Jesus and Prayers

Jesus and prayer How highly the Word of God esteems prayer is signified by the fact that it calls us to "pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17), to "be sober and watchful in our prayers" (I Peter 4:7), to "[be] continuing steadfastly in prayer" (Romans 12:12), to be "vigilant in it with thanksgiving" (Colossians 4:2) etc. However, despite all these references of the Word of God that point out the significance of prayer, it is sometimes neglected or it is classified as an activity of lower priority. This article aims, through the presentation of the example of Jesus Christ, to make more evident the significance of prayer and at the same time to show that prayer has to be one of the top priorities of our life. 1. Luke 5:15-16 Starting this survey of some of the records in which we find Jesus Christ praying, we will go to Luke 5. In this record, as well as in those records that will follow, it is important to pay special attention to the context, since this will enable us to see the conditions under which Jesus Christ prayed and to receive valuable instruction. Thus, starting from verses 12-13, we are told about the healing of a man with leprosy. With this opportunity, verse 15 speaking generally tells us that though Jesus avoided the advertisement of his miracles "the report went around concerning him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed of their infirmities" (Luke 5:15). From this passage, we can conclude that Jesus Christ was very busy with all these multitudes coming to him, and he was certainly much busier that many of us. Really, under such conditions, how many of us would have taken time to pray? But let's see what Jesus did: Luke 5:16 "BUT HE WITHDREW HIMSELF into the wilderness and PRAYED" When the word "but" occurs, it always contrasts what precedes it with what follows it. In our case, what precedes is the description of a very busy Jesus Christ. What follows it, tells us that despite the fact that he was very busy he withdraw himself into the wilderness and prayed. Though this is a very important statement and shows the significance that Jesus Christ gave to prayer, it does not carry all the beauty of the corresponding passage of the Greek text. In the Greek text the tense that is used is the imperfect that denotes that something was done repeatedly and consistently in the past in contrast to the simple past tense used by the above translations, which assumes that something was done in the past once in a specific time. Thus, the accurate translation of verses 15 and 16 is: Luke 5:15-16 "However, the report was going around concerning him all the more; and great multitudes were coming together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities. But he continued withdrawn himself and prayed." Therefore, what verses 15 and 16 describe is not something that happened only once in the life of Jesus Christ. Instead, what they tell us is that he ALWAYS was very busy, with multitudes that were coming to him, BUT he also ALWAYS used to take time to pray. In other words, prayer was a HABIT of Jesus Christ, something to which he gave top priority even when he was very busy. In turn, this shows the importance of prayer. This importance is so great that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, used to allocate special parts of his time to it and this happened even when he was busy in other godly activities. Moreover, it indicates that whether we will pray or not is not a matter of time but a matter of priorities. Jesus Christ had time to pray because HE DECIDED to make time to it. All of us in one way or another allocate our time to various activities. The question therefore is not whether we have time or not, for the day has the same time for all of us, as it also had for Jesus i.e. 24 hours. What has to be asked is what priority does prayer have in our daily time schedule? Is prayer one of our top priorities as it was for Jesus or is it something that we decide to do after we are done with other activities such as work, school, gardening, TV viewing, sleep etc.? Jesus' example as well as all the records of the Word of God that refer to prayer beseech us to make prayer A TOP PRIORITY OF OUR LIVES. Thus, instead of first allocating the time for all other activities and then, if some time remains, to devote it to prayer, it is better to FIRST set a time to pray and then organise your time for other activities. 2. Mark 1:35 Another very instructive record where we see Jesus Christ praying is given in Mark 1:35. Again, it is very important to have a look at the context of the record. Thus, starting from verse 21, we are told that Jesus taught in the synagogue of Capernaum where he also cast out a devil spirit (verses 23-27). As a result, "immediately his fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee" (verse 28). After he came out of the synagogue, he went to the house of Simon and Andrew where he healed Simon's mother in law (verses 30-31). Finally: Mark 1:32-34 "At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed, and the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew him." As in the previous record so here we have the description of another very busy day of Jesus. Moreover, since he was going to be in Galilee for the next day as well, and since his fame had spread throughout all this region, one would expect that the next day was going to be an equally busy day if not busier. This