Start by believing. Then go beyond belief.
The Digital Age has produced huge amounts of information that have radically advanced human learning. The amount of knowledge available to us is mind-numbing. In fact, information is multiplying so rapidly that textbooks, how-to manuals, and even daily newspapers seem perpetually outdated. But what do we know about God? Are we advancing as rapidly in our knowledge of Him?
People have used the explosion of social media primarily to inform friends and others about themselves and their lives. Therefore, we know more about one another, but do we really know one another? There’s a big difference between the two. The same is true when it comes to our relationship with God. We can learn more and more about God by studying His Word, but we also need to know Him in order for our lives to be changed.
That’s why this study, “Beyond Belief,” is so important. “Beyond Belief” seeks to help us increase our knowledge of God by studying His character and moral attributes. But we don’t want to just know about God; we want to know Him intimately.
We could spend a lifetime studying the character and attributes of God revealed in the Bible and still only begin to scratch the surface of understanding the sovereign God of all creation. Therefore, the lessons in this study will focus on six major attributes of God: His holiness, love, justice, forgiveness, wisdom, and faithfulness.
As we begin to understand what God is like and how He works in our lives, we will not only know God more, but we will also learn about ourselves and who we are in Christ.
Our first lesson in this series is entitled: "God is Holy"
When have you seen or experienced something you would describe as one-of-a-kind?
The Bible Meets Life: If you love walking through a museum, you’re not alone. Tens of millions of people visit museums every year. What draws us to these places? Usually, what draws us is the fact that they have unique, novel, or beautiful items. There are museums devoted to cars, abstract paintings, Star Trek, and even asphalt. The world’s most prestigious museums also have one-of-a-kind pieces in their collections. There is after all only one Starry Night, one Mona Lisa, and one Rosetta Stone. We value these items because of their rarity, beauty, or historical significance. Some of these pieces are even considered priceless. But what is truly beautiful is that we don’t have to visit a museum to interact with something that is one-of-a-kind. What is truly beautiful is that there is only one God, and that He loves His creation with a one-of-a-kind love. God alone is set apart and like no other. The Bible wraps all this up with one word: holy.
In this session we’ll see that God calls us to be like Him – set apart for His glory.
The Setting: The holiness and sovereignty of God is the theme of Psalm 99. The Psalm can be divided into three divisions, and each division concludes with the exclamation of God’s holiness. Psalm 99 not only declares the holiness of God, but it describes His holiness in light of His righteousness and just character. The Psalm shows us how God demonstrates His holiness. As one of the enthronement psalms (Pss. 93-100), it affirms God’s rule over the earth.
God’s holiness calls me to be holy.
I. HOLY REIGN – PSALM 99:1-3
1 The Lord reigns! Let the peoples tremble. He is enthroned above the cherubim. Let the earth quake. 2 Yahweh is great in Zion; He is exalted above all the peoples. 3 Let them praise Your great and awe-inspiring name. He is holy.
God is not part of it. God is neither a human nor superhuman. God is over all. He is completely and totally separate from everything or everyone we could imagine.
As human beings, we are created in God’s image, which means God breathed a spirit into us. Each of us possess a spirit that was intended for a unique relationship with Him. We were created to live forever with Him. But that’s where the similarity stops.
Though we are like God, God is not like us. We are created in His image; He was not created in ours. God exists independently and without reliance on any other beings or forces. God is absolutely sacred, above criticism, incorruptible, and invincible. He is holy.
Consider these elements that point to God’s holiness:
- The reign of God. The psalmist understood the distinction, glory and authority of royalty, and he exalted God to His rightful place. The psalmist invited others to acknowledge the reality of God’s sovereign rule over all people and things.
- The name of God. The psalmist used God’s holiest name: Yahweh. Yahweh calls attention to God as the Ancient of Days. He is the one and only God, and it was in His name and by His power that the Israelites were able to enter the land and establish their nation. Because of the holy fear the psalmist had for the awe-inspiring name of God, he called upon all of God’s people to give praise, glory, and honor to the only true God.
God is truly different from us – and from anything else. And that’s why we are told to praise Him. God invites us to carefully consider Him in order to discover His greatness and grandeur. When we do, we will realize that He is worthy of all praise and glory.
