The "Separateness" of God

I was reading yesterday of God's directions to Moses regarding the construction of some temple implements in Exodus 30. Of the altar for burning incense (placed before the Holy of Holies) God says,

"You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering,
or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it."

Speaking of the basin for washing He says of the priests,

"When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near
the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the Lord,
they shall wash with water, so that they may not die.
They shall wash their hands and their feet,
so that they may not die."

Sounds restrictive, doesn't it? The priests can only offer incense that has been directed by God, and they have to make sure that they wash their hands and feet before embarking upon their ministry duties.

I came away from this passage with a few thoughts. First, God is directing the institution of temple worship. As the sovereign God and the object of the worship, He has the right to require these details. In the same way, God has every right to establish boundaries for us today--He is God, and He is the object of our worship.

Second, this speaks of man's sinfulness...and these are the priests! Even those called by God to lead His people in worship must understand that they are not perfect. This passage addresses two aspects of this: man's idea of what is appropriate in the worship of God (specifically the incense) is tainted; thus, only what God ordains is acceptable. Also, man himself is unacceptable to God as he is...he must be cleansed. Thus, the restrictions are not so much about "do this...don't do that" as it is about teaching people the character of God and the character of man.

Third, this expresses volumes about God's holiness. While the previous items are involved in the passage, the intent of these specific directives is to teach the priests and all of Israel how holy, how separate from sinful humanity God really is. Deuteronomy 4:23-24 says,

"Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God,
which He made with you...for the Lord your God
is a consuming fire, a jealous God."

God's character is such that He is so holy, so pure, so separate that man must tread carefully when coming into His presence. After the "incident" with the golden calf, God instructs Moses to pick up camp and move on. God will send an angel to go before them, but God Himself would not. Why? "I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people." God's holiness cannot placate (to put off through concessions) man's sin.

On the opposite side of the coin, the wonderful truths of the New Testament are that the barriers between man and God are now removed. Among the wonderful promises those in Christ are given is that we can come into His presence with boldness (Hebrews 4:16) and confidence, much like Moses did when entering into the Tent of Meeting to speak face to face with God.

I am concerned, though, that in our desire to be faithful to the New Testament teaching on the church, we have neglected the OT teaching of God as incredibly, infinitely holy...a consuming fire and a God who is jealous of His Name and attributes.

What are we declaring to the world? Truly, we are declaring that our God is approachable in Christ. But are we not neglecting that our God is a consuming fire? The seeker sensitive movement, the emerging movement, and others (even evangelical churches), downplay this picture of God. We must remember that the Old Testament accounts were written for our instruction.

Moses prayed, "please show me Your ways, that I may know You..." (Exodus 33:13). God's ways also include His holiness, His wrath against sin, and the fact that He is a consuming fire.

Perhaps we need to learn from God's temple directives...