Hello guys, happy new year. How has 2020 been so far? It is a new beginning – new year and new decade. I just thought of bringing you something that would help put this season of beginnings into a proper perspective.

If you know something about the names of God Jehovah, then I’m sure you must have come across this name – JEHOVAH MEKODDISHKEM – the Lord who sanctifies you. Now the word ‘mekoddishkem’ stems from the hebrew word ‘qadash’ which means ‘to be set apart or consecrated’. It further stems from the word ‘qodesh’ which means ‘holy’. Therefore, the Lord introduces Himself as the one who sets Israel apart and makes them holy.

Let’s take a look at the scriptures.

““Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”

Exodus‬ ‭31:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

This is the first time God introduces Himself as JEHOVAH MEKODDISHKEM. He introduces this side of Himself when He talks about a new concept of His – THE SABBATH. The sabbath had been mentioned a number of times earlier. It was a part of the ten commandments given them but it seems the people did not understand the reasons as to why they must separate a day from all the rest and do absolutely nothing. It is understandable. Remember that the Israelites had been slaves for centuries before this. They were used to working. They worked from dawn to dusk everyday, i.e. seven days a week, for 400 years. Work was all they did. And now God comes out to say, “Leave one day for me. Set it differently from what you do everyday. That day is for me.” I can imagine them thinking, “What a waste of time. We can actually make a good distance towards the Promise Land.”

The reason the Lord gives this unusual command is that it is yet another sign to separate them from the other nations. All other nations worked all day, everyday. But the Israelites were a special people to God. He had a covenant with them and He wanted to differentiate them from other nations. They were His and He showed His possession of them by these signs. He brought them out and separated them. He sanctified them.

The prefix of the word sanctification, the Latin word ‘sanctus’ means ‘holy’. Its suffix stems from the root word ‘facere’ meaning ‘to make or to do’. Therefore, Sanctification is the process of setting apart or separating something for a purpose, and in our context, to God. That is, to make something holy to God. It could be your body or your entire being or your treasure. God took the Israelites through a process of sanctification in order to make them holy to Himself. He set up various laws of food, clothing, work even to the shaving of beards to set them apart from other nations. He made the distinction clear by various signs to say “These people are mine”. He is the Lord who sanctified them.

In much the same way, as believers, the Lord is our MEKODDISHKEM, He is our sanctifier.

“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—”

‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭1:2, 30‬ ‭NKJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

We, who have placed our trust in Jesus’ name, are made separate to God. God is the one who initiated this. Like the Israelites, He brought us from Egypt which was full of Darkness and drew us to Himself. He has set us on a different place from others and put His name on us – we are His.

TWO-SIDED COIN
Well, sanctification is a two sided thing. I’ll explain what I mean. We read in Exodus 31:13 that ““Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”

God says, “SURELY MY SABBATHS YOU SHALL KEEP.” He required an active sanctification on the part of the Israelites as well. They must definitely keep the sabbath and in doing that they would know the Lord as their mekoddishkem. They would come to realize He is actually who He says He is. The point here is, guys, that the Lord has set us apart as believers from the numerous people – family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances and strangers. He has put His name on us and says that we are His. Now what He demands is an action towards this.

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;”

‭‭I Thessalonians‬ ‭4:3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Paul stated in 1 corinthians 1:2,30 that we are sanctified. But he also writes in the verse above that sanctification requires an action. In this particular verse, it requires abstinence from sexual immorality. Sanctification is not just a passive believing of being set apart because you believe in Jesus. It is an active working out of that separation that makes you different from others. It is bearing the name of God in honor and total surrender to Him and Him alone.

SANCTIFICATION COSTS
Notice something – Nothing Valueless Is Sanctified. Throughout the law books, when the Lord asked something to be sanctified to Him, they were made of gold, silver or bronze. Nothing without value or anything that was not precious was given to the Lord. Even in the process of liberating Israel, the Egyptians did not want them to leave because they were of value. Sanctification COSTS!! It will cost you whatever the Lord asks of you. It may be the enjoyment you have for movies or series, or time spent sleeping. It may even cost you your family – look at Abraham. But even as it costs, it pays much more because the Lord is a good paymaster. He pays well. He is our reward.

We will continue the convo in the coming weeks. Stay tuned and share with us in the comment section your understanding of Sanctification. Thank you for joining us.

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