“I am the LORD who sanctifies you.” — Leviticus 20:8 (ESV)
Jehovah Mekoddishkem (YHWH M’kaddesh) means “The LORD Who Sanctifies You.” This name reveals not only God’s identity, but His role in making His people holy. The Hebrew root qadash means to “set apart” or “make holy.” When God calls Himself Jehovah Mekoddishkem, He is declaring that He alone is the One who makes His people holy—not human effort, not religious rituals, not moral performance.
This name appears in the context of God giving the Law to Israel. Over and over, He reminds His people that holiness is not just a moral ideal—it is His work in them. “Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you” (Leviticus 20:8). God doesn’t just command holiness; He enables it.
Sanctification is not primarily about behavior modification—it is about transformation. Jehovah Mekoddishkem reminds us that sanctification is a divine act. We are made holy by grace, not merely by grit. Holiness is not self-generated. It is Spirit-wrought.
Just as God saved Israel out of Egypt by His power, so He sanctifies them by His presence. And today, just as He justified us through Christ, He sanctifies us through the Spirit. “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy…” (Ephesians 1:4). Our holiness is His purpose, His work, and His glory.
Because God is Jehovah Mekoddishkem, you don’t walk the path of holiness alone. You are not sanctified by willpower, but by divine power. Obedience matters—but it’s sustained by grace. Your failures don’t disqualify you, and your progress is not proof of pride, but proof of God at work in you. Keep pressing on—not to earn God’s love, but because He is already working in you to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).
Lord, You are Jehovah Mekoddishkem—the LORD who sanctifies me. I confess that I am weak and prone to wander. But You are faithful, and You have promised to complete the work You began in me. Help me walk in obedience, not from fear but from faith. Sanctify me by Your Word, Your Spirit, and Your grace. Set me apart for Your glory. Amen.