is exactly what happened as verses 36 and 37 referring to the next day tell us: Mark 1:36-37 "And Simon and those who were with him searched for him. When they found him they said to him. "EVERYONE IS LOOKING FOR YOU" Everyone was looking for him. This means that the day that had just started was going to be very busy. Really, having just finished a very busy day and knowing that the next day is going to be also very busy, how many of us would have got up earlier to pray? And if someone did it, would not that mean that he considered prayer to be extremely important and would not that mean that it was a top priority in his life? Well, let's see someone who made prayer his top priority. Who is he? Jesus Christ: Mark 1:35 "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, he went out and departed to a solitary place; and there he PRAYED" Jesus knew that it was going to be a very busy day which probably would not leave him much time to pray. What did he do? He got up EARLIER to pray. Isn't that a wonderful beginning of a day? Isn't also a wonderful way to start your day, even a busy one? Instead of starting your day by thinking about its pressures and demands, you can start it by discussing these pressures and demands with your Father, and then, during the day, you will have the joy to see His delivering power answering your prayers and arranging the issues of the day for you. But in order to do that, you have to believe what the Word of God says about the importance of prayer and what God can do as a result of it, to the extent that you determine to get up in the morning to pray. Jesus did not get up because it just happened. Instead, HE determined to get up because HE recognized prayer's priority and importance for his life. Again therefore, it is a matter of priorities and not a matter of time. 3. Matthew 14:23 Another record in which we see Jesus Christ praying is given in the fourteenth chapter of Matthew. Again it is very important to have a look at the context. This time the day was not only busy but it also started very sadly for Jesus, since it was the day that he heard about the beheading of John the Baptist (see verses 1-11 for the beheading): Matthew 14:12 "Then his [John's] disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus" Before we go ahead, how would you feel if you heard that your cousin, who also stood constantly and faithfully with you, was killed in such a horrible manner? I guess that you would probably feel very sad, and you would like to stay privately for a bit. That's what Jesus also wanted: Matthew 14:13 "When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place." His withdrawal to this solitary place privately was not something prearranged, for it happened "WHEN Jesus heard what had happened". Obviously, Jesus wanted to have some quiet time after the shock of this bad news. However, he did not stay there forever. Sometime later, he departed from this solitary place and he saw a great multitude waiting for him. When he saw this multitude, "he was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick" (verse 14). In fact, not only did he heal their sick but he also fed them miraculously (verses 15-21). Then, verse 22 tells us what happened after this feeding: Matthew 14:22 "And immediately Jesus CONSTRAINED his disciples to get into the ship, and to go before him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away" The word "immediately" is connected with the feeding of the multitudes and it means that as soon as the multitudes were fed Jesus constrained his disciples to get into the ship. See this word "constrained". The corresponding Greek word is the past tense of the verb "anagkazo" that is used 9 times in the New Testament and means "to compel someone to do something though he may not want to". So, according to the above passage Jesus compelled his disciples to get into the ship. Probably they did not want to. But he did not discuss it. He constrained them to do it. Then, he sent the multitudes away. The question that we may ask now is why he compelled the disciples to leave? What did he plan to do after sending the multitudes away? The answer is in verse 23: Matthew 14:23 "And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up on the mountain by himself TO PRAY. Now when evening came, he was there alone" The reason that he did not allow the disciples to stay but constrained them to get into the ship and go was that he wanted to stay alone and PRAY. See how significant prayer was to Jesus Christ. He was willing to get up very early in the morning, to withdrew himself from the multitudes, to compel the disciples to go, in order to pray. Does not that indicate that prayer was a TOP priority in his life? It certainly does. May we appreciate these records and believe what the Word says about the importance of prayer so as to make it a top priority in our lives as well. 4. Luke 6:12-13 Another record in which we find Jesus Christ praying is in Luke 6. This time the focus is not on the fact that he made time to pray but on the subject of his prayer. Though the record does not specifically state this subject, it can be easily seen from the context: Luke 6:12-13 "Now it came to pass in those days that he went out to the mountain to pray, AND CONTINUED ALL NIGHT IN PRAYER TO GOD. And when it was day he called his disciples tohimself; and from them he chose twelve whom he also named apostles" He prayed ALL NIGHT. Though