Qedosh

Qedosh (ke-DOSH) is Hebrew for "Holy One." It emphasizes God's otherness, separateness and mystery. Isaiah uses the name most often, but other prophets, the books of Psalms and Job use it as well. God gave this name to us to remind us that his very nature is holiness and he exists apart from his creation. His holiness embodies not just separation from sin, but God's absolute hostility toward it.

As God's children we are called to be holy: "Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy" (Leviticus 19:2), but we are only enabled to do so, by God's Spirit living in us. It is God's holiness that manifests itself in us- there is nothing we can do in and of ourselves to become or remain holy. Only by God's awesome grace can we enter into this experience.

In Leviticus 19, God is giving Moses his 10 commandments. All throughout the passage God says "I am the Lord your God," and "I am the Lord." These commands are not just rules for us to follow, but they are a glimpse into God's character. We are to be this way, because he is this way; this is who God is.

God is holy and he wants his people to be holy- separate from sin and set apart as noticeably different. How noticeably different are you?