MENUMENU
Keeping His Name Holy – Yahweh-M’kaddesh

Keeping His Name Holy – Yahweh-M’kaddesh

Keeping His Name Holy – Yahweh-M’kaddesh.

“So set yourselves apart for a holy life, because I am Yahweh your God. Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am Yahweh-M’kaddesh, the LORD-who-makes-you-holy.” (Leviticus 20:7-8).

HOLY = to be set apart for special use; assigned to a godly purpose; sanctified; designated for a sacred function; separated from that which would compromise or tarnish one’s purpose or character; to be distinct because of one’s purity; to have attributes and uses that make one distinctive; to be cleansed in order to increase one’s usefulness to God; to separate one’s behavior from the common and ungodly.

If there is one attribute of God that is at the head of the list, it is God’s holiness. He is uniquely set apart from the created world, since He is the transcendent Creator. He is absolutely separate from evil and sin, since He is gloriously pure and morally perfect. And because He is holy, we who believe in Him are called to be holy as well. Yes, we are called to be set part and blameless as we obey Him, living a holy life. On the one hand, believers are declared holy through Jesus Christ. We occupy a sacred position before the LORD. We are members of the priesthood of all believers. On the other hand, we are asked to live into that position by partaking in His holy nature. God declares us to be holy, and then He makes us holy by enabling us to share in His holiness. Sanctify yourselves, the LORD is saying, for I am the One sanctifies you.

There is the paradox. We are told  to sanctify ourselves, to make ourselves holy, to set ourselves apart, But then again we are told that it is God Himself who makes us holy. We separate ourselves by obeying His Word and following His designs for our lives. But then again Yahweh’s job is to separate us from the ungodly as well.  We are expected to cooperate with God’s efforts to make us holy. We are to participate in God’s very nature and in His plans for us. On the one hand this, on the other hand that. Holiness seems to be a team sport. The LORD provides the priest’s robe and gives us a fitting. And then our work  seems to be keeping the robe on and living in a way that honors what that robe represents. God makes us holy, but then we have a hand in making ourselves holy too.

A Prayer to Yahweh-M’kaddesh (ya’-way ma-kay’-dash)

We hallow your Name Yahweh-M’kaddesh, LORD-who-makes-us-holy. For you are the Holy One who is set apart from everything else in the universe, above everything, the first and the last, eternally present and transcendent. You are the Pure One in our midst and in the world, separate from all evil and sin. Who is like you, Yahweh, glorious in your beauty, power and purity. You are thus worthy to set us apart, LORD, to be your peculiar people in this world, partakers of your divine holiness. You sanctify us, Lord, through your Word of truth, setting us apart for your sacred purposes. You are holy, and so we shall be holy unto you, O God, kept blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for making us holy through the death of your Son on the Cross, being sanctified through His blood. We bow before you, Yahweh-M’kaddesh, and extol your sacred Name. Amen. 

Stand for holiness – YouTube