When was a time God’s holiness became real to you?
KEY WORDS: Cherubim (v. 1)—Cherubim are angelic creatures who serve God. Two golden images of cherubim sat atop the ark in the most holy place of the temple. Holy (vv. 3,5,9)—The term refers to someone or something set apart from life’s common aspects. God is set above creation and is perfect in every way.
Psalm 99 is one of several psalms known as enthronement psalms because of the opening words, the LORD reigns. The word order is emphatic in Hebrew, placing the covenant name for God, Yahweh or the LORD, ahead of the verb rather than behind as usual. As a result of God’s reign, the psalmist said, Let the peoples tremble. A proper understanding of divine sovereignty results in people acknowledging His superiority. Reverential fear, the meaning of tremble in this verse, is the legitimate response of created beings to the overwhelming majesty of their Creator. God is separate from and above all creation. Both personal arrogance and national haughtiness are deemed inappropriate since the LORD reigns.
God decreed that craftsmen make two cherubim to oversee the ark in the most holy place (Ex. 25:18-22). These golden images represented angelic servants of God in heaven. God’s people understood the Lord was in the most holy place enthroned above the cherubim. The command to let the earth quake refers to a metaphorical yet nonetheless real attitude of awe and respect for the one true God.
The psalmist next spoke of God’s greatness. He is great in Zion, the land of God’s people, particularly Jerusalem. Once again the covenant name, Yahweh, comes first in Hebrew for emphasis. Lest anyone get the notion Zion is the only purview of God’s greatness, the psalmist added, He is exalted above all the peoples. The form of the verb exalted emphasizes the on-going act of “being exalted.” Thus at no time in history is any people above the Lord.
The psalmist called for earth’s peoples to praise God’s great and awe-inspiring name. Notice the transition from the third person references about the Lord in 99:1-2, to the second person direct address in 99:3a, Your great and awe-inspiring name. This shift from speaking about God to talking with Him seems to indicate the psalmist himself was caught up in the awe inspired by God’s name. The phrase awe-inspiring renders a single Hebrew verb meaning “to be feared.” Once again, this “fear” or awe refers to reverential respect appropriate toward the Creator of all life.
In just two and a half verses the psalmist established the Lord reigns, He is enthroned above the cherubim, He is great in Zion, He is exalted above all peoples, and His name is great and awe-inspiring. Attendant to God’s qualities, all peoples of earth are to tremble, quake, and praise. These words are the vocabulary of worship. Precisely because the Lord reigns, people should revere and praise Him.
Yet, the psalmist had not fully made his most important point. In a terse three words, He is holy (two words in Hebrew), he proclaimed the heart of his message. This Lord who reigns and who has the awe-inspiring name is holy. The Hebrew term means to be set apart or to be sanctified.
What about us? Do our lives exhibit a healthy reverence for God? Do we praise His awe-inspiring name? Do we acknowledge that He is holy, perfect in every way? As beings whom He created, we owe God our very lives. In gratitude, we should acknowledge His rule, accept His greatness, and declare our own reverence for His holiness. An important way we can express our reverence for Him is to live holy lives, reflecting His character. Thus, holiness is never a matter of conforming to a list of do’s and don’ts, but rather exuding a desire to be like our Creator in every way possible. To live holy lives is to grow more like God.
What are some lasting truths from Psalm 99:1-3?
1. The Lord reigns.
2. The Lord is great.
3. The Lord is holy.
Let’s continue exploring Psalm 99 to explore what it means to describe God as holy.
II. HOLY JUSTICE – PSALM 99:4-5
4 The mighty King loves justice. You have established fairness; You have administered justice and righteousness in Jacob. 5 Exalt the Lord our God; bow in worship at His footstool. He is holy.
The problems of life may seem great, but they are not greater than God. There is nothing that can keep our great and awesome God from working His fairness, justice, and righteousness in our lives.
Those are three important concepts that contribute to God’s holiness:
1. Fairness. Though life isn’t always fair, God is. He is the source of fairness, for He established it. Unfairness can make life feel uncertain, but because God has established fairness, Christ-followers can live with confidence despite any inequities we see or experience. God will act in righteous wisdom as He oversees our lives.
