The concept of the profane, derived from Latin roots meaning "against the temple," signifies anything far from the true worship of God. Biblically, the temple embodies the worship of the true God, and thus, not only words but also people, behaviors, and instruments of worship can be deemed profane when they oppose this sacred purpose. God expresses profound concern over maintaining the distinction between what is clean and unclean, holy and unholy, or appropriate and profane, as these designations reflect His nature, character, and way of life. He issues stern warnings and severe consequences for profaning what is His, such as His name, Sabbaths, sanctuary, altar, and ordinances, emphasizing the gravity of these distinctions. God's seriousness is evident in the death penalty for working on the Sabbath, the destruction of Aaron's sons for offering profane fire, and the judgment on profane prophets, priests, and the Israelites for their desecrations, leading to their scattering among the Gentiles. Even after such scattering, the profaning of His name persists. A future time is foretold when God's priests will teach His people to discern between the holy and unholy, the clean and unclean, upholding His laws and hallowing His Sabbaths. Currently, however, the reality is one of blurred distinctions. God teaches that holiness is not transferable, but uncleanness can contaminate, rendering the work of our hands unfit for His service. Those called into His service must be holy as He is holy, distinguishing between the holy and unholy, the clean and unclean, to truly know Him.

The distinction between the profane and the holy is central to understanding God's nature and our calling. Holiness, derived from a root meaning to cut apart or separate, signifies being other and different, carrying strong implications of purity in character and morality. It indicates freedom from every stain, being immaculate in every detail, and separated from anything sinful, evil, dirty, or imperfect. When applied to God, holiness implies a transcendent superiority, a cut above all else, exceeding usual limits in every quality. God is transcendentally separate, so far above us as to seem almost foreign, embodying absolute, unrivaled, unparalleled purity in every aspect of His being and actions. In contrast, the profane is defined as being far from the Temple, the holy dwelling place of God. To be profane is to be distant from holiness, immersed in the common and impure. We are called to cease living according to what is profane and to seek to produce the divine likeness in all our behavior. This separation is evident in God's command to be holy as He is holy, requiring us to treat one another with deference and purity, recognizing that each has been separated by God for His purpose, regardless of their current state of heart or conduct. Scriptural examples underscore the severity of this distinction. Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, offered profane fire before the Lord, an act of blatant rebellion against His specific commands, and were swiftly consumed by fire from God. This judgment, delivered with holy justice and love, shows that even those close to God are not exempt from the consequences of profaning the holy. Similarly, Uzzah's instinctive act of touching the Ark, despite clear instructions against it, resulted in immediate death, illustrating that even well-intentioned actions can profane the holy when they defy God's commands. These incidents reveal that God does not tolerate the mixing of the profane with the holy, judging without respect of persons. Holiness is not inherent in creation; only God can sanctify something as holy, lifting it from the commonplace to the special. As seen with Moses at the burning bush, the ground was holy only due to God's presence and declaration, reverting to common when He departed. Likewise, we are made holy brethren through God's calling and sanctification, separated from the crowd for His use, though this initial state does not yet reflect the quality of our character. We are to strive toward perfecting holiness through choices and attitudes leading to right conduct, facilitated by the Holy Spirit, which enables us to know and reflect God's holiness. God's instructions and judgments consistently uphold this separation. The precise specifications for the Tabernacle and the severe consequences for disobedience, as with Ananias and Sapphira who were struck dead for lying, affirm that even converted individuals are subject to God's holy justice. We live only by His mercy, called to handle holy things with reverence, understanding that the wages of sin is death and that God has the right to execute judgment at any time with holy forbearance. Thus, our journey is to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, transforming from the glory of man to the glory of God through His Spirit and obedience to His truth.

