Holy and Common

Have you ever identified a standard between what is holy and what is not holy? Experiencing life as a believer causes us to develop a sense of identifying holy character and practices that reflect honor and love towards God. Being able to show honor and love toward God is not merely keeping away from sin, but identifying what is holy and what is common. One commentator expresses it this way, “The opposite of “holy” in the Old Testament is not sinful but “common.””1 Having this distinction keeps us from making up our own standard in which we worship God.

Ezekiel 44:20-23

Priest were given guidelines to follow, after ministering in the temple and before coming out in to the court with the people. To name a few they were to change out of their ceremonial garments and leave them in a holy chamber. They were prohibited from shaving their heads but also not allowed to have their hair too long. They were not allowed to drink alcohol in the inner court. They were also given guidelines of who they could marry. They could not marry a women who was divorced or a widow, but she must be a virgin of the house of Isreal or be a widow of a priest.

By holding to the standard of God rules they could then teach the people the difference between holy and common and distinguish between clean and unclean. Peter express that believers are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), and God calls us to live a life that is worthy of the calling (Ephesians 4:1). Seek God Word to build up your life so you can pay attention to what is common and what is holy. Otherwise we will approach God with no honor or love as well as no respect and minimize His power and leading on our life.

1 Hamilton, V. P. (1995). Ezekiel. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 586). Baker Book House.