Returning to the Vomit
But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. Exodus 9:34 NASB
Sinned again – “Although Pharaoh has said earlier that he sinned, the text has never before characterized Pharaoh’s change of mind in that way. Why, all of a sudden, does the Bible view Pharaoh’s actions as ‘sinful’?”[1] Fohrman suggests that prior to this event, Pharaoh’s resistance to YHVH was a subconscious ignorance of the evidence that YHVH is sovereign. Consequently, the biblical text does not consider the prior act as “an overt act of evil.”[2] But after the seventh plague, Pharaoh no longer ignores the abundant evidence that YHVH is sovereign. Nevertheless, he deliberately refuses to bend his will to the will of the Creator. This is sin. It is initiated at the point where “I know what He wants from me. But I just don’t care.”[3]
What’s crucial in this story is the fact that Pharaoh recognizes his own deliberate act. It isn’t simply an unconscious response motivated by cultural conditioning or personal proclivities. Now Pharaoh consciously chooses defiance. He knows—but he doesn’t care. This story helps us understand James often-quoted definition, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17 NASB). James uses the verb oida. We should find this odd (if we read Greek) because we might expect him to use ginosko, the verb for knowing as a result of accumulating evidence, examining facts and drawing conclusions. But oida is a verb for personal, self-intuitive knowing, the kind of knowing that comes about by inner examination, not outward comparison. Sin is not so much the result of measuring actions against some external standard. It is rather recognizing that we have failed to live up to the standard that we ourselves embrace. Pharaoh sins when he refuses to act according to what he himself has acknowledged as the truth.
Consider the common assertion that Torah obedience is the measure of true faithfulness. At its most general level, this is true. But what is Torah obedience? If Pharaoh and James are considered, Torah obedience begins when you and I acknowledge Torah as our standard of holy action. Until Torah becomes the measurement of who we are, it is just another external standard of ethical behavior. Until we accept Torah as God’s way, our failure to live according to Torah is probably due to ignorance, cultural conditioning and subconscious psychological protection. This verse in Exodus might suggest that failure to keep Torah under these circumstances is not sin. But once the penny drops, once we see God’s ways as our ways, disobedience is sin, personally and pointedly. There was a time when we didn’t know, when we lived without acknowledging the reality of God’s ways. That was a time of ignorance, no matter what the consequences might have been. There are sacrifices for actions during this time. But that time is over.
Topical Index: Torah, sin, ignorance, ginosko, oida, James 4:17, Exodus 9:34
[1] David Fohrman, The Exodus You Almost Passed Over, p. 129.
[2] Ibid., p. 130.
[3] Ibid.
Thank you so much for this insight Skip, but please could you explain what the sacrifices would be for actions taken in ignorance?
Most of the Levitical offerings are for sins committed in ignorance. The sacrifice takes place AFTER the recognition that a PRIOR sin was committed unknowingly. Of course, without a Temple today, other actions much be substituted, but you get the idea, I am sure.
To piggy-back off of that – why then would you need to sacrifice AFTER recognition if the error was PRIOR to your recognition? Wouldn’t this study suggest that the error was not then sin?
I’ve heard sin explained as “missing the mark” and the mark is that which is set by God, either in Torah or through Holy Spirit. I’ve heard rebellion and defiance of God called “iniquity”. This has sparked my curiosity and I think I know what my next in-depth study will have to be lol.
there could well be a difference depending on the ethical reality used to assess one’s measure of culpability, believers are held to a higher standard because they know it is God’s will and that God’s will is good, inasmuch as this superordinate reality is understood we are expected to transcend everyday limits of personal accountability and justness and live more fully according to God’s good will
those who do not accept the same definition of reality are not motivated by the same and thus within those boundaries are not as compelled (rationally or otherwise) to follow the same exacting standard
for believers the onus is to learn to live uprightly, already knowing better it is beholden of us to seek above our own will’s and justifications an ethical standard of virtue that surpasses normalcy
In other words, even those transgressions in ignorance should in part pertain to a sense of common good (by and large if not always so evidently) where culpability remains but is not as pronounced
All too true. Another perspective is the fact that the love for our Father (and knowing His ways bring life abundant) drive us to align our desires to His. While we are held to a higher standard (even judged by one) we embrace that standard joyfully.
Amein, v’amein, Brian!!!!
Definitely so! Thank you! Shalom!
No More Excuses
(From Second Peter, chapter 3) Beloved, I am now writing you this second letter. In [both of] them I have stirred up your unsullied (sincere) mind by way of remembrance, That you should recall the predictions of the holy (consecrated, dedicated) prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior [given] through your apostles (His special messengers). To begin with, you must know and understand this, that scoffers (mockers) will come in the last days with scoffing, [people who] walk after their own fleshly desires And say, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the forefathers fell asleep, all things have continued exactly as they did from the beginning of creation.
