What may the mention of the cain and abel story in the quote in the second paragraph foreshadow?11/20/2022 ![]() Here is what you will find: qodesh consistently relates to, or is used when describing, the ceremonial or ritualistic elements within Israel’s religion. I would even recommend scanning through each use of “holy/sanctify” in the OT on your own. Listen to Mike’s podcasts on Leviticus, if possible. We do not have room for a full word study here, so I would recommend looking into “holiness” (and its cognate term “sanctify”) with the help of a careful Bible dictionary. So it is easy to see why the idea of “being qodesh” has become associated with “being non-sinful.” He is a jealous God he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins,’” Josh. 16:16 “Joshua said, ‘You cannot serve Yahweh, for he is a qodesh God. 28:2), qodesh also seems to appear in places where the story is trying to describe the non-sinfulness of something or someone (“So Aaron shall make atonement for the qodesh, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and for all their sins,” Lev. 16:23 “You shall make qodesh garments for Aaron your brother,” Exod. ![]() Here is why: while we know that qodesh may be used to describe non-moral things, such as a day of the week or clothing (“Tomorrow is a qodesh Sabbath to Yahweh,” Exod. The general meaning of qodesh is not contested (“holy or sacred set apart as dedicated to God”), though its use within the Bible has at times led to confusion. The Hebrew word most commonly translated as “holy” in the OT is qodesh (first appearing in Exod 3:5, “the place your stand is qodesh ground”), appearing over 400 times. Let’s consider the meaning of God’s “holiness,” especially in its relation to sin. So if children understand this, what could this idea possibly mean, and where did it come from? Sin does not make God hide his eyes, nor make him go away, which is what I wanted him to do. Plus, I had a mom who seemed to show up every time I was bad, and I knew that God was in the same business. Even as a kid I knew it was not true, since God and Satan talked to each other in Job 1. This cliché has certainly been around for a while. God’s holiness demands that he cannot be in the presence of moral sinfulness: I am moving on to look at the next “brick” on the evangelical “Big Story wall”: ![]() It’s also good to recall that most of the sacrifices for sins in the OT were about being made fit for sacred space, not hatred for a moral sin (most of those had no sacrifice, only a penalty like the death penalty or restitution. For those who might remember the series on Leviticus, with respect to this installment, it’s good to recall that the blood of the sacrificed animal was never applied to the offerer who needed to bring it. Johnson recommends listening to some of the Leviticus podcasts at one point, and that’s good advice (see the episodes on Lev 4 and 5). This post is a continuation of Parts 1, 2, and 3 by Dr. ![]()
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