what is the beauty of holiness? What does it mean to be holy?
What is the beauty of holiness? The word beauty means one thing to a western thinker; it means something else to a Hebrew mind.
We in the west who have the Greco-roman way of thinking think that thinking is the most important mode of being an enlightened one. Everything is abstract to them if I ask you to draw a picture of grace, holiness, redemption, or even father could you do it so that I can understand wat you are saying? I doubt it, not if you are a western thinker.
Hebrew, on the other hand, is a language that deals in concert concepts, to see, to hear, to touch, to taste. Hebrews relate to the physical world not one of abstract ideas as a result most western thinkers find the Hebrew concepts of the bible hard to understand or miss the meaning altogether.
The word beauty is such a word. To us beauty is something that is beautiful to see a most common example perhaps is a “beautiful woman” which to us would be one who has desirable physicial featuers , which depend on the fad at the time, I am old enough to remember when the perfect size for a woman was a size 12 then along came Twiggy and the “stick’ was “in.” To the Hebrew mind a “beautiful” woman is one that is functional, one that operates at her highest potential, a proverbs 31 woman.
In light of this fact let’s look at the beauty of holiness as the function of holiness.
So then what is holiness? It is being set-apart for a specific use such as the vessel of honor that Paul tells us about in 2 Tim 2:20 “ in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and of earth and some to honor and some to dishonor “ in other words they are all in the great house but some are holy, set-apart, sanctified and some are not. Holiness is a choice not an automatic result of accepting Jesus. When we accept Him we are justified, but not necessarily holy, sanctified, set-apart for the masters use.
Holiness is a lifestyle change not of the outside but of the inside. It’s not a matter of how you wear your hair, or if you wear makeup or jewelery. In the “olden days” as my grandchildren say, I remember the day of the “holy bun” which was the preferred hair style, no makeup, long sleeves and long skirts, always a solid dark color, for the women but the men world where the fanciest suits, loud ties and huge gold watches and rings. Try to reconcile that in a child’s mind. Some “holiness” also taught that wearing deodorant was a sin, aren’t we all glad that one is past.
Holiness is a matter of the heart, a change from the inside of our hearts and begins with a renewed mind which is cleansed by the washing of the water of the word. The High Priest of the Hebrew scripture wore a miter on his head upon it was writtern “Holy to the Lord” signifying a mind dedicated to the torah and consecrated to the service of his God.
Holiness is dwelling, abiding, staying in the secret place, being covered and hidden by His holliness, being covered by His wings.
In Matt 6:6 Jesus is teaching on prayer and He tells His disciples when you pray go into your closet and pray in secret, I believe He was talking about covering their heads with their tallit, prayer shawls, when they prayed so they were in secret no matter where they were.
On the hem on each corner of the tallit were the zizit or tassels most bible scholars agree that these zizit, tassels were what the woman with the issue of blood touched and drew power from Jesus to heal her (Matt 9) and that this incident is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Mal 4:2 For the Son of Rightenouss shall arise with healing in his wings. These wings are the zizit on the prayer shawl.
In the anchient Hebrew wedding the groom would wear his tallit and at one point would encircle his bride with his arms and pull her to his chest where she would be encircled by his arms which were draped in the tallit and she would be “covered” by his wings. He would declare his covenant of protection and promise to care for her at all times and in all situations. This is the same term that was used of YHVH in Ex 19:4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. 5Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine.
The purpose of the zizit was to remind Israel of the commandments to do them. Num 14:39 And it shall be to you a fringe or tassel that you may look upon and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, that you may not spy out and follow after [the desires of] your own heart and your own eyes, after which you used to follow and play the harlot [spiritually, if not physically], 40 That you may remember and do all My commandments and be holy to your God.
In Ez 16 we read vs.8 Now I passed by you again and looked upon you; behold, you were maturing and at the time for love, and I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I plighted My troth to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord, and you became Mine. This skirt is the tallet this same “skirt” is used in the story of Ruth and Boaz when she lays at his feet and covered herself with his skirt which was actually Ruth asking Boaz to be her Kingsman Redeemer.
Perhaps the most accurate picture of this holiness, this secret place, this place of perfection and power is in Ps 91 Where He who dwells in the secret place of the Almighty abides under His wings this is the place where YHVH sings and rejoices over us with songs of deliverance. The place of the truly set apart, concentrated ones the ones who remain vivally and continually in unoin with Him. The one who looks like Jesus. The New Covenant counterpart is, as Paul says so often, to be “in Christ” the place where you are wearing the armor of Light of Romans, the prayer armor of Epheasins, the place where you are the most powerful. Where you are functioning as the body of Christ in this earth. The word of God manifested in you just as it was in Jesus and signs and wonders are following you.
What is the beauty of holiness? To look just like Jesus in the earth.
Now lets litsten to the heart of Jesus as he cries O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who continue to kill the prophets and to stone those who are sent to you! How often I have desired and yearned to gather your children together [around Me], as a hen [gathers] her young under her wings, but you would not! Lk 13:34 .
