What can we learn about God's holiness from Isaiah 5:25? Surveying the Verse “Therefore the anger of the LORD is kindled against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked. Their corpses were like refuse in the streets. Yet for all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.” (Isaiah 5:25) Why God’s Anger Reveals His Holiness • Holiness is not mere moral purity; it is God’s absolute other-ness—His set-apart character (Leviticus 11:44–45). • When that holiness collides with sin, it must react. “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil” (Habakkuk 1:13). • Isaiah shows the reaction as righteous anger, not capricious rage. The verse begins, “Therefore the anger of the LORD is kindled,” linking anger directly to violated holiness. The Stretching Hand of Judgment • “He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them.” • Stretching the hand is a deliberate, controlled act—an intentional exercise of holiness, not an outburst. • The literal quaking of mountains underscores the terrifying grandeur of God’s holiness (Exodus 19:18). • Corpses “like refuse in the streets” display how sin defiles what God created good (Romans 6:23). Holiness Is Consistent and Persistent • “Yet for all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.” • Holiness does not ebb and flow with human emotion; it remains steady until its righteous purpose is fulfilled (Isaiah 9:12, 17, 21). • God’s patience does not cancel His holiness; both coexist. The upraised hand warns that judgment continues until repentance occurs (Ezekiel 18:30–32). What We Learn About God’s Holiness 1. It is uncompromising – Sin always provokes a response (Romans 1:18). 2. It is active, not passive – God “struck them”; holiness moves to correct and purify. 3. It is awe-inspiring – Quaking mountains remind us that creation itself trembles before His holiness (Psalm 99:1–3). 4. It is morally decisive – Corpses in the streets picture the ultimate seriousness of rejecting the Holy One (Hebrews 10:31). 5. It is patient yet unswerving – The upraised hand shows mercy’s window remains, but holiness will prevail (2 Peter 3:9). Responding to the Holy God • Recognize His standard: “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). • Flee to the provision He gives: Christ bore this holy wrath on the cross (Isaiah 53:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21). • Walk in reverent obedience: “Since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28–29). |
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