Qadosh / Holy One
(pronounced: "kah-DOSH" [long "o"])
"To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy One...
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, YHWH,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on YHWH
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
~ Isaiah 40:25,28-31 (author)
The Hebrew qadosh means set apart, sanctified, consecrated. It is applied to an object which is separated from all which is ordinary and common, to be used for that which is sacred.
When applied to God, it sets Him apart from all else. If creation had continued in a state of sinless perfection, God will still reign far above it. In its fallen condition, creation must be separated from the God Who stands apart as sinless and perfect, holy and good.
The perfection of the Holy One leaves no room for sin or evil. It is said that when Jesus was tempted by the devil, it did not prove that He would not sin but that He could not sin. The goodness of God is pure and absolute and above question.
When we glimpse God’s throne in Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8, the angels exalt God not for His love or mercy, but simply declare He is holy. They are in the position to see the separation of His throne in the highest heaven from the heavens and earth visible to mankind.
Because He is absolute in His perfection and pureness and goodness, the Holy One is able to give to us all we lack in our sinful and therefore weak condition. He is able to give understanding and power and strength.
Every emptiness in the human soul is a God-shaped void. Because He is holy, the Lord puts in us all we lack. To “wait upon” (Hebrew qavah) Him is literally to be bound up together with Him, with both hope and expectation, as we look eagerly for what He will do.
His promise is to satisfy every deep longing of the human heart, both now and in the age to come, in the highest heaven and to the ends of the earth.
Feedback appreciated! Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
This has changed my view of what it means "to wait upon" the Lord.
ReplyDeleteWhen I have read these verses over and over again, when I have sung them, when I have recited them in church, my idea of waiting looks like this:
Me, here.
God, somewhere else.
I visualize an absent God (even though I really know better). But now, you present evidence to the contrary of my skewed visual image of an absent God!
Indeed, even in the wait I am not alone.
He is literally "bound" to me in the wait. Incredible.
Bless you for this, made me feel fantastic.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, isn't it funny how we can think the Lord is so far away when He's right inside us, experiencing everything we do?
ReplyDeleteDenise, I'm so pleased to know I've blessed you. You were among the people I spent some extra time praying for on my flight yesterday.
Yes, Anne.... Exactly!
ReplyDeleteIf we have that awareness that He's experiencing everything we do, that changes ... everything ... we ... do.
Amen, Jennifer. Can you imagine how our sin must affect Him?
ReplyDelete