In His dust,
Lois
What is the beauty of holiness? The word beauty means one thing to a western thinker; it means something else to a Hebrew mind.
We in the west who have the Greco-roman way of thinking think that thinking is the most important mode of being an enlightened one. Everything is abstract to them if I ask you to draw a picture of grace, holiness, redemption, or even father could you do it so that I can understand wat you are saying? I doubt it, not if you are a western thinker.
Hebrew, on the other hand, is a language that deals in concert concepts, to see, to hear, to touch, to taste. Hebrews relate to the physical world not one of abstract ideas as a result most western thinkers find the Hebrew concepts of the bible hard to understand or miss the meaning altogether.
The word beauty is such a word. To us beauty is something that is beautiful to see a most common example perhaps is a “beautiful woman” which to us would be one who has desirable physicial featuers , which depend on the fad at the time, I am old enough to remember when the perfect size for a woman was a size 12 then along came Twiggy and the “stick’ was “in.” To the Hebrew mind a “beautiful” woman is one that is functional, one that operates at her highest potential, a proverbs 31 woman.
In light of this fact let’s look at the beauty of holiness as the function of holiness.
So then what is holiness? It is being set-apart for a specific use such as the vessel of honor that Paul tells us about in 2 Tim 2:20 “ in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and of earth and some to honor and some to dishonor “ in other words they are all in the great house but some are holy, set-apart, sanctified and some are not. Holiness is a choice not an automatic result of accepting Jesus. When we accept Him we are justified, but not necessarily holy, sanctified, set-apart for the masters use.
Holiness is a lifestyle change not of the outside but of the inside. It’s not a matter of how you wear your hair, or if you wear makeup or jewelery. In the “olden days” as my grandchildren say, I remember the day of the “holy bun” which was the preferred hair style, no makeup, long sleeves and long skirts, always a solid dark color, for the women but the men world where the fanciest suits, loud ties and huge gold watches and rings. Try to reconcile that in a child’s mind. Some “holiness” also taught that wearing deodorant was a sin, aren’t we all glad that one is past.
Holiness is a matter of the heart, a change from the inside of our hearts and begins with a renewed mind which is cleansed by the washing of the water of the word. The High Priest of the Hebrew scripture wore a miter on his head upon it was writtern “Holy to the Lord” signifying a mind dedicated to the torah and consecrated to the service of his God.
Holiness is dwelling, abiding, staying in the secret place, being covered and hidden by His holliness, being covered by His wings.
In Matt 6:6 Jesus is teaching on prayer and He tells His disciples when you pray go into your closet and pray in secret, I believe He was talking about covering their heads with their tallit, prayer shawls, when they prayed so they were in secret no matter where they were.
On the hem on each corner of the tallit were the zizit or tassels most bible scholars agree that these zizit, tassels were what the woman with the issue of blood touched and drew power from Jesus to heal her (Matt 9) and that this incident is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Mal 4:2 For the Son of Rightenouss shall arise with healing in his wings. These wings are the zizit on the prayer shawl.
In the anchient Hebrew wedding the groom would wear his tallit and at one point would encircle his bride with his arms and pull her to his chest where she would be encircled by his arms which were draped in the tallit and she would be “covered” by his wings. He would declare his covenant of protection and promise to care for her at all times and in all situations. This is the same term that was used of YHVH in Ex 19:4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. 5Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine.
The purpose of the zizit was to remind Israel of the commandments to do them. Num 14:39 And it shall be to you a fringe or tassel that you may look upon and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, that you may not spy out and follow after [the desires of] your own heart and your own eyes, after which you used to follow and play the harlot [spiritually, if not physically], 40 That you may remember and do all My commandments and be holy to your God.
In Ez 16 we read vs.8 Now I passed by you again and looked upon you; behold, you were maturing and at the time for love, and I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I plighted My troth to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord, and you became Mine. This skirt is the tallet this same “skirt” is used in the story of Ruth and Boaz when she lays at his feet and covered herself with his skirt which was actually Ruth asking Boaz to be her Kingsman Redeemer.
Perhaps the most accurate picture of this holiness, this secret place, this place of perfection and power is in Ps 91 Where He who dwells in the secret place of the Almighty abides under His wings this is the place where YHVH sings and rejoices over us with songs of deliverance. The place of the truly set apart, concentrated ones the ones who remain vivally and continually in unoin with Him. The one who looks like Jesus. The New Covenant counterpart is, as Paul says so often, to be “in Christ” the place where you are wearing the armor of Light of Romans, the prayer armor of Epheasins, the place where you are the most powerful. Where you are functioning as the body of Christ in this earth. The word of God manifested in you just as it was in Jesus and signs and wonders are following you.
What is the beauty of holiness? To look just like Jesus in the earth.
Now lets litsten to the heart of Jesus as he cries O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who continue to kill the prophets and to stone those who are sent to you! How often I have desired and yearned to gather your children together [around Me], as a hen [gathers] her young under her wings, but you would not! Lk 13:34 .
In His dust,
Lois
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