From Holy to Profane

From The Holy To The Profane

Hebrews 12:14-16 today I would like to unpack these verses and consider how holiness can be undermined by bitterness… leading to defilement… leading us to becoming godless and profane. Along the way I’m going to add definition to:

Holiness - set apart for a God given purpose

Bitterness - focusing on the negative

Defilement - caused by disobedience

Profane - unable to see, unwilling to acknowledge God’s purpose

The path from holy to profane, is a path from life with purpose to a life with no purpose.

Holiness Is About Purpose

Holiness is often understood to mean without sin, or flawless. But that is not quite right. Holiness, or to be holy means set apart for service to God. Often you'll find this same word translated sanctified, or even the literal meaning "set apart".

A person declared holy is not then complete with no further need to overcome sin. God’s call to holiness means He intervenes and re-directs your life. You are given short term goals of obedience, mid-term goals of overcoming, and an end goal of eternal life. Then, His call to holiness begins to change your behavior and character... as you begin to act and choose to live without sin.  

Many people live without seeing any real purpose to it. They might point their energies on athletics, or art, or gaining wealth but in the end they have to give it all up... so what's the point? God's call to holiness gives you a purpose that you never have to give up which will last eternally.

His call to holiness allows you to put everything you experience into a meaningful and life giving framework… the suffering, sickness, trials, self-denial, and the effort to trust and to obey have purpose.

But, we are warned that there are threats to our call to holiness... through bitterness [and negativity] we can lose our sense of purpose … fall in to disobedience… and become godless, or profane.

The Root of Bitterness

Bitterness is a category of feeling or thinking  that is sharp and unpleasant like a whiff of ammonia [taste of walnut shells]. In the realm of the mind bitterness is associated with:

12. envy of what others have
13. grievance and complaining over our lot
14. cursing [calling forth supernatural wrath upon others]

 Acts 8:22-23 Simon Magus was called bitter because he was jealous and envious when the admiration of the crowds turned away from him to apostles Peter and John. He saw that it was because of the holy spirit in them and sought to purchase it.

James 3:9-16 [see  Ephesians 4:31for bitterness in association with rage and anger].

Within the vocabulary and imagery of the bible bitterness is meant to take us back to the bitter waters of Merah as recorded in Exodus 15:22-24.

After Merah they travel to Elim where they complain about the food Exodus 16:2-5. Requesting water and food is not evil... but the attitude is bad. They are looking back longingly [enviously] at the delicious food in Egypt... the same Egypt that oppressed and crushed them body and spirit. The bitter water of Merah is now forever associated with their complaining, envying and bitterness of spirit.

A totally  focused spiritual perspective might have been: YHWH has just parted the waters of the sea and lead me through it... Now I'm plopped down in this wilderness where there is no food, or water... I can hardly wait to see what's going to happen next?

But that would be hard to do when you are getting hungry and thirsty. Instead Israel complained, they got angry, and they envied the good things they used to have before all this holy nation stuff!

Bitterness can take root when we lose sight of the greater purpose of what we are enduring. When all we can see is the pain, or the social stigma, or the fear… we can become angry, frustrated, filled with complaints and grievances... which can lead to disobedience... because we no longer see the point of obedience.

Deuteronomy 8:2-5 God’s perspective on this whole sequence of events was about discipline and training for His holy purpose.

Hebrews 12:5-6, 11 if we focus on the unpleasantness of God’s discipline we can become bitter.

We Become Defiled Through Disobedience

Israel’s complaints about water and food go from Exodus 15 through 17…  and nestled in the middle is an important example of disobedience… because the two are connected.

Hebrews 3:12 - 4:1 the rebellion here is a quote from Psalm 95 and refers to the quarreling and strife over food and water on the journey from Merah, to Elim, to Sin, to Rephidim. Israel didn't lose out because of one or two incidents... they repeatedly complained, and refused to trust, which led to disobedience.

While camped in the desert of Sin… they refused to obey God’s command to rest on the 7th day. They treated it as thought it were just another day instead of a day that was holy and set apart by God. To defile is to take some thing that has been made holy and treat it as if it were a something common… of no special value… your to do with as you please.

 

That command to rest on the 7th day remains as a test of obedience for the present day people of God Hebrews 4:9-11. Keeping the Sabbath holy is part of the discipline of God… Sabbath keeping requires sacrifices which we might find unpleasant… don’t let this become a root of bitterness… don’t lose your sense of purpose… don’t fall into disobedience.

