The Essence of God

What is God’s throne made of? It has to be made of something, and it must be significant for the God of the universe to sit on it. And while we’re pondering that, just where is His throne? It has to be someplace, and wherever it is, it must be significant to be the place He chooses to reside.

Interestingly, we have the answer to that in the Bible, and even more interesting, the characteristic description of His throne and where it is located are the same.

His throne: God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. (Psalm 47:8)

His location: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.” (Psalm 48:1-2)

His throne is holiness and He is in the City of God in the mountain of His holiness. That mountain is Mount Zion, which is in Jerusalem. This is why we know God is not finished with Israel. He attaches His holiness to that place, and it’s not going away. Look for Mount Zion in Jerusalem to have its place in the prophetic future.

But the point I’ve been making (see previous 2 blog posts) is that God attaches his holiness to things we can see. Another example is the Ark of the Covenant, a picture of His holiness. Remember that? It was made according to strict instructions and was kept in the holy of holies. Inside it were the tablets of the 10 commandments, Aaron’s rod that budded and a keepsake jar of manna.

Remember when Israel’s enemy, the Philistines, stole the ark? They feared it greatly in the presence of Israel and they took it from them. Look what happened when they stole the Holy Ark (it’s called holy in 2 Chron. 35:3). “When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.” (1Samuel 5:2-4)

What would we expect from a holy God whose holy symbol, the ark, was set in a pagan temple next to a pagan god? It was blasphemy to God and He took care of it. He also took care of the people in the cities where the Philistines moved the ark around. They were plagued with emerods. That is hemorrhoids!

Let’s not lose the fact that God is holy. He shows us His holiness and that it is the foundation of who He is. God is a lot of things. He is love, a jealous God, a consuming fire, great, a refuge, our helper, our defense, a sun and shield, etc. But above it all, he is holy. Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy. (Psalm 99:9)

Jody