Meaning of HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL (He)

In the book of Isaiah, God is frequently called the Holy One of Israel, or just the Holy One, to denote the God of Israel, or the True God (Isa. 1:4; 5:19, 24:6; 40:25, etc.).

In Ezekiel, God makes himself known as Jehovah, as the powerful and true God, by manifesting his holiness (Ez. 20:41 ff; 28:22; 36:23 etc.). It must be noted that God swears by his holiness, as he swears by himself (Am. 4:2; Ps. 89:36; Gen. 22:16; Ex. 32:13; Is. 45:23; Jer. .22:5).

Holiness seems to be synonymous with divinity. Reading a book like Leviticus leaves the reader convinced of this. Holiness, considered in God, turns out to be not so much one of his attributes as his very character.

Throughout the OT, the texts dealing with divine holiness express at once His ineffable purity, His horror of evil, His abhorrence of sin, as well as His supreme glory, majesty, elevation, and greatness. he.

God's holiness is closely related to his jealousy, his anger and his vengeance. His jealous nature (Ex. 20:15) is nothing more than his holiness in action (Oehler). In Ez. 38:18, 23 we read that in his jealousy and anger Jehovah will exercise his judgments on Israel and that thus He will be glorified and sanctified.

God's vengeance is a consequence of his jealousy and his anger (Nah. 1:2; Ez. 25:14, 17). Jealousy, anger, and revenge break out every time God's will is opposed by men, every time it is belittled and disobeyed.

By revealing himself as “holy,” God intimated to Israel that they too must be holy (Lev. 11:44; 19:2; 20:7, 27; cp. 1 Pet. 1:16). This order is, as we see in the quote from 1st Peter, reaffirmed for believers of the New Covenant.