9781433573606-epdf

The God Who Reigns over the Coronavirus
TRANSCENDENT, INFINITE WORTH
The root meaning of the Old Testament word for holiness
is the idea of being separate—different and separated from
the ordinary. And when applied to God, this separateness
implies that he is in a class by himself. He is like a one-ofa-kind
diamond, supremely valuable. We can use the word
transcendent for this kind of divine separateness. He is so
uniquely separate that he transcends all other reality. He is
above it and more valuable than all of it.
When Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it the
way God said, God rebuked him: “You did not believe in
me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel”
(Num. 20:12). In other words, Moses treated God not as
exceptional and supremely trustworthy, but as just another
human authority along with others that could be ignored.
Or in Isaiah 8:12–13, God said to Isaiah, “Do not fear
what [this people] fears, nor be in dread. But the Lord of
hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and
let him be your dread.” In other words, don’t lump God
into the same group as all of your ordinary fears and dreads.
Treat him as an utterly separate and unique—a transcendent—fear
and dread.
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