The grand arc of the Biblical narrative shows that the Creator God of Israel is distinct from other gods. The Master of humanity’s history is gracious, patient, abounding in goodness and truth, and forgiving iniquity (Exo. 34:6-7). YHWH is faithful to His covenant, displaying loyal, justifying love with tender mercies. As His image bearers, the knowledge of God is crucial to our human profession. The promised Human One came in the manifested image of YHWH, as a firstborn Son, hating lawlessness and its consequences. Appearing in the brightness of God’s glory, Yeshua upheld the order of creation by the word of His power. After purging our sins, He sat down at the right hand of His Majesty on high, receiving the inheritance of His excellent name (Heb. 1). This is the name He shares with us, His brethren, so we trust in Him and not in other gods. He dealt with our sins and gave us every reason to worship only Him, having no other gods before Him. Yeshua lived in a way that fulfilled every part of YHWH Elohim’s great law of life. This blog explores why knowledge of the Holy One of Israel is at the heart of the new beginning.

At the temple intersection of heaven and earth, Adam’s role as priest and human image was to bring the wisdom of a Being full of life and life-giving knowledge to humanity, while guarding the sacred space of the holy God. When the priest worshiped God in awe of His name, clearly revealing His attributes to those outside the sanctuary, life and peace flowed out into the world. By defending and maintaining the purity of God’s wisdom, iniquity could be stayed. As a messenger of God, the priest spoke truth about God’s righteousness and holiness, instructing many in His law. Standing on the mountain of assembly where heaven and earth meet, he reflected the Creator’s loving care for His creation into the world and echoed the creation’s joy back to God (Psa. 42:4). What happened when Adam failed in his priestly duty of subduing and ruling the earth with the knowledge of God?

Corrupted knowledge of God leads to idolatry. We recognize the story of Adam’s failure repeated throughout the biblical narrative, culminating in the perfection of Yeshua, the Human One. Human history shows a long pattern of Israel’s heart turning away from YHWH and other nations worshiping false gods, trusting in flesh and blood for strength. Even after Yeshua, a distorted image of God has rooted itself in Western Christianity, originating from unbiblical philosophical ideas. This distortion persists today in ideas of an angry, punishing God whom people may appease through penance, concepts of going to heaven and hell, praying with empty repetitions, and using pagan holidays for a liturgical calendar. Deceiving people with a prosperity gospel, abusive leaders distort the Good News, claiming that since Jesus dealt with our sins, there’s no further obligation for His followers to reflect the wisdom and glory of the God of Israel by obeying His commandments. This variety of religions undermines the purpose, calling, and duty of every person to worship only YHWH, leading to “everyone doing what they see right in their own eyes,” creating gods out of things that are not truly gods by nature.

Giving power to destructive thoughts and actions is the sin of unbelief, which leads to slavery and death. The idolatry of unbelief creates a void of truth, mercy, and knowledge of God in the land. God gave Israel the stewardship of the knowledge of God, and YHWH performed mighty deliverance miracles before all nations to reveal Himself. God sent Israel into exile for idolatry and profaning the Sabbath (Eze. 20:13, 16-21). Why are these two behaviors so grievous? If humans worship what is created and its forces, we abdicate our dominion over creation, becoming ruled by the creation and its corrupted powers, which seek to overthrow us and thwart our purpose. When driven by forces like greed, supremacy, and self-gratification, society fractures into hostility, injustice, and violence, and the knowledge of God is lost. Worshipping gods that are not truly gods is so grievous because we cannot fulfill what we were created for. Only by worshiping the God of Israel can we maintain life-giving attributes. The Sabbath identifies Israel’s God as the only one who, through His wisdom, can turn chaos into order, enabling everything to function as intended. YHWH gave Israel His weekly and annual Sabbaths as signs—symbols of their identity that show YHWH was sanctifying them to perform a specific role for the benefit of all humanity. Israel’s reign was meant to showcase the knowledge of God to all nations, so they too would seek Him and live.

Since YHWH is faithful to His covenant promises, His plans for humanity can proceed as He intended. Because Yeshua laid down His life for us, we can know YHWH’s loyal love. He rescued us from our plight, dealt with our sins through the death of His Son, and through His resurrection, gave us new life with Him. In the mighty God, we can cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into the obedience of Yeshua. Just as ancient Israel knew YHWH through His outstretched arm at the Passover and the Exodus, so we know God through Yeshua’s Passover death and resurrection, in the power of the new Exodus. Through His covenant love (chesed), we understand God’s justice for the sake of creation, as He reconciles the world to Himself. YHWH’s love is the foundation of the new beginning for humanity. Knowing His love is the core of the covenant, the core of His Passover sacrifice, and the core of the new Exodus, as we live through Him by the knowledge from His mouth (Pro. 2:5-6).

Yet, Paul warns, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ and not according to Christ. For the full content of divine nature lives in Yeshua, in His humanity, and you are complete in Him. He is supreme over every spiritual ruler and authority” (Col. 2:9-10). “Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Yeshua Mashiach is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phl. 2:8-11). Just before He died and was raised (starting the new Exodus) Yeshua emphasized the importance of knowing God, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Yeshua Mashiach whom You have sent” (Jhn. 17:3).

Takeaway:
Our first failure was idolatry or unbelief, which is the failure to worship the one and only Creator God. Without worshiping Him, we lose the knowledge of God and cannot fulfill our role. As His image-bearers, we were created to tend and keep the order of creation through the knowledge of God, preventing it from becoming chaotic and unsupportive of life. To realize our purpose, we must live in a perpetual Sabbath relationship, reigning with God. Keeping the Sabbath holy is the new Exodus’s portal to the Eighth Day’s new beginning, when all humans will know YHWH and His love, worshiping Him alone, so that the earth will be full of the knowledge of the glory of YHWH.

Fun Factors:
Colossians 2:9-10 has 111 letters (3 × 37) in 23 words totaling 14950, 23 × 25 × 26, numerically saying “the certainty (3) of His names (37) is living (23) in the power of YHWH’s (26) holiness (5²), humanity in full life in union with Him. The 100^th pentagonal number is 14950, whose digit product is 180 and digit sum is 19, pointing to the completed salvation cycle.