HALLOWED BE THY NAME -- HOLY HEAVENLY FATHER

Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.” (Matthew 6:9) To sanctify something means to set it apart as sacred and to revere it, to uphold it as holy. But why would something as intrinsically pure as God’s own name need to be sanctified? 

God’s holy name has continually been attacked, resisted, & mocked by active opposers with lies and slander. 
In Eden, Satan lied about God and implied that He is an unjust Sovereign. 
Since then, Satan—the ruler of this unholy world—has made sure that lies about God have proliferated. 
Many religions have painted God as arbitrary, remote, or cruel.
Credit for God’s marvelous acts & creations has often been given to "just a coincidence" and glory to mother earth.
Yes, God’s name has been viciously maligned. 
It shall be sanctified. 

Why pray for God’s name to be sanctified? 
Well, since the rebellion of the first human pair in the garden of Eden, reproach has been heaped on the divine name. 
In answer to such prayer (The Lord's Prayer), God will one day clear away all the reproach that has ever been cast upon his holy name. 
He will do this by removing wickedness from the earth. 

Concerning that time, God said through the prophet Ezekiel 38:23: Thus I shall magnify Myself and demonstrate My greatness and sanctify Myself, and I will be recognized and will make Myself known in the sight of many nations; they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.
Definition of hallowed
1: HOLY, CONSECRATED
2: SACRED, REVERED
Synonyms of hallowed
revered, reverend, sacred, venerable, venerated
honorable, reputable, respectable
considered, esteemed, honored, respected, reverenced
admirable, distinguished, estimable, redoubtable, worthy
good, moral, noble, righteous
Lord's prayer meaning of Hallowed
Matthew Henry on "Hallowed"
II. The petitions, and those are six; the three first relating more immediately to God and his honour, the three last to our own concerns, both temporal and spiritual; as in the ten commandments, the four first teach us our duty toward God, and the last six our duty toward our neighbour. The method of this prayer teaches us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then to hope that other things shall be added.
1. Hallowed be thy name. It is the same word that in other places is translated sanctified. But here the old word hallowed is retained, only because people were used to it in the Lord's prayer. In these words, (1.) We give glory to God; it may be taken not as a petition, but as an adoration; as that, the Lord be magnified, or glorified, for God's holiness is the greatness and glory of all his perfections. We must begin our prayers with praising God, and it is very fit he should be first served, and that we should give glory to God, before we expect to receive mercy and grace from him. Let him have praise of his perfections, and then let us have the benefit of them. (2.) We fix our end, and it is the right end to be aimed at, and ought to be our chief and ultimate end in all our petitions, that God may be glorified; all our other requests must be in subordination to this, and in pursuance of it. "Father, glorify thyself in giving me my daily bread and pardoning my sins," &c. Since all is of him and through him, all must be to him and for him. In prayer our thoughts and affections should be carried out most to the glory of God. The Pharisees made their own name the chief end of their prayers (Mt 6:5, to be seen of men), in opposition to which we are directed to make the name of God our chief end; let all our petitions centre in this and be regulated by it. "Do so and so for me, for the glory of thy name, and as far as is for the glory of it." (3.) We desire and pray that the name of God, that is, God himself, in all that whereby he has made himself known, may be sanctified and glorified both by us and others, and especially by himself. "Father, let thy name be glorified as a Father, and a Father in heaven; glorify thy goodness and thy highness, thy majesty and mercy. Let thy name be sanctified, for it is a holy name; no matter what becomes of our polluted names, but, Lord, what wilt thou do to thy great name?" When we pray that God's name may be glorified, [1.] We make a virtue of necessity; for God will sanctify his own name, whether we desire it or not; I will be exalted among the heathen, Ps 46:10. [2.] We ask for that which we are sure shall be granted; for when our Saviour prayed, Father glorify thy name, it was immediately answered, I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.
Source: Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume V (Matthew to John)
HALLOW; HALLOWED [ISBE]HALLOW; HALLOWED - hal'-o, hal'-od, hal'-o-ed ("to render or treat as holy," Anglo-Saxon halgian, from halig, "holy"): It translates several forms of qadhash, "set apart," "devote," "consecrate," frequently rendered in the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American), the American Standard Revised Version "consecrate," "dedicate," "holy," and especially "sanctify," closely synonymous, "hallow" perhaps containing more of the thought of reverence, sacredness, holiness. It embraces the idea of marked separateness. It is applied to persons, as the priest (Lev 22:2,3); to places or buildings, as the middle of the temple court (1 Ki 8:64); the tabernacle (Ex 40:9); to things, like the portion of the sacrifice set apart for the priests (Nu 18:8); to times and seasons, as the Sabbath (Jer 17:22; Ezek 20:20) and the Jubilee year (Lev 25:10); to God Himself (Lev 22:32). Its underlying idea of the separateness of holy nature or holy use works out into several often overlapping senses: (1) To set apart, dedicate, offer, reserve, for the worship or service of God: Ex 28:38, "The holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts"; also Lev 22:3; Nu 18:29, etc.; 2 Ki 12:4, "All the money the hallowed things" (the King James Version "dedicated"), etc. (2) To make holy, by selecting, setting apart, claiming, or acknowledging as His own: Gen 2:3, "God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it" (the King James Version "sanctified"); but Ex 20:11 (King James Version, the English Revised Version, the American Standard Revised Version), "hallowed." So of the temple (1 Ki 9:7); of the firstborn, spared in Egypt (Nu 3:13). (3) To dedicate or consecrate by formal ceremonial, with the accompanying idea of cleansing from sin and uncleanness: Ex 29:1, "This is the thing that thou shalt do unto them (Aaron and his sons) to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office." The whole chapter is devoted to the elaborate ceremonial, consisting of ablutions, endowment in priestly robes and paraphernalia, anointing with oil, the offering of a bullock for a sin offering, and of a ram, the placing of the blood of another ram upon the right ear, right thumb, right great toe of each, the wave offering, the anointing of the holy garments, and the eating of the consecrated food, all this lasting seven days, and indicating the completeness with which they were set apart, the deep necessity of purification, and the solemnity and sacredness of the office. The tabernacle and its furniture were similarly "hallowed" by a simpler ceremony, using the anointing oil. (4) To render ritually fit for religious service, worship, or use: Lev 16:19, "Hallow it (the altar with the sprinkled blood) from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel"; Nu 6:11, "The priest shall .... make atonement for him, for that he sinned by reason of the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day." (5) To hold sacred, reverence, keep holy: Jer 17:22, "But hallow ye the Sabbath day," by keeping it distinct and separate, especially (Jer 17:24,27) by refraining from unnecessary work, from burden-bearing, travel, or traffic (Neh 13:16). See Ex 20:8-11 (the Sabbath Commandment). (6) To revere, hold in awe, and reverence as holy and "separated from sinners" in majesty, power, sacredness: Lev 22:32, "And ye shall not profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel." Qadhash is elsewhere translated "sanctify" in this connection, meaning "to be manifested in awe-producing majesty, power, or grace": Ezek 38:23, "And I will .... sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am Yahweh"; compare Ezek 28:22,23, etc.
In the New Testament "hallow" occurs only in the "Lord's Prayer," there rendering hagiazo, the Septuagint word for qadhash: Mt 6:9; Lk 11:2, "Hallowed be thy name." Hagiazo is quite frequent in the New Testament, and is always (American Standard Revised Version) rendered "sanctify," except here, and in Rev 22:11, "He that is holy, let him be made holy still." To "hallow the name" includes not only the inward attitude and outward action of profound reverence and active praise, but also that personal godliness, loving obedience and aggressive Christlikeness, which reveal the presence of God in the life, which is His true earthly glory.
Philip Wendell Crannell
Exodus 20:11
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exodus 29:21
And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.
Leviticus 12:4
And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.
Leviticus 19:8
Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the Lord: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
Leviticus 22:32
31 Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the Lord.
32 Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the Lord which hallow you,
33 That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord.
Numbers 3:13
Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the Lord.
Numbers 5:10
And every man's hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his.
Numbers 16:37-39
Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
Numbers 18:8
And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever.
Numbers 18:29
Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the Lord, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it.
Deuteronomy 26:13
Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.
1 Samuel 21:5-7 
And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.
So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.
1 Kings 9:2-4 
That the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.
And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
2 Kings 12:18
And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 7:7
Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord: for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the brasen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat.
2 Chronicles 36:14
Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
Matthew 6:9
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Luke 11:2
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

