Be holy, for I am holy.
—Leviticus 11:45
I am the LORD which sanctify you.
—Leviticus 20:8
These two ideas are recorded nine times in Leviticus. (See Leviticus 19:2; 20:7; 21:8, 15, 23; 22:9, 16.) Israel had to learn that, just as holiness is the highest and most glorious attribute of God, so it must be the obvious characteristic of His people. He who desires to meet God in secret must desire to be holy as He is holy.
The priests who were to have access to God had to be set apart for a life of holiness. It was the same for the prophet Isaiah who was to speak for Him: “I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.…[And the seraphim] said: ‘Holy holy, holy is the Lord of hosts’” (Isaiah 6:1, 3). This is the voice of adoration.
“So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone!…for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (verse 5). This is the voice of a broken, contrite heart.
Then one of the seraphim touched Isaiah’s mouth with a live coal from the altar and said, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged” (verse 7). This is the voice of grace and full redemption.
Then follows the voice of God: “Whom shall I send?” (verse 8). And the willing answer is, “Here am I; send me” (verse 8). Pause with holy fear, and ask God to reveal Himself as the Holy One. “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit” (Isaiah 57:15).
Be still, and take time to worship God in that deep condescension in which He longs to dwell with us and in us.
Child of God, if you wish to meet your Father in secret, bow low and worship Him in the glory of His holiness. Give Him time to make Himself known to you. It is indeed an unspeakable grace to know God as the Holy One.
“Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2).
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3).
“Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!” (1 Chronicles 16:29).
“Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us” (Psalm 90:17).