Beauty of Holiness

“And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister: And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee.” (De 27:2-3 AV)

Joshua’s altar had to be something to behold!  It was recently discovered.  Built like the letter ‘E’ laying on the ground, the priest would ascend the middle ramp while the penitent would climb the first ramp.  The animal would be killed, and the blood would run over the face of the altar.  The animal was sacrificed at the center, and being reconciled to God, the penitent would leave from the opposite direction from which he came.  This entire altar was plaistered with a substance made from bleached animal bone and pitch.  It dried like hardened cement, and when it did, it was as white as anything one could imagine.  The law was chiseled into the face of the altar so the people of Isael saw the record of the law written on a bone-white altar when entering the land of Canaan.  What a picture of perfection that must have been.

I have gone to our nation’s capital a couple of times.  There are many sights to see there.  There are a few monuments that strike at the heart of the visitor.  The war memorial is perhaps the most moving of all.  There are the Washington and Lincoln monuments.  The Capital build looms large.  And of course, there is the White House.  Upon these monuments, there are words etched for all time.  There are scripture verses.  There are patriotic quotes.  What is not on the monuments is a copy of the entire law of our land.  I don’t think it would fit.  These buildings are impressive.  They attempt to give praise to God, but in reality, they are erected to recognize great men of our past.  There is nothing inherently wrong with that.  It is just that compared to the law written on alabaster white walls of an altar doesn’t even come close.

I have a message regarding this altar.  It is a perfect picture of salvation in Christ.  But that is not what strikes the heart this morning.  It is the picture of perfection that someone entering the promised land witnessed as they passed by.  It is not just the altar which could be seen from Jerusalem, laying 17 miles away.  That bone-white altar could be seen from miles.  It wasn’t the absence of flaws or the fact that it was built with materials God had supplied beforehand that fit together like a puzzle without one chisel or hammer used.  No.  What impresses the mind this morning is the beauty that is the law.  Perfection on a road sign, so to speak.  What made this altar one of a kind was not the shape or color.  It was not the activity that occurred there.  Rather, it was the law written on its face.  I could not help but think of heaven.  Heaven is a place of absolute perfection and holiness.  There will be no need for law as we understand it because all the inhabitants will have no desire to break it.  The beauty of holiness is what the Hebrew saw when he entered God’s land, and it will be the beauty of holiness which the saint will see as well.