What Does "Hallowed Be Thy Name" Mean?

(I am not Catholic nor trying to promote any religion I merely like this gentleman's explanation.)


Ron Kenoly with Rebecca- Hallowed Be your Name


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Disclosure: Much of what is in my posts are things I have compiled through the years and I do not know if they have copyrights. What I do know about origin or website I give credit and have tried to always post a link to the origin. I do not market anything in any way on this blog -- I merely hope it will encourage and inspire others.

8 comments:

Keith said...

Good Morning. Good Post. I think the problem, of understanding hallowed or holy, arises when people don't recognize that God truly exists in a dimension outside of our Space-Time. Also, even though it is true that God has the ultimate sovereignty over all created things, most people don't accept or understand that God has given us sovereignty over our lives and the earth. Therefore, when we pray that God's name be hallowed, we are praying the God's Name be consecrated and set apart, be made special, in our lives and existence. We have the sovereignty to make God's Name Holy or discard it. That's why the Lord's Prayer has the phrase, "... on earth as it is in heaven." In Heaven, God's Name is Hallowed. However, here, on earth, that isn't necessarily so. Your thoughts??

As a side bar, I think the Lord's Prayer should be named the Apostle's Prayer, because the Lord was teaching them how to pray. :-)

STUFF (GOD'S WORD IS THE REAL STUFF) said...

