Hebrew Word Study – Holiness – Qodesh  קדש Qop Daleth Shin

Leviticus 19:2: “Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel and say unto them, you shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.”

Back in the sixties there was TV program known as The Man From Uncle. This was  TV’s answer to the James Bond spy fad.  I always enjoyed watching Napoleon Solo and his Russian sidekick, Illya Kuryakin,  walk into a quiet, turn of the century tailor shop with it’s 19th century  antiquated décor, and the slow elderly looking tailor who pushed a button just as the two U.N.C.L.E. agents entered a back room.  Sudden, a steel door would open and give them an entrance to the U.N.C.L.E. Headquarters,  a world of computers and high tech machines, in total contrast to the simple 19th century  tailor shop.  

The was sort of the feeling I got when I stepped from a quiet, sophisticated Christian seminary with it’s mechanical Hebrew to English word for word translation into the dazzling display of esoteric 4,000 year old array of  Hebrew word studies and applications buried in the Orthodox Jewish communities and it’s libraries.  

Suddenly a word like qodesh (holy) begins to vibrate with life and power.  Every letter of the word has a meaning.  The first letter Qop shows sacrifice as a preparation, the next letter is a Daleth which speaks of a doorway, gateway or portal and the last letter Shin whispers to us the power, joy and peace of God. This brings on new meaning to the words “You shall be holy.” Maybe you are content with the simple Christian rendering of holy as being separate.  I find it much richer to discover that is not only means to be separate but that this separation may involve a sacrifice to prepare you to pass through a portal leading into the power, joy and peace of God. 

I also discovered that the numerical value of the word qodesh is 404, which is the same numerical value for an almond which traditionally is a metaphor for fulfillment.  This explains why God commanded us to be holy.  Our holiness fulfills the holiness of God. 

But wait, if holiness involves a sacrifice, then God is commanding us to sacrifice in preparation for Him as he sacrifices to prepare himself for us.  Well, if you can hang on to your Christian roots, then you discover a hidden mystery or secret.  I wonder if the disciples thought of Leviticus 19:2 when Jesus said in John 14:2: “I go to prepare a place for you and if I go I will come again to receive you unto myself.”  Maybe Jesus was talking about qodesh – holiness here.  He was preparing himself and the disciples as we should also prepare ourselves.  Such preparation may involve a sacrifice.  Jesus sacrificed His life to prepare for that fulfillment with us. Yet, it works two ways, if Jesus was willing to sacrifice himself to be in fulfillment with us, are we willing to make a sacrifice to be in fulfillment with Him.  

There is also another aspect to this idea of holiness as preparation.  I remember reading in Jewish literature that the Qop represents receiving.  Holiness is a preparation to receive. The sages teach that God in His holiness sends us an answer to our prayers.  However, if we are not also holy or properly prepared to receive the answer, then we can take that answer to prayer and turn it into something evil. 

That is how I discern from Leviticus 19:2 that when I pray for something, I must prepare myself for the answer to that prayer.  It may involve a sacrifice on my part.  If I do not prepare myself properly for the answer to prayer, I may end up using it for something evil, like feeding my pride or feeding my earthly passions rather than helping to fulfill God’s holiness.

Are you praying hard for something and the answer just does not seem to come?  Maybe God has sent an answer but you are not ready to receive the answer. You are not holy as he is holy. You have not properly prepared yourself for the answer to your prayer. 

During the 19th Century, there was a drought that plagued the Ohio region. The community of farmers faithfully went to church and fasted and prayed for rain.  But no rain came.  They heard that the famous evangelist, Charles Finney, was preaching in a nearby town.  They sent a message to him asking him to come and pray for rain. Surely God would hear the prayers of this great saint.   

When Finney came to town there was a big celebration and the whole town gathered to hear Finney pray for rain. There was not a cloud in the sky when Finney came walking into the town, carrying an umbrella. He prayed, opened his umbrella, and it rained. Finney as no different than anyone else in that town except he came prepared. 

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