The Holy One: What Does it Mean?
The Holy One: What Does it Mean?
Some words are hard to define. Holy is one of those words. When I try to give a definition, I want to use the word holy to define what holy means. The closest I can come to define holy is: sacred, set apart, pure, divine.
The word is used more than 100 times in Scripture in different contexts.
God called Israel to be a holy nation. Exodus 19:6, Leviticus 11:44.
God called places within the tabernacle and later the temple holy places. Exodus 29:31, Leviticus 6:16, Psalm 65:4.
Above all things that were holy, God Himself IS holy.
We see this in one of the names of God: The Holy One. Remember that God’s names reveal the character of God. None describes God better than The Holy One. God is holy. God is the meaning of holy - the very essence of holiness.
The prophet Isaiah uses the name The Holy One more than any other writer in the Bible. I wonder if that is because God allowed Isaiah glimpses into heaven and future prophesies to see His holiness. In the vision given to the prophet in chapter 6, Isaiah describes God sitting on a throne. The Seraphim surrounding the throne called out “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of Hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory.” Isaiah 6:3.
Some of the places where God is called The Holy One in the book of Isaiah are heart wrenching. Many of God’s covenant people, Israel, had turned away from The Holy One and worshipped idols. God sent Isaiah and other prophets to warn them that if they didn’t turn back to Him, judgement would come to the nation through captivity in Babylon.
Here are a few verses from Isaiah where we see the heart of The Holy One:
“Alas, sinful nation, people weighted down with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away from Him.” Isaiah 1:4.
“ . . . For they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 5:24.
“Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 12:6.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you.When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.” Isaiah 43:2-3.
“Our Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 47:4.
“This is what the Lord says, He who is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to benefit, who leads you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.’” Isaiah 48:17-18.
The love The Holy One has for His people hasn’t changed. Today when we put our faith in Him and follow His commandments, He will lead us in the way we should go. His way is always the right way.
Carla Killough McClafferty