When the resurrected Christ met Mary Magdalene outside the tomb, He said to her, “Go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ ” (Jn. 20:17) This one brief announcement is loaded with precious and magnificent promises (2Pet. 1:4) that can impact our lives greatly. Nothing I write here is new. We would all have known of these things beforehand. Yet I ask you to be patient with me for I believe that familiarity deceitfully compels us to take things for granted. We cease to value the greatness of things that we have heard, and heard so often. May the Holy Spirit use this brief writing to give deeper insight and understanding into the person of God so that we may rejoice in its significance for us.
The book of Isaiah provides us with a glimpse of what the prophet saw in his vision. He writes, “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him …and one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isa. 6:1-3) The book of Revelation provides us with a similar glimpse where the four living creatures never cease to say the same thing (Rev. 4:8). I now lament at how the English language has not been successful in bringing out the glory of these few but profound words of worship. I am no scholar in Hebrew but bear with me as I share with you what God taught me of His glory.
The text I am to focus on is: Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh YHWH tse'va'ot.
God is Holy! Unspeakably holy! Inexpressibly holy! The meaning of this Hebrew word ‘Kadosh’ is: utterly unique, distinct, sacred and set apart as the only One of its kind. He alone is Creator. Everything else that exists is made and has a beginning. It is no wonder that He is also called the Most High. Do not pass this by with haste, my dear reader, for as we reflect on this word, God can give us insight to understand that He is not just Holy. He is Holy, Holy, Holy!
The next part of that worshipful phrase is literally YHWH tse'va'ot which can be translated in English as: The eternal God of hosts. The great I AM; the One who was, and who is, and who is to come (Rev. 1:8); the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Rev. 22:13); the everlasting One; is also the Commander of the myriads of angels. The Bible tells us that the number of them is myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands (Rev. 5:11). It is another thing that the God-fearing Jews trembled at uttering the awesome name of God and replaced the tetragrammaton, YHWH with Adonai, Elohim or what we read in our English versions as LORD GOD (in capitals). One Bible version has sadly translated YHWH tse'va'ot as “LORD Almighty”. David as a young lad understood these two words and could say with boldness to the giant, “I come to you in the name of YHWH tse'va'ot, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.” (1Sam. 17:45)
Over the past two weeks the Lord has been impressing upon my heart the glory of His majesty. The more I meditated on the words of this worship, the more I was in awe at the God I serve. My God is the set apart, High above all else Creator. There is none higher than Him. He is the eternal, sovereign, powerful King over the angel armies; over heaven; and over earth and everything in it. Through Jesus Christ, this Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh YHWH tse'va'ot is not just the God of my Saviour; He is now my God. He is with me. He is on my side—just like He was with Abraham and Moses and Joshua and David and Elijah and with Israel in their conquests.
Through Jesus Christ, this awesome God is also my Father. Every attribute of this majestic One is directed towards me as “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3). This self-existent God chose me in Christ before even the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). This eternal God who knew me, my follies and my rebellious ways before I was even born, never gave up on me but reconciled me to Himself (Eph. 2:12, 13) and restored me to life’s fullness and purpose (Jn. 10:10). Through Jesus this Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh YHWH tse'va'ot cares for me more than I can ever imagine (Psa. 139:17, 18; Jer. 29:11). He loves me with a love that is not only everlasting, but it is also unfailing and boundless. He assures my heart that there is nothing that can separate me from this love He has for me (Rom. 8:38, 39). His perfect, flawless wisdom is ever willing to hold my hand and guide my steps—sometimes beside quiet streams and green pastures; and sometimes through the valley of the shadow of death. His faithfulness causes me to rest in the fact that my God is true. He never changes. Everything around me may fail but what He has said can never fail. The Holy Spirit who dwells in me causes me to wait with longing for the hope of spending eternity with my God and Father. He convicts me to live righteous and God-fearing; set apart from the evil ways of the world and those that I once walked in. Thanks to Jesus, He is not only the Messiah’s Father, He is my Father too.
Oh that God may open the eyes of our heart to know the hope of His calling; the riches of His magnificence and glory; and the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. I doubt we will ever be the same.
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