For they willfully overlook [they are WILLFULLY IGNORANT and forget this [fact], that the heavens [came into] existence long ago by the word of God, and the earth also which was formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world that then [existed] was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been stored up (reserved) for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly people.
Nevertheless, do not let this one fact escape you, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God’s power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, for in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.
For God’s [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative. For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them.
For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification], because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and [c]godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves]. (Friend, it is the fool who has willfully purposed to say in his heart – “No, God!!”)
And by them the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God were exchanged for and represented by images, resembling mortal man and birds and beasts and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin],
Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen (so be it).
For this reason GOD GAVE THEM OVER AND ABANDONED THEM to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one, And the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another—men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own [d]bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution.
And so, since THEY DID NOT SEE fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, (Welcome to Sodom, the land of Lot) — God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome, Until they were filled (permeated and saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and covetous greed, and malice. [They were] full of envy and jealousy, murder, strife, deceit and treachery, ill will and cruel ways. [They were] secret backbiters and gossipers, Slanderers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance, [and] boasting; inventors of new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents. [They were] without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless [and] merciless. Though THEY ARE FULLY AWARE of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.
The Evidence Is In
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God’s power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.
For God’s [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative. For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them.
For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification], because WHEN THEY KNEW AND RECOGNIZED Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and [c]godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].
And by them the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God were exchanged for and represented by images, resembling mortal man and birds and beasts and reptiles.
Therefore GOD GAVE THEM UP in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin],
Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen (so be it).
For this reason GOD GAVE THEM OVER and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one,
And the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another—men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own [d]bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution.
And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, GOD GAVE THEM OVER to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome, until they were filled (permeated and saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and covetous greed, and malice. [They were] full of envy and jealousy, murder, strife, deceit and treachery, ill will and cruel ways. [They were] secret backbiters and gossipers, philanderers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance, [and] boasting; inventors of new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents. [They were] without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless [and] merciless.
Though THEY ARE FULLY AWARE of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.
I believe the doctrine of “original sin” is a perversion of yetzer ha’ra and do fully believe that ignorance of conscience (not willful hardening of conscience) is evidence of this. No toddler feels ashamed when they are naked, yet Adam and Eve were made aware of their nakedness because of their sin. It became sin to them to be exposed because of the recognition of their shame. I think conscience is an instrument of the Holy Spirit. Even those who are raised irreligious have within them a moral compass which scriptures say was placed there by God. We are therefore without excuse because no one, whether in covenant or ignorant of the very existence of YHVH, lacks a spirit that senses yetzer ha’ra at work. What we must consider though, is that our actions have consequence regardless of our knowledge. If a child accidentally steals a toy, not knowing you must pay for it, the shop owner still feels the sting of that loss. Even though the child will not know that this is sin until the parent points out to them what they have done, it all the same creates hurt (as all sin does) and once they are aware of this, a repeating of the same action would be an even greater sin. I don’t think we can excuse the action of the child as “harmless” just because it was “innocent”. Before Pharaoh knew of the power of YHVH and hardened his heart, he was still sinning; I think the difference is in the consequence. When you unknowingly sin, you do damage to someone – when you knowingly sin, you do damage to others AND to your relationship with YHVH; you harden your heart. Ignorant sin is still sin, but rebellious sin sets yourself against your Father.
I have not seen a comment from Lauretta for about a week now, I do hope all is well!
I was just thinking about her, too. Maybe she is on vacation. I miss her comments even though she is above me intellectually speaking? Shalom Laurita. Hope to hear from you soon.
Monica, I have that same thought too, and lifting her in our prayers.
Monica, Laura and Ester, I also had that thought and then I remembered she gave me her e-mail, so I wrote her and she is fine. Apparently she’s doing some work with her family on some property that’s pretty primitive and doesn’t have a lot of access to internet. She said that she would be a coupla weeks and that she’s not only fine but quite excited about the things she’s accomplishing. Pray for her safety though, some of it sounds reasonably dangerous. 🙂 Shabbat shalom
Thank you, Robert, for checking on me, and all else (whom I miss, too!). Like Robert says, I am fine, and briefly where I can access internet. I am working in the woods and trees and having a good time cutting poplar bark with my brother. I will be back when the sap dries up and the bark quits slipping. Until then, I smile when I think of all in this quite precious community! Thank you for you!
Laurita
Wonderful to hear from you and know all is well. We love your insights (very thought provoking and challenging) and we love you. ?
I think that if you know that something is wrong,and you do it anyway then to me that is sin ,he who knoweth the will of the father and doeth it not will be Beaten with many Stripes ,
Carl,
I’m not sure that what you wrote today technically qualifies as a “comment…” which is the purpose of this blog.
