Karen? No, Cherem! - Part 4
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 Lord wasn’t being vindictive with Achan. Now that we have that issue out of the way, the remaining issue has to do with the spiritual truth which the Lord taught by means of Achan’s judgment specifically, and with the concept of cherem generally. Because of the specific example of Achan, we can better understand the general teaching about cherem all the better.
When something belongs to the Lord, if it violates His holiness He cannot have anything to do with it. If something isn’t clean but it is devoted to the Lord, then it must be destroyed. Since it is the Lord’s, no one else can have it. Since the Lord cannot use it, it must be utterly destroyed, lest someone find himself taking the Lord’s things and becoming cherem himself.
Now let’s weigh this truth in the context of everything which belongs to the Lord. All things were created by the Lord, and apart from Him nothing exists. Ergo, everything belongs to the Lord. In the final judgment—i.e., at the Great White Throne on Judgment Day—whatever isn’t clean will be utterly destroyed. It will be cast into the Lake of Fire to burn eternally.
No, the Lord is not being vindictive in this case either. I answered that before you suggested it because I know you were going to! And no, it won’t be possible for Him to simply kill folks outright, rather than have them burn eternally in the Lake of Fire.
Why not? Because unlike animals and inanimate objects, man is created in the image of God. All living things were formed from the dust of the ground. However, only man became alive because the Lord breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. This means that man has God’s very own life in him, unlike all other living things. Hence man is created in the image of God.
Whereas God’s life exists eternally, so too does man’s life because his life is the life of God. Ergo, man cannot simply cease to exist: he exists eternally. When man sins he becomes separated from God because God cannot tolerate sin. If man refuses to repent, at the Lord’s Great White Throne he will be adjudged guilty and permanently removed from the Lord’s presence.
The fire of God is directed against all men. Those who repent and are born again are purified by the fire. Those who refuse to repent are burned up by the fire…except they cannot cease to exist, so they burn eternally. This is the concept of cherem.
This was why Achan & Family were stoned to death but then burned to cinders after they were dead. The judgment of fire inflicted on their corpses was a type of the Lake of Fire. Here’s a depiction of that place:
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever…And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire [Revelation 20:10, 15].
This is not a pleasant topic to study. The topic isn’t noted for winning friends! But we had best study it, lest we find ourselves swimming in fire due to self-imposed ignorance of the law. May we take it to heart and examine our hearts in the light of God’s Word. To God be the glory! Great things He has done.
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 Lord wasn’t being vindictive with Achan. Now that we have that issue out of the way, the remaining issue has to do with the spiritual truth which the Lord taught by means of Achan’s judgment specifically, and with the concept of cherem generally. Because of the specific example of Achan, we can better understand the general teaching about cherem all the better.
When something belongs to the Lord, if it violates His holiness He cannot have anything to do with it. If something isn’t clean but it is devoted to the Lord, then it must be destroyed. Since it is the Lord’s, no one else can have it. Since the Lord cannot use it, it must be utterly destroyed, lest someone find himself taking the Lord’s things and becoming cherem himself.
Now let’s weigh this truth in the context of everything which belongs to the Lord. All things were created by the Lord, and apart from Him nothing exists. Ergo, everything belongs to the Lord. In the final judgment—i.e., at the Great White Throne on Judgment Day—whatever isn’t clean will be utterly destroyed. It will be cast into the Lake of Fire to burn eternally.
No, the Lord is not being vindictive in this case either. I answered that before you suggested it because I know you were going to! And no, it won’t be possible for Him to simply kill folks outright, rather than have them burn eternally in the Lake of Fire.
Why not? Because unlike animals and inanimate objects, man is created in the image of God. All living things were formed from the dust of the ground. However, only man became alive because the Lord breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. This means that man has God’s very own life in him, unlike all other living things. Hence man is created in the image of God.
Whereas God’s life exists eternally, so too does man’s life because his life is the life of God. Ergo, man cannot simply cease to exist: he exists eternally. When man sins he becomes separated from God because God cannot tolerate sin. If man refuses to repent, at the Lord’s Great White Throne he will be adjudged guilty and permanently removed from the Lord’s presence.
The fire of God is directed against all men. Those who repent and are born again are purified by the fire. Those who refuse to repent are burned up by the fire…except they cannot cease to exist, so they burn eternally. This is the concept of cherem.
This was why Achan & Family were stoned to death but then burned to cinders after they were dead. The judgment of fire inflicted on their corpses was a type of the Lake of Fire. Here’s a depiction of that place:
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever…And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire [Revelation 20:10, 15].
This is not a pleasant topic to study. The topic isn’t noted for winning friends! But we had best study it, lest we find ourselves swimming in fire due to self-imposed ignorance of the law. May we take it to heart and examine our hearts in the light of God’s Word. To God be the glory! Great things He has done.
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...
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