Isa 65:5

Isa 65:5  Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.  In Isaiah 64:1 we read the Jews asking God to show Himself. But, God had manifested Himself in numerous ways to them; they failed to see Him in spite of them. But, not the Gentiles! The Gentiles heard of the wonders that God had done among the Israelite nation. They saw God in spite God did not reveal Himself to them. And, unlike Israel, they sought God: “I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name” (v.1). We remember Rahab (Joshua 2). She was a woman from Jericho. She hid the spies sent by Joshua. She told the spies: “For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you…. the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath” (Joshua 2:10, 11). That Gentile woman had faith based on the things she had heard: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Isaiah 65 is a rebuke to the hypocritical Jewish nation. They thought just because they have performed the rituals, they are holier than the rest of the people of this earth: “Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou” (v.5).                                                                                                                                             For I am holier than thou - This is the language of a self-righteous man. People who are holier-than-thou think that they are morally better than anyone else. It was a characteristic of a large part of the Jewish nation, and especially of the Pharisees, to be self-righteous and proud: “I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican”(Luke 18:11). What does God have to say to those who have a holier-than-thou attitude? He says: “These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day” (v.5b). They are very offensive to the Divine Being, as smoke is to the eyes and nostril. We find them nauseating too! Holier-than-thou Christians think they are spiritually and morally better than other Christians (Luke 18:11, 12). God does not want us to have a holier-than-thou attitude. His words say: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly” (Romans 12:3). God warns us not to think we are better than we really are. He asks us to think soberly. To think soberly is to think with a sound mind. It is to have an honest assessment of oneself. Those who over-esteem themselves are proud, haughty, and foolish; they are not thinking straight. Those who think of themselves as they ought are modest, sober, prudent, and honest. “There is none righteous, no, not one” applies to everyone in the church (Romans 3:10). God forbids anyone to pass a harsh opinion on the conduct of any man, since there are so many things that go to make up his character which we cannot know, and may never know. His word says: “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts” (1 Corinthians 4:5). “Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25). We must love the church the way Christ loves her. It means we must love every member of the church. Our responsibility to one another is to love -- even if we think a member is unlovable (John 13:34, 35). Love will cover a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). It covers by forbearing and forgiving. Love will keep us from having a holier-than-thou attitude. Be ye holy; not holier-than-thou.