It was more like a sermon…two and 1/2 times as long as what Skip wrote.
My personal opinion is that it’s more annoying than helpful when you do that.
Just speaking for myself…others may disagree.
Not really a comment of my own, just some Scripture to support the idea of “willful ignorance,” -two words that together have always been both a wonder and a speed bump to my soul. And as for the length, maybe I could find a Reader’s Digest version of God’s word for those with limited time or reading skills.
And again, (as always) the best comments on the Bible are found within the Bible.
Shalom.
I certainly agree, Judi! I have commented a few days before, we need to have a constraint on the number of words, or something to that effect. You are right, a COMMENT is a comment- short, not an article!
Shalom!..
Judi Baldwin, In my “OLD OPINION”, I have found it very helpful just to ignore things you disagree with, do not even read them if too long, I have through the years done that for Carl’s too long items; but for some reason today, I took the time and had the need to read his entire thing, and was checking out his version of what he wrote with other versions, and being greatly blessed. God’s Word always will bring a blessing to someone–short or long!
Skip and his editors are very capable of addressing changes they think are needed in their WEB Site!
Please accept this in Judeo/Christian love. LaVaye Billings (83 years old–must go and keep the draught from destroying my yard, and prepare food for my self & visitors that may stop by. Sewing items need attention upstairs; hope I will be able to make it up there today! — GOD IS STILL ON HIS THRONE, AND THERE IS MUCH GOOD TO DO! ” Let us rejoice & be glad!”
Hi LaVaye,
You’re probably right. I should just ignore Carl’s long posts. Not sure why it bothers me so much.
Probably because Skip has requested several times that we don’t leave such long comments. And, Carl didn’t say anything (from Carl)…he just quoted Scripture… about 4 pages worth. He has continued to ignore Skip’s request.
That said, I appreciate your advice. I think I’ll take it.
Thanks.
What about dietary laws? If I am now starting to try to follow Torah and I eat some shrimp or lobster?
Does that apply today? In our world? I don’t understand the dietary laws and from what little I’ve read, it seems I’m not the only one.
the dietary guidelines are there for purposes of well-being, we might not fully understand their value or relevance but could assume the reason directions such as these were given was for the benefit of the Israelites who were trying to live and fulfil the measure of Torah they had received. The exact reasons for some food items being identified as compared to others is still not entirely clear, but in the scheme of things we might assume they were provided for beneficial reasons
I personally do not think it is an act of transgression to have these foods but would regard them as important and valuable guidelines for those willing to properly follow them
Here’s the problem. If I determine that the dietary laws are about good health, then I will require some correlation between my health and the restriction. If I don’t see it, or if there is none to be established, then I can dismiss the restriction as a one-time-but-no-longer cultural issue. In other words, I have made my scientific account of good health the criterion by which I determine the application of the law. The problem is that I am assuming the dietary laws are about GOOD HEALTH. But that isn’t necessarily the case. Nor is it essential. I obey because God asks no matter what the other reasons (or lack thereof). For all I know, there are no reasons other than His request. And if that isn’t sufficient, then what God do I really serve?
Of course, you then also must consider the councils that discussed these very topics during the early church and ask yourself whether the Jewish covenant is something you wish to be a part of or whether your relationship with Messiah can exist as its own covenant. I’m still wrestling with how I as a Gentile follower of a Jewish Rabbi should apply Torah. But I will say, I’m not a Jew. And unless I plan to convert to Judaism, the founders of the faith laid out some simple rule of thumb advice that will get me started as I ask Holy Spirit to sort the rest.
The reminder in the later teachings are, break one rule the others cannot save. For this reason teach Torah but only judge your own attitude and convictions as they are the measure of your faith and what will determine if you are truly saved.
The more we learn the more we become accountable for and the less we can justify our lack of understanding, not lack of knowledge. Wisdom saves knowledge empowers…
I would not say the guidelines there are for good physical health, in particular, they could have a subtle but nonetheless important bearing on how carefully one monitors mistakes they make, or any other subtle but still pivotal role involved in adhering to and learning to live more fully according to Torah guidelines (for reference the example about error monitoring is actually a relatively recent finding with paracetamol)
the exact details don’t genuinely require correlation, only unless someone is seeking for verification(s), they require trust, and I trust there are good reasons and wonder what these are. Even if we don’t fully know, we can begin to wonder and perhaps even begin to understand, if in a very rudimentary manner, what the meaning of these laws are. We can begin to learn from these directions for us about God’s will, why would these types of animal products be deemed wrong and presumably by some correspondence harmful
we can and certainly should obey God without reasons given, but God is asking us to learn and understand, to understand God’s will, to see God is good
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
(Isaiah 1:18)
Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
(Jeremiah 2:5)
Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
(Ezekiel 18:29)
Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
(Psalms 119:34)
Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.