the Bible does not specifically say what he prayed for, it does say that in the morning he made one of the most crucial decisions of his ministry: the choice of the twelve. Most probably therefore, one of the central subjects of his prayer that night was this choice. The question now is: if Jesus needed to pray before he made decisions and choices, do you think that we do not need to pray before we make them? Really, why should WE make decisions using our little minds and five senses information and not go to GOD and ask Him to instruct us and show us what the best choice is? He knows the best choice, He is willing to show us this choice, and He has the means, His spirit in us, to announce it. The question therefore is not whether God is willing and able to help us, for He is. The real question is: do WE choose Him as our advisor and go to Him to ask Him through prayer? The same is also true for things pertaining to our service to God. We do not need to be confused about how to serve God and what to do for Him. We do not need to torture our little minds to make decisions about things that belong to HIM. He is the one that is responsible to tell us what to do and how to do it. Some of the these things are mentioned in the Bible. So the Bible tells you to love, to pray, to study to show yourself approved unto God etc. Thus, you do not need God to personally tell you to pray: He has already told you that in His Word. Similarly you do not need God to personally tell you to love: He has already told you that in His Word. However, you do need His personal instruction if for example you are thinking of going to such and such place to do some work for Him. In such a case, before you make up your mind, pray about it and see what God wants. He may wants you to go to somewhere else. He may want you to do something else. It is HIS business. Isn't it? 5. Matthew 26:36-44 After all the above, we will continue with another example that is given in the well known passage of Matthew 26:36-44. The things that we are going to see happened shortly before the arrest of Jesus Christ that finally resulted in his crucifixion. Starting from verse 36 we read: Matthew 26:36-38 "Then Jesus came with them [the disciples except Judas] to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and PRAY over there" And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then he said to them "my soul is exceeding sorrowful even to death. Stay here and watch with me" The reason why Jesus Christ was very sorrowful and distressed was that he knew what was going to happen. Really, it was a very difficult time for him and at the same time a very crucial time for all of us since the plan of our salvation was based on his personal sacrifice and resurrection. But how did he decide to face this crisis? The verses that follow give us the answer: Matthew 26:39-44 "He went a little farther and fell on his face, AND PRAYED, saying, "O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; NEVERTHELESS NOT AS I WILL, BUT AS YOUWILL. Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What? Could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again, a second time, He went away and prayed saying, "O my Father, if this cup cannot pass away from me unless I drink it, YOUR WILL BE DONE." And he came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So he left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words." He was asking Father whether there was another way whereby he could accomplish man's salvation, without having to go through this ordeal situation. He prayed about it. In fact, he prayed three times. It is very instructive to pay attention to his prayer attitude. As we can see, he expressed his desire to God ("let this cup pass from me") BUT at the same time he asked for the will of God to be done ("NEVERTHELESS not as I will but as YOU will"). This is very important since sometimes we think that because we ask God for something He is obliged to do it and not only that but that He should do it when WE want it to be done. God is obliged to do whatever we ask only when what we ask is in accordance with His will.Now, for some things there are specific records in the Bible that show us whether something is His will or not. One such example is healing. The Word of God contains so many records about it (however even one would be enough to establish it as God's will) that make it more than clear that healing is the will of God. We can therefore claim that healing is already ours. We can pray trusting in this promise of God. We can be sure 100% that if we get sick and pray to God and trust in His promises, God will heal us. We know it because the Wordguarantees it. On the other hand, there are other things that being by nature specific for each person, are not covered by a respective specific promise in the Bible. For example, let's suppose that I want to have such and such a car. The Bible does not contain any promise that tells me whether it is God's will to have that car or not. Is it right therefore to claim that car as mine? Obviously not, except if God has specifically told me that it is going to be mine. Is it right to pray to God and tell Him my desire? Yes, yes, yes!!! Is it right to ask Him to show me whether it is good for me to have that car or not? Yes, yes, yes!!! Should I trust His Word that tells me that HIS WILL is "good, acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2) and that "He