Alrighty, let’s pause for a moment and get our bearings of where we’re at in our study of Joshua chapter 7.
We’re immersed deep in the story of the doomed Achan and the battle to take the city of Ai.
Central to our story is the little known (in the gentile world that is) Law of Herem.
This law of Herem usually translated into English as “the ban” shows up so much in the Scriptures that we might as well consider it to be a “pattern” just as much as it is a “law” or “principle”.
For example, consider the Levitical sacrificial system.
While we usually consider the sacrificial system to be based on the idea of blood atonement for sins and the idea that an innocent animal’s life is substituted for the life of a guilty sinner, there’s another key element to the whole equation that we overlook.
And that key element is HEREM or “the ban“.
The Law of HEREM states that those things that have been banned are things the Lord has declared are His holy property.
That’s why the Hebrew-to-English Bible translators decided to use the word “ban” to translate HEREM.
Because by definition, if something has been devoted exclusively to God, then it has been banned and is now off limits to humans.
Technically speaking, many scholars understand (correctly) that the Principle of Herem is a regulation that takes full effect during a holy war.
In other words, the ownership of the spoils of war that belonged to the enemy is transferred over to God and once that happens, the war booty becomes holy property.
And holy property is untouchable.
If anyone decided to misuse God’s holy property in an unauthorized manner, he or she would have to pay for what they did with their life.
This may come across as a simple matter of criminal justice no different than someone paying the price for stealing, murdering, raping or committing adultery.
Someone stole banned property devoted to God, therefore they have to pay the prescribed consequence.
Sounds simple, right?
But as we examine the story of Achan deeper, we’re going to find it involves another important matter.
It involves the matter of God willing to do anything to protect His Holiness.
We’ll continue this discussion the next time we meet.
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