Is God fair to forgive a mass murderer? Is God fair to forgive me? He is still fair in that He dealt with our sin, but he dealt with it through the death of Jesus. Grace is God’s generous favor on our lives in spite of our actions. Mercy is His withholding what is fair (our punishment) in order to cover our wrong actions with compassion and forgiveness.
2. Justice. Justice occurs when God brings His divine order to life. God’s justice deals out blessings and punishment. God will not let injustice stand. His holiness ensures evil will be punished and good rewarded.
3. Righteousness. God always does what is best and what is right. Righteousness has to do with God’s moral purity. His innate goodness ensures that He will always do what is right. God can always be trusted.
How should we respond to God’s holiness? We “bow in worship at His footstool.” The footstool was a symbol for dominion, and God is pictured as a King enthroned in heaven with the earth as His footstool. God’s holiness should cause us to live with worshipful trust and submission before Him.
How does God’s justice, fairness, or righteousness impact your daily routine?
The psalmist held a high view of God as the eternal Ruler of the universe. As such, he addressed Him as the mighty King. He emphasized the Lord as the great King over all the earth. Many ancient peoples viewed their gods as being sovereign over a particular land or people group. Pagan nations would have thought of Yahweh as the Hebrews’ god, but nothing more. The psalmist, however, recognized Yahweh as the supreme King over all other kings, lands, and peoples. So he proclaimed Yahweh as the mighty King.
One key attribute of this mighty King is that He loves justice. The term justice basically refers to the equitable treatment of all people. The idea of God being a mighty King who loves justice portrays His concern for how people treat one another on a daily basis, even in their pursuit of the mundane things of life. God is holy, but He is also involved in our everyday affairs.
Along with the view of God as the mighty King who loves justice is the belief that He Himself established fairness. You have established fairness is emphatic in Hebrew. The term fairness renders a Hebrew word meaning uprightness or straightness. The psalmist was acknowledging and praising God for establishing fairness in human society. God expects people to treat one another in an equitable manner, just as they would have others treat them.
The psalmist continued his praise of Yahweh: You have administered justice and righteousness. Again the word order in Hebrew is emphatic, emphasizing both justice and righteousness as results of divine activity and emphasizing His action of administering these in human society.
The particular society in view was the covenant community represented by the name Jacob. The Hebrew people, known also as Israelites or just Israel, descended from Abraham’s grandson Jacob. Thus, Jacob became an alternative way of referring to the covenant community. The psalmist was a member of the covenant community and was grateful for God’s establishing justice and righteousness whereby all covenant community members could live in peace with one another.
Righteousness is an important term. The Hebrew refers to conformity to God’s standards or norms. The mighty King who loves justice set down covenant stipulations, known as the Ten Commandments, for right living. Any person who deliberately adapted his or her life to those stipulations was considered righteous. Conformity to God’s covenant stipulations would result in the establishment of justice.
As people adapted their lives to the Law of God, they would honor their parents; value human life, marriage, personal property, and integrity; and abstain from coveting what others owned. These qualities of human justice are the result of keeping Commandments five through ten. However, the impetus for adapting ones’ life to those commands is found in keeping the first four Commandments, which focus on a right relationship with God. Only through a right relationship with God could any man or woman maintain a right relationship with other people.
The psalmist redirected his attention from God to the members of the covenant community, commanding them to exalt the LORD our God. The verb rendered exalt means to raise up or to extol someone as being superior to oneself. Exalting God involved praising, worshiping, adoring, and appreciating Him. By combining the covenant name Yahweh or the LORD, with the phrase our God, the psalmist called attention to both the Establisher and Provider of the covenant community. Yahweh makes daily life manageable by providing moral, social, and spiritual direction.
The psalmist instructed the covenant community to bow in worship at His footstool. The Hebrew verb literally means to bow oneself down to the ground. To get on one’s knees and to put one’s face to the ground was considered the posture of greatest humility. Such a humble posture was appropriate in the presence of the mighty King. The idea of bowing at His footstool reinforced the idea of humility, but also emphasized He is on the throne.