Making Life Choices

In the OT defilement came through exposing the holy to things that were dead or sick, with categories of animals specified by God, and with sexual activity. In the NT defilement comes from... evil words... evil thoughts... evil deeds... false doctrine... and sexual immorality.

Hebrews 12:16 the person who exemplifies unholiness is Esau. Not because he was especially sinful... but because he was especially indifferent. He didn't care, he didn't see anything special about some future promise of God…  the inheritance of the Abrahamic covenant was a common thing... not much different from a bowl of lentil soup Genesis 25:29-34.

Esau is also linked to sexual immorality. We do not have many detail of this part of his life. What we do know is that he took two wives at the same time. Not pleasing to God, not pleasing to his father Issac... but Jacob went and did the same thing with Leah and Rachael. So what else is buried in this little detail?

Genesis 26:14 the two women were Hittites which was not a good thing. The Hittites were part of the people God was going to drive out of the land He promised to Abraham. The sons of Abraham were not supposed to mix with these people. That is why the family went to such great pains to find wives for their sons back in Mesopotamia... not from among the Canannites, Hittites, or Amorites!

But Esau didn't care. It didn't matter to him. Conforming his choice of sexual partner with God's unfolding plan of creating a holy nation was not important... and didn't drive the choices he made in life.  

And so Esau is called a godless and profane man. What does that mean?

A Profane Person

When something that was designated as holy is defiled it is then considered profaned. Profane means ...permitted to be walked on ... accessible to all ... for common use ... not holy ... not set apart for special use or service to God.

• Esau didn't consider his birthright as the firstborn to be of any significance when he was hungry and tired. It was on the same level as that bowl of soup which would take care of his immediate needs.
• Esau didn't consider his sex life to be of any particular significance in God's plan. When he found some women he liked he went for it.

In the same way we can act in a profane way by how we approach the things of God. Three examples of profane behavior are spelled out in the commandments:

3rd Commandment: do not use God's name in a profane manner... ways that are vain, empty, stupid, insulting and so forth. Use it for an unholy purpose.

4th Commandment: do not treating the 7th day Sabbath in a profane manner... like any other day.

7th Commandment: do not treat sex in a profane manner… it is set apart by god through covenant.

God's Name

This is more than misuse of the letters and syllables we use to say "God" or "YHWH". It's also a warning about using His reputation in an empty or insulting way. A prime example is attaching His name and reputation to false teaching.

1 Timothy 4:7 attaching God's name to humanly devised religious stories is a misuse of His name. A good example is Christmas which has nothing to do with the bible or God's plan.

1 Timothy 6:20 attaching God's name to our own traditions or theories... whether it be an un-biblical teaching about the immortal soul... or theories of materialism which deny God as creator.

God's Sabbath Day

Isaiah 58:13-14 God says don't walk all over my Sabbath as if it were some common thing. A day like any other day. Consider it special, dedicated to specific purposes [rest and holy convocation].

Leviticus 23:3 the 7th day is not given to us so we can use it as we please. It's a day of rest... but not so we can sleep all day... or party... its for a special purpose... a holy purpose. The Sabbath is a day to gather for inspired instruction.

Ezekiel 20:20-21 the Sabbath itself is set apart... but the act of keeping the Sabbath also serves as a sign of who God has made holy... the people of God… who He is working through... who He has set apart Hebrews 4:9-11.

Sexual Immorality

1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 15-20 sexual immorality is another way we might be taking the things of God and using them in a way that does not recognize the holy purpose God has in mind.

Hebrews 13:4 human sexuality is "set apart" from common use. It is more than another bodily appetite meant to be satisfied. It is set aside for marriage between a man and a woman entering into a covenant with their Creator. It pictures the relationship of Christ and His Church. And with the 10th command it reaches into the secrets of the human mind and character.

Conclusion:

You have been called to holiness. Which means your life has been re-categorized by God and set apart to accomplish His purpose. Use this as a way of seeing and understanding all the trials. the tests, the persecutions, the insults... as having great meaning and headed toward a great goal.

Do not become discouraged... do not allow a root of bitterness to take root within you... do not allow yourself to treat the things of God as "no big deal"... do not disobey His righteous commands... do not give up your inheritance... keep moving forward.