cares for us" (II Peter 2:7) and therefore submit my desires to His will, whatever this will is? Yes, yes, yes!!! This is what Jesus did. What he prayed for was not God's will and therefore could not be done. But see that though there was a desire "for the cup to pass away", he had AN EVEN BIGGER DESIRE for the will of God to be done. He said "Nevertheless not as I will but as YOU will". Isn't that again very instructive? Does not that tell us that apart from the various desires that we may have and bring into prayer, we should also have AN EVEN BIGGER DESIRE for the "good, acceptable and perfect" will of God to be done? Yes, yes, yes!! Returning to the example of Jesus Christ, though what he prayed for could not be done, this does not mean that God did not honour his prayer. The gospel of Luke adds some more details: Luke 22:41-43 "And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and he knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me; nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done" And an angel appeared to him from heaven, STRENGTHENING him." God sent an angel and strengthened him to do what was his BIGGEST desire: the will of God. Sometimes, we may discover that our personal desires are not in accordance with the "good, acceptable and perfect" will of God. If our BIGGEST DESIRE is to do the will of God, God will strengthen us to do it. In the case of Jesus Christ the strengthening that he received because he prayed is shown in the record of his arrest: John 18:3-11 "Then Judas, having received a detachment of men, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon him, went forward and said to them "Whom are you seeking?" They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he." And Judas, who betrayed him, also stood with them. Now when he said to them, "I am he", they drew back and fell to the ground. Then he asked them again, "Whom are you seeking?" And they said "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I have told you that I am he. Therefore, if you seek me, let these [meaning the disciples] go their way", that the saying might be fulfilled which he spoke, "Of those whom You gave me I have lost none." Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath. SHALL I NOT DRINK THE CUP WHICH MY FATHER HAS GIVEN ME?" The last verse shows that the crisis was over. Though his will was different, his BIGGEST desire was to do the will of God. So he submitted his will to the will of God, just as me and you should do. But to do that, he prayed and he got strengthened. Apart from this, the strengthening is shown in his reaction to those who came to arrest him. Thus, although he went to the garden being exceeding sorrowful and deeply distressed his reaction as it is given in the above record is full of boldness. For indeed much boldness is needed to go and meet those who you know that are going to torture you later. A fearful person would have tried to escape from the situation. He would have shifted to others what it was supposed to be his responsibility. But Jesus was not afraid. Instead of trying to hide himself behind the others, he went forth and asked them whom they were seeking for. In fact, not only did he do that but he also took care of the security of his disciples. Moreover, he had the love and peace of mind to heal the servant's ear that Peter cut off (Luke 22:51). If all these do not show a fully strengthened man what then do they show? But how did he get strengthened? How did he overcome the crisis? BY PRAYER. 6. Conclusion After all the above, and though there are more records that you can study for yourself, it is clear that prayer was a very important issue in the life of Jesus Christ, a part that he kept with great care. For prayer's sake, he was ready to get up early in the morning, to compel his disciples to go, to withdrew himself from the multitudes. By prayer, he made decisions and he overcame difficult situations. In contrast with the general idea that says "pray if you have time" HE MADE TIME to pray. Instead of the world's way of thinking that says: "choose what YOU think is best and do what YOU will" he prayed to see what GOD thought as best and did what GOD willed. To close, let's go to Philippians 4:6-7 and let's make it our way of thinking: Philippians 4:6-7 "Be anxious for nothing, but IN EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus"

Church or Ecclesia

Church (ecclesia) and her head The head is the part that directs the whole body. We recognize this in other settings too. Thus the director of my department at work is called the head of the department. Or we speak for the head of the family, the head of the state etc. What we mean with the term “head” in these expressions is that part, that person, that is responsible to give directions and to make decisions at work, the family, the state etc. There is no direction if there is no head or if those who are under the head, do not obey to what the head says. The Bible, the written Word of God, tells us that we are members of the body of Jesus Christ, the church, the Ecclesia. With the term ecclesia or church I don’t mean here – nor the Bible means - buildings or other human constructions but the sum of those who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and God has raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9). Everybody that believes this is automatically member of the family of God, of the body of Christ, the