Elevate

According to the Oxford Languages Dictionary, the word "elevate" means "to raise or lift (something) up to a higher position". It can also mean "(of a priest) hold up (a consecrated host or chalice) for adoration". In the New Testament, Paul writes that the effect of our Christian walk is ultimately so that God may be glorified, magnified, elevated in, and through us. Paul wrote that he prayed always for the saints "that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure (meaning good will, kindly intent, benevolence, delight, pleasure, satisfaction) of His goodness (meaning uprightness of heart and life, goodness, kindness) and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him." (2 Thess. 1:11-12). Paul also wrote that on the Day of His coming, He is "to be glorified in His saints" (v. 10). David wrote this prayer, "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth." (Ps. 57:11). God is already exalted and glorified above the heavens and in the earth, yet David was inspired to write a command God to be exalted and glorified. There is a truth here for us. In a prayer of Jesus, He revealed that as He gloriified God with His life, He also could expect to be glorified in return: "Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You...I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was." (Jn. 17:1-5). We also become part of this elevation as Jesus continued to pray, "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them (His disciples, and those who would come to believe in Jesus through their word), that they may be one just as We are One." (v. 20-22). This oneness in glory with the Father, Son, and each other is so we may be "made perfect in one" (v. 23, see also Eph. 4:13). We are elevated as we elevate the Father and the Son, and as a result, we become united with Them and each other in this elevation. Because the elevation of God has such a great beneficial impact upon us spiritually, it has also proven to be one of God's people's greatest challenges. Scripture tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people: "But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. Our Fathers trusted in You..." (Ps. 22:3). David speaks this elevation even in his prophetic vision of crucifixion in Psalm 22. What happens when God's people fail to praise Him, when they fail to trust Him in all things? God describes the high place that He inhabits: "For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." (Isa. 57:15). The high and holy place that God inhabits is the place where the humble and contrite are also found. What happens when God's people are neither humble, nor contrite? What happens to the high and lofty habitation of God? What happens to God's habitation when His people decide to elevate themselves, or someone or something other than Him? Since the elevation of God by man is reciprocated back to man by Him in every way, what, in turn, happens to our elevation as we fail to elevate Him? Our readings this Sabbath give us a look into elevation. The Sabbath reading portions for this week are titled, "Ki lissa", which means "When you elevate". In one of the Torah readings from Exodus 32, the pattern of the tabernacle had already been given to God's people, and God had agaain declared the sanctity of the Sabbath as a sign between Himself and His people forever (Ex. 31:17). (The Sabbath in man elevates God, which in turn, elevates us.) As the account continued, Moses was delayed on the mountain as he met with the LORD. The people below in the camp approached Aaron, who was high priest, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." (Ex. 32:1). In response, Aaron molded a golden calf from the earrings worn by the Israelites. When completed, they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" (v. 4). When Aaron heard this, he built an altar for offerings before the golden calf, and declared a feast to the LORD. When the LORD told Moses what the people had done in his absence, Moses had to plead with God to remember His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and turn His wrath away from the people. The LORD relented (v. 11-14). The people of God had elevated something other than God. As this generation of Israelites, including Moses, failed to elevate God, He, in turn, could not elevate them to nationhood. That would have to wait for the next generation, while a whole generation died in the wilderness without a home. In another haftarah reading portion for this Sabbath from 2 Chron. 2, a new King Solomon, the son of David, desired to build the temple of God according to the plans that his father, David, had left with him. He declared to a neighboring king, Hiram, "Behold, I am building a temple for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to Him, to burn before Him sweet incense, for the continual shewbread, for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, on the New Moons, and on the set feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel. And the temple which I build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods." (2 Chron. 2:4-5). Before the building of Solomon's temple began, Solomon went before the brazen altar and made great offerings before the LORD. That night, the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream. As Solomon had elevated the LORD in his heart, and before the people, and in his reliance upon the LORD for his reign as king, the LORD also elevated Solomon: "...I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like." (2 Chron. 1:6-12). We know from later in Solomon's life, however, that he married foreign women, and built altars for them to worship their false gods in Israel: "For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods" (1 Kings 11:1-12). Because of this, the LORD told Solomon that his kingdom, the nation of Israel, would be divided (1 Kings 11:11-12). King Solomon once worshipped and elevated the LORD, but when he failed to elevate God, the kingdom that Solomon represented would no longer be elevated, but diminished. We can see from these examples in scripture, that God's people often failed to elevate Him. It is no different today. Though we have the scriptures, though we have the perfect example of our faith in the Person of Jesus Christ, though martyrs have given their lives to elevate the LORD before men, we still often fail to elevate Him. We often elevate ourselves, we elevate our circumstances, we elevate other men, but we do not always elevate God. In failing to elevate Him, we, in turn, are not elevated. Here's an example of the blessing created in the elevation of God: In another haftarah portion for this Sabbath, 1 Kings 18, Elijah the prophet turns the whole nation of Israel back to God as he elevated God above the demonic god Ba'al in a powerful demonstration. As a result, in spite of the fear of their evil and idolatrous king and queen, the people cried out, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!" (v. 39). How did the LORD elevate Elijah in return? He elevated Elijah right off the face of the earth, and directly into heaven while he was alive. Elijah never saw death (2 Kings 2:11-12). God does not want us to elevate Him for His own sake, but for ours. Before leaving this topic, another haftarah portion for this Sabbath is Psalm 96. Psalm 96 stands as a beautiful elevation of God. Here are some excerpts: "Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! ...bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all people. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods...Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name...O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him all the earth. Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns...For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth". Our Father elevates us when we elevate Him. To know the One Who elevates you, you can pray: "Heavenly Father, Your Son, Jesus, has glorified You, and prayed that we also be glorified with Him in order to become one with You. I believe that Your Son died for my sins, and was raised from the dead. When He was raised, I was raised also in Him. I was changed from sin into His righteousness, and from death into His life, as He was elevated. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit to guide me in the knowledge and the eternal elevation and glorification of the Father, and the Son. I ask and receive these things in the Name of Jesus. Amen."