to watch this process to make sure he doesn’t overdo it and ruin the silver. The silver is ready once he can see his reflection in it.
Malachi is relating God to a purifying fire. He is a refiner and purifier of lives. When we are in the fire, God is watching us closely as our impurities are burned away. He is watching how we respond in the fire. He is holding us in the hottest of heats to make sure we are purified and not damaged. He pulls us out once he can see his reflection in our hearts.
This really makes me ponder on James 1:2 when it says, “consider it pure and great joy, and be very happy when you face troubles of any kind.” That is when you are being refined. When you endure, and your faith produces perseverance, you are then made complete. How can I not face trials now without knowing that God is using them to refine me and then burn away the impurities that are floating around inside of me so that He can see His reflection in me?
To that end, are you prepared to ask God to refine you? Can you confidently ask God to reveal to you what you need burned away? Can you subject yourself to the flame? It will probably hurt; fire normally does, but isn’t the reward worth the pain?
If you’re brave enough, pray this with me:
Esh Oklah, reveal to me what needs to be refined. I place myself into your hands to hold me to the flame. To burn away the impurities of my heart. I want you to see your reflection in me. You called me to be holy as you are holy, and the only way to do that is to purify me. You are the silversmith of my life, Esh Oklah. May your fire consume me and claim me as yours. I want the jealousy of El Kanna to pursue me and for me to pursue him with the same zeal. Boldly, I ask this in the name of Yeshua, your Son. Amen.
A few months ago, I had 3 interactions with complete strangers that had me chuckle but also had me questioning some things.
I was leaving the Pig one day. The girls climbed in through the back as I was loading groceries. I was approached by this young lady who had just passed me on the way to her truck with her friend. She got out and came up to me and said, “I would like to invite you to come to church with me on Sunday.” I was caught off guard but was quick to say, “Thank you, but my husband is a pastor, and we have a great church home.” She seemed kinda let down, then said, “I guess you know Jesus then.” Yes, yes, I do. Thank you for asking!
I was at Walmart, in a big hurry; I had to run in and grab 3 things. (I didn’t even grab a buggy!) I was reaching for a gluten-free item when this lady with purple hair walked up to me and said, “May I ask you a question? Do you know Jesus?” Now, I have no problem with you coloring your hair. If that’s your thing, then go for it. It is not me, and in my southern upbringing, it really caught me off guard to the point that I think I let out a chuckle when I realized what was happening. “Yes, yes, I do. My husband is a pastor. But thank you for asking.” She then went on to explain that her father was a preacher before he passed, and she felt compelled to try to reach others for Christ as well.
At this point, I am truly beginning to wonder if I have an “I’m a sinner” vibe. “Please ask me to go to church.” This happened within days of each other.
I pulled into my driveway, again with groceries. (I’m starting to see another theme here; it always involves groceries.) I have my arms loaded down with bags, and a young man appears and says, “Can I help you carry those in?” Imagine the shock on my face. 1. I don’t know you. 2. You are not coming into my house. I don’t know you. 3. Thanks for asking, but no, I don’t know you. 4. My very large and tattooed husband is inside; I will have him come out and meet you, though….I don’t know you. I was polite; I said, “No, thank you. What can I do for you?” (Keep in mind, we are standing in MY driveway.) “I just wanted to know if I could tell you about Jesus.”
Y’all! 3 times. 3 TIMES! In less than 2 months, this happened! I started asking friends who knew me if I had a look of “please come tell me about Jesus” on my face. I was really questioning things about how I am seen, especially when I am out of my element.
But it also had me questioning, “Am I telling people about God?”
I can answer that one for you: no, I was not. I am a very quiet person. I don’t approach strangers unless I have the conversation mapped out in my head. I don’t chit-chat with people because I don’t know what to say. (Seriously, I have read books to try and help me with this; it is not a natural gift of mine.) I get nervous talking to people, even people I know (sometimes).
Shy, “don’t talk to anyone,” me- needs to step out of my comfort zone and speak HIS truth and HIS love and invite people to meet HIM.
Am I talking about HIM when I am at home AND away? Do I have his word on my wrist, in my heart?
One of the things I admire most about my dad is that he can quote the Bible. You can ask him where something is found, and he can tell you the book, chapter, and verse. Ok, sometimes he is off by a verse or two, but he is pretty spot on most of the time.
My “rememberer” isn’t that great, but am I making a conscious effort to learn his word? Am I binding it to my forehead? Am I making it a part of my everyday language?
Now, I don’t think I will ever be as knowledgeable as my dad or be able to quote the Bible like he can, but I do believe it is gravely important that we memorize scripture.
If you remember in Matthew 4, when Jesus was tempted, he was combating those temptations with scripture. He was affirming his commitment to El Kanna; his loyalty was not divided.
If we are to ward off our own temptations, then we need to have weapons. Those weapons are scripture. The only way to use those weapons is if we have that scripture bound to our hearts and in our minds and allow it to be our strength.