Just as he had done earlier when speaking of the Lord’s awe-inspiring name (99:3), so once again the psalmist reminded worshipers that He is holy. That Yahweh is holy is the psalmist’s most important point, forming the very heart of his message. Only because Yahweh is holy does He choose to reign and to establish justice and righteousness. Because He is holy, the covenant community can survive in a hostile world, all the while bearing witness to the Lord’s holiness.
What are a couple of lasting truths from Psalm 99:4-5?
1. The mighty King intervenes in the lives of His people, acting impartially, justly, and righteously.
2. The Lord’s people are to respond to Him in humility, with worship, and voicing a declaration of His holiness.
As we move on to Psalm 99:6-9, we’ll see that God’s holiness has always demanded a response.
III. HOLY GRACE – PSALM 99:6-9
6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests; Samuel also was among those calling on His name. They called to Yahweh and He answered them. 7 He spoke to them in a pillar of cloud; they kept His decrees and the statutes He gave them. 8 Lord our God, You answered them. You were a forgiving God to them, an avenger of their sinful actions. 9 Exalt the Lord our God; bow in worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.
We’ve already seen that our holy God is involved in our lives through His fairness, justice, and righteousness, but He also desires to speak into our lives. And when God speaks, He wants us to listen and respond. No matter what’s happening around us or inside us, God wants us to acknowledge His presence and call on Him. He wants us to recognize His concern and that He answers us.
Because God is fair, just, and righteous, He can be totally trusted. He is the only one who deserves our complete faith. People who walked with God – people such as Moses, Aaron, and Samuel – modeled this trust. God spoke; they listened and trusted.
Like Samuel, Aaron, and Moses, our lives are filled with spiritual victories and sometimes significant defeats. God continues to reveal Himself to us in all these things, seeking to deepen our awareness of who He is and what He is like. And when we realize who God is and respond with humble hearts, He forgives us. As the priests and prophets cried out to Yaweh, He answered them and spoke to them. God works the same way today. When we call on His Name, He will meet us where we are, forgive us, and put us in a right relationship with Him.
He may not speak to us in a pillar of cloud, but He will make Himself known. When we see God for who He is, we should respond by exalting Him and lowering ourselves. Just as the nation of Israel bowed at the holy mountain, we should humbly submit our lives to our Holy God as a worship offering.
What do these verses teach us about a lifestyle of worship?
How can we tremble at God’s holiness yet still have an intimate relationship with Him?
KEY WORDS: Pillar of cloud (v. 7)—God sometimes made His presence known to His people as they journeyed with a pillar of cloud. Here He spoke from such a cloud.
History provided an excellent source for the psalmist to illustrate Yahweh’s greatness and how His holiness formed the foundation of the covenant community. He identified Moses and Aaron as being among God’s priests. The Lord had instructed Moses to tell the people to be holy because He was holy (Lev. 19:1-2). Aaron and his sons were to lead the covenant community to obtain holiness through the sacrificial system established by God. They also were to help the community maintain holiness through right living as prescribed by the Lord in matters of dietary laws, sexual relationships, and religious rituals. In short, priests represented the holy God to sinful people and sinful people to the holy God.
The psalmist then noted Samuel also was among those calling on His name. Calling on God’s name refers specifically to worship or to prayer, and generally to awareness of God’s leadership in one’s life. Samuel lived in daily communication with the Lord. All three of these faithful stalwarts of the past, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, called to Yahweh. All three men shared the experience that He answered them.
The psalmist intended to show the vertical relationship involved in the lives of Israel’s leadership that had resulted in the life and health of the covenant community. In Hebrew, calling and called translate a participle stressing on-going action. Thus Moses’, Aaron’s, and Samuel’s lives were characterized by frequent calling to Yahweh, rather than rare moments of prayer done in haste or just in times of duress.
The reminder that He answered them served to encourage covenant community members to call on His name expecting an answer. The prophets reminded God’s people that He listened to their prayers and had an answer ready (Isa. 65:24). Thus, prayer heightened the worshiper’s sense of God’s holiness and created a motive to make oneself holy as well. True worshipers of God want to become more like Him. Since He is holy, they want to be holy also.