(Psalms 119:27)
the Bible invites are us to inquire, not so say or prove wrong, but to understand and to learn from this understanding why God is so amazing, God wants us to live according to good ways, we are accordingly to learn good ways to live for the world as a whole
Skip, slicha for cutting in…
Hi Madeleine, and Teth,
What the creator God did in Gen 1, then, defines the meaning of “holy” or “in place.” What does not perfectly fill those categories, then, is “unholy” or “unclean.” The issue lies in knowing the symbolic categories of the culture so as to know what does not fit them perfectly. For example, hybrids are “unclean.” What is not “whole” is “unclean,” a concept relative to animals which must be whole and unblemished for sacrificial offering (Lev 22:20-25) …
Dietary rules are for setting us apart identifying us from the profane/unclean to be pure and clean, in His eyes. Creator God would know better what the purposes/ functions of His creation are to serve.
Do we need to KNOW before we obey Him?
There is our covenant with our Creator God, through Avraham, passed down to future generations, thus grafting us, who accept His Torah/Instructions for living,-into the Commonwealth of Israel, we do what He wills us to do, to safe-guard us from what is acceptable to Him, and what is not.
Do we desire/ choose to keep/ guard Torah or forsake it for men’s doctrines, is the question for us? This has nothing to do Judaism, or being “Jews”, a term originally meant for the Tribe of Judah.
As with the keeping of sabbath as a sign of a covenant with Him..
Keeping Kosher is not at all easy unless there’s a kosher butcher, or shop around, but the least we could do is not consuming unclean animals, nor shellfish.
Shalom.
I would say ‘unclean’ is principally in the context of what is not suitable to us for consumption, everything God made was good (Genesis 1:31), as a technicality the same distinctions in clean and unclean are after the original intent for humans as with all existence to subside on the natural produce of the Earth (vegetarianism) described in Genesis 1:29 – 30. A state of the world which is prophesied to be restored in the future with animals living in peaceful coexistence (Isaiah 1:6 – 9, Isaiah 65:25)
Though I’m not nearly as studied about these topics as many of you, my take on the Torah (specifically the non-sacrificial portion, as Yeshua fulfilled that) is fairly simple. I’m open to correction if I’m in error, but I think it is as simple as trusting the Creator to know how best to live, and function, in His creation. A simple illustration is that of a train. If the train believed that he should be free to frolick through the meadows like an ATV, he would feel that the rails were incredibly restrictive and unnecessary. But until he attempted to move without the rails he would never understand that he was created to function upon them, and only by following the rails is he free to be what he was created to be. I think, many times, we are like the locomotive (in this illustration) in that we see God’s Torah (teaching) as restrictive. Where, instead, it is only by abiding in His instructions that creation becomes tov (good, functional.) But maybe that is the simplicity that is easily corrupted spoken of in Corinthians.
Yes, Thet, unclean as termed by YHWH, as He created everything for purposes.
“Good”/ tov means functioning. They serve their functions.
If He says certain things are unclean, they are unclean, unfit for consumption, or otherwise.
But, He as The Creator gives us in plain terms what are meant for consumption, and what are not.
HE has known these things from the beginning of time. Although we may not know all the reasons behind His commands, He knows what’s best for us. After all, He made us and He knows what we should put into our bodies.
We are very particular as to what kind of fuel we put into our cars. Why aren’t we more careful about what we put into our mouths? Good question!
Carl very much the sane warning or teaching given by Jude… May this be why Jude says the records are spiritually concerned.
LaVaye may YHVH bless you and others at your age still teaching us youngsters the concept of purity from the heart…
Brian interesting comment…. how can something be held against someone if he knew not… Then again was it not God that hardened pharaohs heart… an involuntary act.
What then would be righteousness if freedom of choice is removed.
1
When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way;
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
2
Not a shadow can rise,
Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear,
Not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
3
Not a burden we bear,
Not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss,
Not a frown or a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey.
4
But we never can prove
The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows,
And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
5
Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do;
Where He sends, we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey.
Obedience
Years ago I worked with a man who was a Christian. He would tell people he didn’t eat pork because it was in the Bible. This same man pointedly let me know he knew I had a “nervous breakdown” when I returned to work. This same man had a stuttering problem that would occasionally show up when he was talking. If he had shared his pain with me about his struggles, then maybe the fact he did not eat pork would have meant something to me. At the time it didn’t.
Forgiveness
Now I could have responded to this man in love and forgiveness by openly sharing my struggles with him even though he tried to make me feel ashamed. The hospital stay was and continues to be one of the most healing experiences God has given me. I did not respond to him in that way because I responded in judgement and mild resentment toward him for his unkindness. Too bad I didn’t respond in forgiveness. Who knows what might have happened for both of us if I had taken that opportunity.