Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Sin has repercussions

“On three occasions, the book of Ezekiel employs the priestly root מעל [M'L] to describe the sin of the people (14:13, 18:24, 39:23). This root associates the sin of Israel with the most hideous of priestly offenses, that is, using something holy for unholy purposes. Ezekiel is not merely using the priestly vocabulary on a metaphorical level but is drawing on the views of impurity related to moral infractions found in the Priestly Code. “With language like this Ezekiel has moved beyond the metaphorical: sin causes its own kind of moral impurity which, like physical impurity, can taint YHWH’s possession” (Mein 2001: 152). This explains why their impure behavior leads to Yahweh leaving the temple (Ezekiel 10), because the holiness and purity of his sanctuary are under threat, and their behavior leads to their expulsion from the land (cf. Lev 18:24–25).”—A Severe Mercy, pages 270

<idle musing>
God is zealous for the holiness of his temple; the OT/HB makes that very clear. Now, what/who is his temple? Why should he be any less zealous for the holiness of his temple now than he was then? And, the good news is he empowers and indwells us via the Holy Spirit to make the temple clean. Imparted holiness—all via grace!—not just imputed holiness.
</idle musing>

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