God answered His people’s prayers in a variety of ways. As God’s people journeyed from Egypt toward the Promised Land, God made His presence known to them with a pillar of cloud. He also gave them a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13:22). The pillar was God’s method of guiding His people as they traveled (Ex. 13:21; Num. 14:14; Neh. 9:12,19). The pillar was also a means of protecting God’s people from Pharaoh’s approaching army (Ex. 14:19). Additionally, the pillar was evident when God met with Moses in the tent of meeting, causing the people to respond in worship (33:9-10).
The history of God’s people is a patchwork of obedience and disobedience. Many times they rebelled against Him. However, at other times they expressed deep love for the Lord by obeying His commands. When the psalmist stated, they kept His decrees and the statutes He gave them, he was reflecting on one of the times of national obedience. Interestingly, kept also can be translated as guard, indicating a spiritual vigilance on the part of God’s people. Decrees renders a Hebrew word referring to God’s reminders, urgings, or warnings. The nearly synonymous term statutes refers to that which God has prescribed. The simple statement, He gave them, merely identifies the Lord as the Source of the instructions.
The psalmist shifted focus from the people back to God, addressing Him as LORD our God. He then listed three aspects of God’s interactions with His people. First, He answered them, a restatement of 99:6. God took the initiative to reveal Himself to His people. However, He also was available to them whenever they called on His name.
Second, the psalmist acknowledged, You were a forgiving God to them, reflecting on a period of past sinfulness when God had forgiven His people. Forgiving renders a Hebrew verb meaning to lift up. When God forgives us, He lifts up the burden of sin off our conscience allowing us once again to breathe spiritually.
The psalmist thirdly noted God was an avenger of their sinful actions. This statement served to dissuade people from thinking God automatically forgave sins. Rather, sin has to be confessed. The sinner is to acknowledge his or her wrongdoing and repent from that course of thought or action. Only then does God forgive.
The psalmist concluded his psalm by instructing the people once again to exalt the LORD our God. As he had done before (99:5), he called on them to bow in worship. One major difference in the two calls to bow in worship is that formerly he said at His footstool, whereas in this verse he said at His holy mountain. The covenant community thought of Mount Zion as God’s holy mountain, the temple mount in Jerusalem (Ps. 2:6; Isa. 27:13; 56:7; Zech. 8:3). The Hebrews also thought of the earth as God’s footstool (Isa. 66:1). David specifically referred to the temple he proposed to build as a “footstool for our God” (1 Chron. 28:2). Thus the calls to bow in worship at His footstool (Ps. 99:5) and to bow in worship at His holy mountain (99:9) are two ways of saying the same thing.
The psalmist’s final words were the LORD our God is holy. He expanded his earlier expression He is holy (99:3,5) to include the personal covenant name Yahweh or the LORD and the title our God, two ways of stressing the covenant relationship between Yahweh and His people, while at the same time emphasizing His holiness.
What are some lasting truths from Psalm 99:6-9?
1. The Lord answers those who call on His name.
2. The Lord provides instruction and guidance for His people in various ways.
3. The Lord holds His people accountable for their sin, but He also extends forgiveness to those who call on Him.
4. Once again the Lord’s people have cause to worship Him as the Holy One.
Live it Out
God’s holiness is not an abstract concept with no practical impact on how we live. We are called to be holy because God is holy (see 1 Pet. 1:16), so consider some practical ways to live a life of holiness:
- Surrender. Submit to God’s holiness by placing your faith in Christ for salvation.
- Bow in worship. Be intentional about praising God this week. Set aside a specific period of time and worship Him in response to His holiness.
- Unplug and listen. Choose to abstain from one form of technology this week – social media, texts, TV, and so on. Use that time each day as an opportunity to focus on God.
As we live for the Lord, we become holy like Him. And then, like a precious work of art, we grow into a beautiful masterpiece made by God (see Eph. 2:10).
Prayer of Commitment
Oh Mighty Lord, I praise Your great and glorious Name for You and You alone are holy. Amen.
Oh Mighty Lord, I praise Your great and glorious Name for You and You alone are holy. Amen.
Great new series starting this Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
