Karen? No, Cherem! - Part 1
Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed…And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones [Joshua 7:11-12, 25].
The Law of Moses was the legal code for the Israelites, during the time they inhabited the Promised Land. The Law had a stipulation known as cherem, a Hebrew word written with English letters (i.e., transliterated as contrasted with translated). This stipulation also went by the descriptions “things devoted to destruction”, “things under the ban”, and “the ban”.
Allow me the opportunity to explain this stipulation of the Law of Moses. To do so we need to understand a second stipulation, i.e., the Firstfruits. The first tenth of every Israelite’s crops, as typifying the best portion, automatically belonged to the Lord. The Lord was King in Israel, literally. He made their laws and He ruled their land.
In the other nations of the world the king charged his subjects taxes, just as we pay taxes today. This was the equivalent of the Firstfruits under the Law of Moses in Israel. Other kings wouldn’t accept whatever their subjects had left over, after they paid their bills and bought what they wanted. No! First came payment to the king, and what was left served as the people’s living expenses.
So the first, the best, portion went to King Yahweh in Israel. Here’s the thing. King Yahweh (i.e., the Lord) is holy. He cannot look upon sin and He cannot be a part of ritual uncleanness.
Huh? What in tarnation is “ritual uncleanness”? I know you wanted to ask that. Yes, you did! Well, under the Law of Moses the Lord employed visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truths. He used everyday things of this world to teach about eternity.
One way He did this was to legislate regulations about “uncleanness”. He identified classes of animals and birds and fish and insects, labeling some of them “clean” and others “unclean”. When these regulations are properly understood, we learn truths about spiritual things. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with the physical visible realities themselves. The Lord labeled them “unclean” to teach spiritual truths.
The problem arose when some of the Firstfruits came from things which were “ritually unclean”. The Lord is holy and cannot have anything to do with “unclean” things. So what was to be done with such portions of the Firstfruits?
We will answer that question in our next study. For now let’s retire to the prayer closet and visit with Jesus a while.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The Law of Moses was the legal code for the Israelites, during the time they inhabited the Promised Land. The Law had a stipulation known as cherem, a Hebrew word written with English letters (i.e., transliterated as contrasted with translated). This stipulation also went by the descriptions “things devoted to destruction”, “things under the ban”, and “the ban”.
Allow me the opportunity to explain this stipulation of the Law of Moses. To do so we need to understand a second stipulation, i.e., the Firstfruits. The first tenth of every Israelite’s crops, as typifying the best portion, automatically belonged to the Lord. The Lord was King in Israel, literally. He made their laws and He ruled their land.
In the other nations of the world the king charged his subjects taxes, just as we pay taxes today. This was the equivalent of the Firstfruits under the Law of Moses in Israel. Other kings wouldn’t accept whatever their subjects had left over, after they paid their bills and bought what they wanted. No! First came payment to the king, and what was left served as the people’s living expenses.
So the first, the best, portion went to King Yahweh in Israel. Here’s the thing. King Yahweh (i.e., the Lord) is holy. He cannot look upon sin and He cannot be a part of ritual uncleanness.
Huh? What in tarnation is “ritual uncleanness”? I know you wanted to ask that. Yes, you did! Well, under the Law of Moses the Lord employed visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truths. He used everyday things of this world to teach about eternity.
One way He did this was to legislate regulations about “uncleanness”. He identified classes of animals and birds and fish and insects, labeling some of them “clean” and others “unclean”. When these regulations are properly understood, we learn truths about spiritual things. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with the physical visible realities themselves. The Lord labeled them “unclean” to teach spiritual truths.
The problem arose when some of the Firstfruits came from things which were “ritually unclean”. The Lord is holy and cannot have anything to do with “unclean” things. So what was to be done with such portions of the Firstfruits?
We will answer that question in our next study. For now let’s retire to the prayer closet and visit with Jesus a while.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
No comments have been added yet.
