Hod is the first sphere on the Pillar of Severity. The Pillar of Mercy deals with concepts such as forgiveness and grace; in contrast, the Pillar of Severity addresses issues relating to the justice and judgment aspects of God. The name of God associated with Hod is Elohim Tzabaoth – the God of Hosts, or the God of Armies. Hod is translated as Glory, and this sphere reminds us to afford God the worship and glory that is due Him. Are you glorifying God in your life? With your life? The virtue associated with Hod is truthfulness; by understanding and appropriately handling the word of truth, we can be brought into God’s glory.

1 Chronicles 16:28-30 Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.

1 Chronicles 29:10-12 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, LORD, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

God is truly awesome and is owed reverence. Ensuring we render the proper respect to God is so important that it was listed as the first four of the Ten Commandments (Exodus Chapter 20).

Matthew 16:26-28 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Matthew 24:29-31 Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

At the End of Days, Jesus will come in His father’s glory – having been given authority by His father to do so (Matthew 28:18) – and will establish justice on the earth. Everyone will be rewarded according to their deeds. It will be a day of mercy for some and vengeance for others. God’s glory will be displayed on earth; as His heavenly army renders each individual according to their works. A lesson we can learn from this area of the Qabalah is to always live our lives as those who know they must give an account of their actions. We should glorify God with our bodies/lives (1 Corinthians 6:20).

Matthew 25:30-34 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
John 17:3-7 This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You;

The Day of Judgment will be a day of great rejoicing for some and great distress for others; as the saints and sinners are divided like sheep and goats. In order to be saved, we must seek to know the one true God (while we have the chance), and must glorify Him while on the earth – with both our minds and our actions. Jesus glorified His father by accomplishing the work His father sent Him to do. Each of us has a purpose in life (though we may not understand it) and we should glorify God with our lives and with our worship. Like Jesus, God has selected His chosen to live and life that glorifies Him, and to be glorified in return with eternal life and entrance into His kingdom.

Amos 5:14-15 Seek good and not evil that you may live, and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. Hate the evil and love the good and establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Followers of the God of Hosts are to seek and love good while hating evil. ‘Hate evil, love good, and establish justice’ are straight-forward concepts that direct us into the way of life and into the favor of the God of Hosts.

Psalm 59:5 You, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, arise to visit all the nations; spare none and be not merciful to any who treacherously plot evil. Selah!

Jeremiah 35:16-17 Since the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab have fulfilled and established the command of their father which he commanded them, but these people have not listened to and obeyed Me, Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them, but they have not listened, and I have called to them, but they have not answered.

Amos 3:12-14 Thus says the Lord: As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear [of a sheep], so shall the children of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued with the corner of a couch and the damask covering of a bed. Hear and bear witness in the house of Jacob, says the Lord God, the God of hosts, That in the day when I visit Israel's transgressions upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground.

The God of Hosts establishes justice and will not allow the wicked to escape judgment. Those who reject God’s commandments and do not abide in the truth will receive recompense for their actions. The guilty will be punished and the innocent rescued. When the God of Hosts establishes justice, the Good will enter into glory, and the Evil will face God’s wrath.

Exodus 18:20-22 Teaching them the decrees and laws, showing them the way they must walk and the work they must do. Moreover, you shall choose able men from all the people--God-fearing men of truth who hate unjust gain--and place them over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, to be their rulers. And let them judge the people at all times; every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they shall judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.

Psalm 31:4-6 Draw me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me, for You are my Strength and my Stronghold. Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth and faithfulness. I abhor those who pay regard to vain idols; but I trust in, rely on, and confidently lean on the Lord.
Psalm 86:14-16 O God, the proud and insolent are risen against me; a rabble of violent and ruthless men has sought and demanded my life, and they have not set You before them. But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and loving-kindness and truth. O turn to me and have mercy and be gracious to me; grant strength to Your servant and save the son of Your handmaiden.

God has provided us with direction and instructed us on how to live so that we might please Him. The Bible provides us with insight into God’s character and attributes, as well as the principles we should live by. We should seek to be men of truth, who hate injustice (evil) and who trust in God. We are to have faith in God’s teachings, knowing that He is our stronghold and protector.

Psalm 40:10-12 I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart; I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation. I have not hid away Your steadfast love and Your truth from the great assembly. Withhold not Your tender mercy from me, O Lord; let Your loving-kindness and Your truth continually preserve me! For innumerable evils have compassed me about; my iniquities have taken such hold on me that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed me and forsaken me.

Psalm 51:5-7 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; my mother was sinful who conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inner being; make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Psalm 89:13-15 You have a mighty arm; strong is Your hand, Your right hand is soaring high. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and loving-kindness and truth go before Your face. Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound; they walk, O Lord, in the light and favor of Your countenance!

We are born into a sinful world and danger is around every corner. However, though we experience distress, God will never abandon us. God will direct us, sustain us, and give us strength as we navigate this world. We are to trust in Him, follow His truth, and glorify Him with our hearts and bodies. Though we may not escape physical death, we can escape the Second Death (Revelations 20:6, 14) if we seek out and abide in the truth.

John 1:14 And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 18:36-38 Jesus answered, My kingdom belongs not to this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My followers would have been fighting to keep Me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, My kingdom is not from here; Pilate said to Him, Then You are a King? Jesus answered, You say it! For I am a King. This is why I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth hears and listens to My voice. Pilate said to Him, What is Truth? On saying this he went out to the Jews again and told them, I find no fault in Him.

John 4:24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth"

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.