Jesus taught His disciples to pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.”
But what does it mean for God’s name to be hallowed?
Hallowed means set apart, revered–glorified.
Yet how is God’s name set apart? How is God’s name revered? How is God’s name glorified?
A couple of days ago I was reading in Numbers 20 when I came across an interesting set of verses.
“Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’ This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them.”
Numbers 20:12-13
The people had complained against Moses because they had no water. Moses went into the presence of God. God told Moses to speak to a rock, which would bring forth water for them. Moses went and got angry with the people and then struck the rock, which then poured forth water for all the people.
But God was not pleased. Moses did not believe God, to hallow Him–to set Him apart, to revere Him, to glorify Him–in the eyes of the people of Israel. Instead, Moses took matters into his own hands: “Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”
God’s judgment ultimately came on Moses because he did not hallow God among Israel. Moses would not enter into the Promised Land.
Yet God would be hallowed–set apart, revered, glorified–among the Israelites. The difference is that He would be hallowed as just, in judging Moses–whereas had Moses believed, God would have been hallowed by Moses as merciful in providing water from the rock.
John Piper said something similar in a sermon I listened to this evening:
“The coming of Jesus into the world clarifies that unbelief is our fault, and belief is God’s gift. Which means that if we do not come to Christ, but rather perish eternally, we magnify God’s justice. And if we do come to Christ and gain eternal life, we magnify God’s grace.”
John Piper
God will be hallowed–either with or without the act of hallowing by man. But when man hallows God, he experiences great joy as a part of God’s glorification. When man does not hallow God, God’s hallowing is that man’s judgment.
I think of C.S. Lewis’s description of Aslan in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. To those who loved Him (Aslan), He was great and wonderful–and even His name seemed fresh and sweet and lifegiving. Yet to those who hated Him, He was fearsome and awful and even His name made them cower and cringe.
For the glorification of God is the aroma of death, leading to death for those who are perishing–but the aroma of life leading to life to we who are being saved (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). It is one scent–the scent of the glory of God–but the unregenerate, unbelieving nostrils smell it differently. To them, God’s glorification is putrid–to we who are being saved, God’s glorification is life itself.
And so we pray, “”Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name–in Me.”
I was just thinking of “hallowing God’s name” this morning in relation to churches being the lampstands mentioned in Revelations! If I am not properly shining forth the light of Christ, I am probably, either by my behavior (sin) or by my words (false doctrine), showing God to be something He is not. Because I am His ambassador, people will see Him as however I represent Him – accurately or not.
Great post! Nice to see somebody else getting something out of Numbers. I figure it also ties into taking the Lord’s name in vain. Not swearing, but causing his name damage by our conduct.