God desires that His instructions be followed precisely as He stipulates, emphasizing the importance of sanctification, or setting apart, in fulfilling His specific requirements. This principle is evident in Revelation 22:17-19, where a stern warning is given against adding to or taking away from the words of prophecy, ensuring that His Word remains unchanged. Similarly, Deuteronomy 4:1-2 and 12:29-32 reinforce this command, instructing Israel not to alter God's Word or adopt the practices of other nations, as such actions are abominations to Him. Joshua 1:7-8 and Proverbs 30:5-6 further stress the importance of adhering strictly to God's law for success and protection, highlighting that deviating from His commands risks harm and failure. In Numbers 16:36-40, the censers used by the rebels are declared holy because they were offered before the Lord, yet the fire they contained was treated as unholy, indicating a distinction in what God recognizes as acceptable. This distinction is also seen in Leviticus 10:1, where Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord, which He did not command, revealing the importance of using only what God designates as holy. The concept of strangeness or profanity, as explored through various Hebrew words translated as profane, strange, or foreigner, indicates a failure to meet God's ideal or standard, as illustrated in Proverbs 5:3 and 5:20 with the strange woman who does not qualify as a moral wife. Further, Numbers 16:40 shows that even a Levite, though holy in certain regards, becomes a stranger when attempting to perform priestly duties reserved for Aaron's family, lacking the authenticity and recognition from God for that role. Exodus 12:43-45 and 48-49 elaborate on this with the Passover ordinance, stating that no stranger or uncircumcised person may partake, as they are not holy or recognized by God until they meet His criteria through circumcision, symbolizing conversion and acceptance into the community. In Matthew 22:9-13, a man at a marriage feast is rejected for not wearing the proper wedding garment, symbolizing a failure to accept God's provision and righteousness, which alone is acceptable to Him. Revelation 19:8 confirms that only the fine linen of the saints' righteousness, provided by God, is holy and acceptable. This principle extends to offerings, where only what originates from God can be returned to Him as holy, rejecting anything from pagan sources or human designation as unacceptable. Leviticus 9:24 and 6:8-13 emphasize that the fire on the altar, having its source in God, must never go out and must be treated with reverence, even down to the disposal of its ashes in a clean place, showing that every element connected to God's service is holy. Exodus 30:7-9 and 34-38 specify that only the incense made to God's exact recipe is acceptable on the altar, deemed most holy and not to be replicated for personal use under penalty of death, underscoring the exclusivity of what is dedicated to Him. Finally, the events of Numbers 16 demonstrate the consequences of rejecting God's designated holy elements, as the rebels' refusal of the altar fire symbolized a rejection of God Himself, leading to their destruction. This serves as a reminder that only what God has sanctified and recognized as authentic is acceptable in His presence, demanding strict adherence to His standards of holiness.

Strange, stranger, profane, and alien indicate a person or thing not known or recognized by God. Such a person or thing is not authentic, not acceptable, and does not meet the standards. Only offerings acceptable to God are those things which He has given in the first place. These things are truly holy. Mankind cannot make offerings holy by declaring them holy. Abominable denotes anything impure, unclean, and totally devoid of holiness. Anything abominable is not acceptable. It is not authentic. It is not recognized by God. To eat something abominable makes one unclean. The word defile is used for both ceremonial defilement and spiritual defilement. When one eats something God has not designated as food, one is spiritually defiling oneself. God desires what is pure on His altar in contrast to what is unacceptable. His children are the temple of the living God. One can defile the temple of God by eating unclean things. Pork defiled God's Temple in the past and will defile God's temple today. To eat unclean things is a spiritual sin that defiles the temple of the living God. The laws of purity are object lessons that set apart God's children from the world. The holy God and the holiness of His children cannot coexist with the uncleanness of the world. Except for those whom God cleanses through His calling and the blood of Jesus Christ, all others are unclean. They are unholy. They are unacceptable as His children. In a New Testament sense they are strangers. They are still defiled. They are not recognized by Him. Only animals designated as clean and unblemished are acceptable as an offering. We are living sacrifices and therefore clean only as God has cleaned us. God has charged us with the responsibility of keeping ourselves clean. Something sanctified by God remains holy until it contacts something unclean. Then it becomes unclean. Dirt transfers. Cleanliness does not. Unholy people make unholy offerings because the defilement of the unholy people is transferred to the offering. Man cannot make anything holy. Only a holy God can make things truly holy. Only those things sanctified by God are authentic and qualified to be used in worshipping and serving Him. Anything substituted in the authentic thing's place is called strange, profane, defiled, or abominable. The substitutes are not acceptable.

The distinction between the holy and the profane rests on proximity to God in the Temple. The Latin term profanus meant before the Temple and therefore outside it. The Greek term bebelus referred to the threshold of the Temple. One side of that threshold placed a person inside the Temple in the presence of God and therefore holy. The other side placed the person outside the Temple and therefore profane. Anything unfit for God's presence, whether speech, action, or lifestyle, is profane. Holiness, righteousness, and godliness belong inside the Temple with God. All that lies beyond the threshold is profane. The Sabbath illustrates the distinction. God hallowed the day and set it apart for Himself. Any action or word on that day not consistent with holiness profanes it by treating holy time as common. The same principle applies more broadly. Every compromise with sin or ungodly habit moves a person back across the threshold out of the Temple into profanity. There are only two sides. One side is holy with God. The other side is profane with Satan and the unconverted world. Esau illustrates the profane choice. He despised his birthright, satisfied his immediate appetites, and placed no value on what God had given. The result was a life of immorality, godlessness, and opposition to God's people. Scripture requires the ability to distinguish between the holy and the profane. In the future the priests will teach this distinction so that people learn to value what God values and to place Him first.