J7-16: When Scripture Speaks Of Holy Property Being ‘Holy’, It Is Speaking Literally, NOT Metaphorically

The story of Achan returns us full circle back to what I explained earlier concerning holy property.

And that is there is a similar nature between sacrifices devoted to God at the Tabernacle and holy property under HEREM or the ban during a holy war.

In addition, there’s another important point we need to remind ourselves of concerning God’s holy property.

When the Scripture tells us that something or someone has become holy, it’s NOT speaking in a metaphorical, allegorical or rhetorical sense.

It is speaking LITERALLY!

That’s right.

Once something is devoted to God, it takes on a real AND LITERAL holiness.

This is demonstrated by what we learned when we studied the book of Leviticus (a book I’m motivated to go back and study again because of this lesson).

In Leviticus, we learned that both holy objects and people and unclean objects and people can transmit their holiness and uncleanness via physical contact.

Heck, in some cases, holiness and uncleanness can be transmitted just by being in close distance from the object or person in question.

Recall the unclean woman who was healed just by touching Yeshua’s garment.

The Book of Leviticus gives us many examples of how holy or unclean objects are contagious.

For example, recall that if someone comes down with a skin disease (called TZARA’AT in Hebrew), that person had to be quarantined because he or she could infect other people and things merely by touching them.

Or if a dead mouse fell into a pot or pan, the pot or pan became ritually impure and had to be sterilized.

If one was to cook something using that unclean pan, the food itself would be unclean and the person who ate that food would become ritually impure.

I’m not kidding.

This ain’t woo-woo superstition or some kind of joke.

God’s laws concerning holiness and ritual impurity are carefully explained in painstaking detail in the Torah and something we as believers in the Lord need to be aware of and obey.

CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“And a woman was there
who had been subject
to bleeding for twelve years,
but no one could heal her.
She came up behind him
and touched the edge of his cloak,
and immediately her bleeding stopped.
“Who touched me?” Yeshua asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said,
“Master, the people are crowding
and pressing against you.”
But Yeshua said, “Someone touched me;
I know that power has gone out from me.”
Then the woman,
seeing that she could not go unnoticed,
came trembling and fell at his feet.
In the presence of all the people,
she told why she had touched him
and how she had been instantly healed.
Then he said to her,
“Daughter, your faith has healed you.
Go in peace.”
-Luke 8:43-48