Thank you Keith for your comments.
Truth is just the word FATHER is a hard word for many (including myself) in this generation of broken families.
Also the confusion over the Bible saying call no one Father in Matthew 23:9-- but then the Catholic church does.
We seem to relate words in accordance with our true personal experiences and I feel the above mentioned issue do diminish our comprehensions of not just "HALLOWED" but also "FATHER".
You are absolutely right we truly must think in heavenly dimensions which I personally do not understand from personal - but I do discern God has come in the form of a cloud (and possibly still does) according to Exodus 13:21-22 which is a space I've never experienced other than in flight on airplanes.
2 Corinthians 12:2 talks of the 3rd heaven and I believe one day we will be caught up in a cloud when Christ comes for his bride as is mentioned. 1 Thessalonians 4:17
I think we will really fall on our face before this HALLOWED Mysterious FATHER -- and then and only then really understand and appreciate the angels singing -- which also is in that unknown dimension of space we hope to experience for eternal life.
I'm thinking it's all so unknown to me -- I can't even seem to write thoughts about it that makes sense!
I want to know, therefore I continue to study scripture, read what others have gleamed in their spirit and shared as well as journey on expecting HIS appearance be it by Fire or by Cloud -- As he leads and shows me daily that He is holy (HALLOWED) pure complete love and the one who calls continually to my soul.

Keith said...

You make a great point about the church not knowing the Father. As a matter of fact, many churches don't even pray to the Father, as Y'shua/Jesus clearly showed us. They pray directly to Jesus and ignore the Father. Just as the Israelites began to worship the Nehushtan, the serpent poles, many modern day Christian circumvent the Father and worship the vessel through which God has saved us. They worship the man Jesus, while ignoring the fulness of the Father that dwell inside of him.

I also agree that the Word of God, which manifested in Y'shua/Jesus, is the key to understanding the Father and his will. I also believe that Christians sell God short sometimes. We need to dig deep into his Word, with the help of God's Spirit. I know that God reveals himself through the Book of God and the Book of Nature. We just need to be open to his leading. Isn't that what Paul told us in 1 Cor 2?

STUFF (GOD'S WORD IS THE REAL STUFF) said...

You mentioned nature; I see Him (the Father) more and more in nature each day as I try to be still and draw near to him -- to sense the Wind of the Spirit -- that portions of the Godhead that comes unexpectedly suddenly like a breeze or a storm which I am never quite prepared for -- having my hair suddenly blown all over the place -- I miss the message at times for the busyness of caring for the messy hair instead of listen to the directions of the path He's directing me down to minister to someone in need.
At times I even second guess that the breeze even passed by and I seem to have dusted that word I heard in my ear off like it was just a leaf passing by making a bit of noise.
The old saying about mothers having eyes in the back of her head -- that's the whisper from behind the wind of the spirit brings and I need to heed it by becoming more obedient to it rather than always paying attention to the order of the church rituals.
As a child I was very spontaneous -- rules and restrictions of acceptable behavior steal that as we age and siblings (church members) often overpower us with desires for us to all be alike rather that be unique.
Keith, I have a feeling you are very unique and I appreciate your inspiring comments.
Bless you!

Keith said...

Yes, you and I and the rest of the Remnant are unique. We are echad with the Messiah as he is echad with the Father. As I read your comments, I feel the moving of God's Spirit. I know for a fact that the Remnant of God is given that assurance, through his Spirit. Thanks for being faithful in your writings. I look forward to reading more of what God has given you. Shalom and Have a Great Week!

STUFF (GOD'S WORD IS THE REAL STUFF) said...

It's kinda like the headless horseman story --

There is a BODY of believers (as you point out, the remnant)
waiting for Jesus the HEAD
to be perfectly placed on top of the BODY!

STUFF (GOD'S WORD IS THE REAL STUFF) said...

Ephesians 4:11 And [His gifts to the church were varied and] He Himself appointed some as apostles [special messengers, representatives], some as prophets [who speak a new message from God to the people], some as evangelists [who spread the good news of salvation], and some as pastors and teachers [to shepherd and guide and instruct],

12 [and He did this] to fully equip and perfect the saints (God’s people) for works of service, to build up the body of Christ [the church];

13 until we all reach oneness in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, [growing spiritually] to become a mature believer, reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ [manifesting His spiritual completeness and exercising our spiritual gifts in unity].
14 So that we are no longer children [spiritually immature], tossed back and forth [like ships on a stormy sea] and carried about by every wind of [shifting] doctrine, by the cunning and trickery of [unscrupulous] men, by the deceitful scheming of people ready to do anything [for personal profit].

15 But speaking the truth in love [in all things—both our speech and our lives expressing His truth], let us grow up in all things into Him [following His example] who is the Head—Christ.

16 From Him the whole body [the church, in all its various parts], joined and knitted firmly together by what every joint supplies, when each part is working properly, causes the body to grow and mature, building itself up in [unselfish] love.

STUFF (GOD'S WORD IS THE REAL STUFF) said...

Colossians 1:15 He is the exact living image [the essential manifestation] of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible], the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him.
17 And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.]
18 He is also the head [the life-source and leader] of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will occupy the first place [He will stand supreme and be preeminent] in everything.
19 For it pleased the Father for all the fullness [of deity—the sum total of His essence, all His perfection, powers, and attributes] to dwell [permanently] in Him (the Son),
20 and through [the intervention of] the Son to reconcile all things to Himself, making peace [with believers] through the blood of His cross; through Him, [I say,] whether things on earth or things in heaven.