Esh Oklah, El Kanna wants to protect our relationship with Him. He is fiercely protective of His people. If we are His, then our commitment should be to Him alone. Lining the walls and doorposts of our homes and minds is a great way to keep us focused on Him and not allow our eyes and minds to wander from Him.
Furthermore, if we are in a great relationship, we want everyone to know. We tell people when we meet “that person,” the one who gives us butterflies, who makes us smile. If we can do that with human love, why are we not approaching people and telling them about Jesus?
Last week, I talked to someone about God. Now, she was raised a youth pastor’s kid, so she was not unaware by any means. But I was able to speak to her with confidence in knowing that, no matter what she is going through, God will be with her. I know, because I have been there. I know because I JUST studied HIS name, which told me that he would provide for her and her husband. I know, because I have this growing relationship with Jesus, and I wanted her to know about it. Was I nervous? Not really; I knew enough to know she would be receptive. Was it out of my comfort zone? Absolutely. God is making me brave this year. Not sure how I feel about that, but a little more bravery has never been a bad thing.
Let me encourage you this week to pick a verse and start memorizing it. Our church puts out one monthly. Print it out and go over it every night at dinner with your family. Prepare yourself for battle, because if you aren’t in one, you either just came out of one or are about to be in one. Spiritual warfare is real, and the only way to fight is with God’s word.
Covet your time with God. Make it a priority. God is jealous FOR you, and you need to protect that relationship with Him.
I love when God speaks to me in my personal devotional time. Part of my reading this morning was in Deuteronomy 6. Israel is getting ready to go into the Promised Land, and Moses is recounting the journey that got them to this point, reminding them of where they have been and where they are going, and establishing laws and rules to live by as they move in.
Verse 4 is probably well known to most of you. It was the lyrics of a devotional song that I sang growing up, and some of you may know it as “The Shema.”
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
We are talking about El Kanna this week, our jealous God. We established yesterday that He is the ONE God, and our affection, our loyalties, our worship, and our attention should not be split between Him and any other person, place, or thing.
I think most of us want to do that. We want to be engrossed in God’s word, we want Him to be the center of our lives and of our homes, and we want to worship Him only. But how do we do that? What does that look like?
Good news, scripture tells us, just keep reading.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 13-15
“Listen, Israel: Yahweh is our Elohim. Yahweh is the only God. Love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words that I give you today. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you’re at home or away, when you lie down or get up. Write them down, tie them around your wrist, and wear them as headbands as a reminder. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and your gates.
You must fear Yahweh your Elohim, serve him, and take your oaths only in his name. Never worship any of the gods worshiped by the people around you. If you do, Yahweh your Elohim will become very angry with you and will wipe you off the face of the earth, because Yahweh your Elohim, who is with you, is El Kanna.”
Now, I have done pretty well with the “write them on your houses part.” I have scripture all over the place. But what I think I could and should do better at is having it as part of my everyday language, especially with my kids. Yes, we do Bible lessons. We go over the memory verse for the month every night at dinner; we have a nightly devotional at dinner, but is it a part of my daily conversations with them? Is my correction of them out of frustration or backed up in scripture? Can I correct with a word from God? Instead of “STOP WHINING!” (in a loud, frustrated tone because they have been whining constantly for the past hour), maybe I should remind them that whining is not acceptable in our home because Jesus doesn’t like it, and be able to quote Philippians 2:14 to them.
I am not saying beat your kids over the head with scripture to the point that they end up turning from it when they are older. What I mean is, explain why something isn’t tolerated in our home and back it up with scripture. Explain that we love God so much that we don’t want to hurt him with our actions, and what they are doing is “breaking his heart,” as my kids would say. God gave us these kids to raise and to raise in Him and for Him. The sooner I start instilling His word in Him, the better.
My kids hear me sing. ALL. THE. TIME. in the kitchen. I have mentioned before that that is where I worship God. There have been times when they come in and question me because tears are streaming down my face, times when they have to touch me because my eyes are closed and hands are lifted, and times when they know the song and sneak in and sing along (those are my favorite times). God, His word, His law, and His love must be a part of your everyday life.
For today, I’m going to start working scripture into my everyday conversations. I spend all day with my kids, so that is where I am starting. Not just when I discipline, but when we talk about how nice of a day it is, I am going to remind them that God created all that we see. (Just last night, as I was putting the girls to bed, SarahBeth said, “Mom, what did God make on day 1?” “Did he make everything?” “Did he make our house? ”)
Does El Kanna know that you love him? Are you making it apparent that your loyalty is to him? Do you covet your relationship with him as much as he does with you? Is your everyday conversation one that is filled with God and what he is doing in your life?
These are the questions I’m mulling over today.
I’ll unpack more of this verse tomorrow. I had a four-page post written and realized that I should probably break it up so you don’t use up all of your screen time reading my ramblings. 😆
Have a great day with Jesus!
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