DER • TO BE RENEWED • HOLINESS TO THE LORD
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Turban: Of fine linen
above a golden plate,
engraved with the words,
“Holiness to the Lord”.
The engraved plate
symbolised the bearing
of the people’s guilt on
the high priest’s head.
What have your
thoughts been on?
“You shall put the turban on his head,
and put the holy crown on the turban.
A nd you shall take the anointing oil,
pour it on his head, and anoint him.” himself. There is no holiness to the Lord
because his mind is constantly on his
own pleasures and on the world.
(Exodus 29:6,7) His actions, therefore, reflect the ‘crown’
he bears on his forehead: holiness to
himself and not to the Lord. The things
that take his time and, especially, the
intentions behind what he does, are a
reflection of the lord of his life.
These 21 days are separated – they are
holy to the Lord so that our minds and
lives are purified and indeed reflect this
holiness to Him.
In the verse above, the crown with the
signet, ‘Holiness to the Lord’, was on
Aaron’s forehead to bear the iniquities
of Israel for the holy things that they
hallowed, and so that they may be
accepted before God.
The blessing of Melchizedek that we
received in previous weeks, in essence,
is a reminder that, as God’s priests (see 1
Peter 2:9) we ought to have this holiness
to God in all things. It is to become set
apart “for glory and for beauty” (Exodus
28:2) but this glory is not for self praise; this
glory is of distinction and honour.
“Where have we not shown
holiness to the Lord? Is it in our
thoughts? Our behaviour? The
way we treat others – those
we know and do not know?”
12 stones were each engraved with the
name of one of the twelve tribes on the
Breastplate of Judgement. What have you
been keeping in your heart?
To hallow means to make or set apart
as holy; to respect or honour greatly; to
revere a person/thing as holy.
We hallow something FIRST in our
minds, and then our actions follow to
demonstrate our reverence for this thing
or person.
Nowadays, however, people tend
to hallow idols (people, institutions,
celebrities, and even themselves). The
thoughts of man are often focused
on himself – he hallows and venerates
God honours the priests’ faithfulness and
reverence and, ultimately, the sacrifices
that the priests make for Him. Their
dedication to Him makes them God’s
own responsibility. They lack nothing.
Their lives are beautiful. They are looked
up to by others, not because they are
great but rather because the Lord of
their lives is great.
As we remove our heart and constant
thoughts and worries from the physical
things like money, our bodies, family
quarrels and love life, our own will and
desires, and our impossible problems
and set our minds on the things above
(see Colossians 3:2), God Himself takes
care of your needs.
Ephod: A linen garment made of gold,
blue, purple and scarlet yarns.
So, what does this have to do with your
21-Day Fast? This fasting period is the
perfect opportunity to evaluate your
life and see if you have been showing
this holiness to God. It’s the time to draw
closer to Him and separate yourself from
the world.
Where have we not shown holiness
to the Lord? Is it in our thoughts? Our
behaviour? The way we treat others –
those we know and do not know? The
way we treat ourselves and take care of
our bodies? Is it the way we look at the
things of God; the servants of God?
The way we deal with authorities in
our lives including our parents, siblings,
bosses, teachers, and so on? Have
we returned to Caesar what is his and
to God what belongs to Him? How
do we take care of our homes and
things? How do we administrate our
finances? How do we serve God?
How do we spend our spare time? Or
use tools like social media? What do
we do with the talents that God has
given us? Are we showing holiness to
the Lord in all these things?
Take a moment to answer the following
questions. These will help you pinpoint
where and what you need to work on to
shine more for God.