Issue 49> 28 October 2002
  This site is updated weekly Tue, 5 November, 2002 8:50 AM
The LORD Respects Our Free Choices

In the beginning when God created Adam and Eve, He set them up in the Garden of Eden and in the middle of the Garden, God planted two trees - the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil ( Genesis 2: 17 ) and the Tree of Life ( Genesis 3: 22 ). He gave them instructions that they were free to eat of the fruit of every tree in the Garden except that of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. His intention was that they would eventually eat of the Tree of Life which will grant them eternal life.

However, this was not to be as we discovered in Genesis chapter 3 how Eve came to be tempted to do that one thing that God explicitly forbid them to do - eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The devil was very subtle to her. He aroused her curiosity and made her question what God had actually commanded them. In fact she even misquoted God by saying that they cannot touch the fruit of that Tree. God did not command them not to touch the fruit except not to eat of it. The devil is extremely subtle in that he tempted her in the only thing that God had commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of that tree. Eve could have rejected the devil's temptation and that would have saved the day. Unfortunately for us, she succumbed to the temptation and thus we are now with sin.


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27 " So God created man
in His own image; in the
image of God He created
him; male and female
He created them."
Genesis 1:27 NKJV

15 "He shall call upon Me,
and I will answer him;
I will be with him in
trouble;
I will deliver him and
honor him.
16 With long life
I will satisfy him,
and show him My
salvation. "
Psalms 91:15-16 NKJV
Hard Sayings of the Bible ( IVP Press)
Joshua 7:1-11: Was It Achan or All Israel That Sinned?

It is not clear from the first verse of Joshua 7 whether the whole nation was unfaithful or just one man, Achan. But if it was only one man who sinned, as the story later discloses, why was the transgression imputed to the whole nation? It would appear that Achan alone should have been punished on the principle that "the soul who sins is the one who will die" (Ezek 18:4).

Another troubling feature in this text is the identification of the "devoted things." What were they, and why should their possession jeopardize the Israelites' mission of attacking Ai?

The best way to begin is to start with the question of the "devoted things." This is a very distinctive concept in the Old Testament. The word used, herem, means the "curse" or, more accurately, the "thing dedicated for destruction." This word comes from the verb "to separate"; hence the Arabic word harem, an enclosed living area set aside for women. In many ways, the act of dedicating herem is the reverse of the voluntary dedication spoken of in Romans 12:1-2. Both are acts of separating oneself or something unto God. But in the case of herem, the placing of an item under "the ban," or its dedication "to destruction," is an involuntary act, whereas what is "holy" to the Lord is separated unto him as a voluntary act.


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A Little More on the Land of Israel (coming soon!)


 
All references taken from RBC, Pat Robertson, Ron Rhodes, Kenneth/Gloria Copeland, Charles Slagle, Smith Wigglesworth, Selwyn Hughes, Charles Spurgeon, Manners and Customs of Bible Times, The Complete Bible Handbook, The Spirit Filled Bible(NKJV), The NIV Bible, God's Promises for your every Need, Idiot's Guide to Bible Mysteries, Hard Sayings of The Bible, Articles courtesy of Mr Andrew L W Lee.