church, the Ecclesia. The Bible also tells us who is the head, the director of this body. This is no other than the Son of God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s see this: Ephesians 1:22 “And He [God, the Father of glory, (verse 15)] put all things under His [Jesus Christ’s] feet, and gave Him to be head over ALL THINGSto the church” Ephesians 4:15-16  “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head––Christ–– from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Ephesians 5:23  “Christ is head of the church ;” Colossians 1:17-18  “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He [Christ] is the head of the body, the church..” And here are also some passages that make clear that we, the believers in the Son of God, are members of the body, whose Head is the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 12:4-5  “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. ” 1 Corinthians 12:12-27  “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ….. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body––whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free––and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeedthere are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer withit; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” Ephesians 5:30  “For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.” In these pages of New Testament Scripture, three questions are given crystal clear answers: i. Body of Christ: is it one or many? There is ONE and only ONE body of Christ. Ecclesia is the body of Christ and is ONE. I’m speaking here about the universal Church of Christ and not about the local church in the individual cities. Without wanting to make a digression, in each local city there is in the Scripture ONE and only ONE church in the city. It was the church in Corinth. It was the church in Collosai, the church in Jerusalem etc. There is nothing in the Scripture to support what we have today: many churches, with no relationships to each other, all in the same city. Also completely unknown to the Scripture is the concept of denominations. There is no Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Orthodox, Catholic or any other denomination in the Scripture. What there is in the Scripture is one simple thing: just Christians. “And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians” (Acts 11:26). To sum it up: what you see in the Scripture is ONE body that includes everyone that believes that Jesus Christ is Lord and God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9). What you also see is one Head of this body, the Son of God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. ii. We in the body of Christ: is there a top-down hierarchical relationship between believers? What is also made clear from the above given New Testament passages is the fact that we are members of the body of Christ and members of each other. The relationship therefore with each other is not a hierarchical one, exactly as the relationship of our members in our own body is not a hierarchical one. The foot does not say I’m in a greater position than the hand but still need to catch up with the ear. The foot is happy to be foot, because that’s what God made it to be and placed it in the body to be. It is also happy that there is a hand to do what a hand is supposed to do. Foot and hand are both members of the same body and are therefore connected to each other. The hand cannot live alone, outside the body. It has life and function only within the body. So is with the members of the body of Christ, the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not relate to each other via a top-down hierarchy where the X believer is in higher place in the hierarchy than the Y believer but still needs to catch up with the Z believer. There is also no competition in the body. Everybody who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His resurrection has been placed by God Himself into the body of Christ with a specific function. And all members of the body are valuable. As Paul said above: “much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.” iii. Head of the body: who is the head, the leader, of the church? Lastly, and this we have noticed right from the beginning of this article, it is clear that the Scripture recognizes one and only one as Head of this body. This is no other than the Son of God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Head, the director of the church, the top one. He directs the church, His body, and it is Him therefore to whom the body should look up for instruction and direction. Conclusion This is a very short article and though it still needs a lot of completion, I don’t think we need a book to lay out some basic truths found in the Scripture about the church. We all too often prefer to rely on a human hierarchy to decide for us. We are all too often waiting in the sidelines for somebody else, a “professional”, to do what we are supposed to do or to tell us what we are supposed to do. We are looking and searching for mortal church CEOs that will take each individual and tell him what he is supposed to do like head of the departments do in our business world. Our business world with its practices is all too often copied into the church. We need however to notice one thing. The Scripture says that God gave Christ to be “head over ALL THINGS to the church”. See this “OVER ALL THINGS”. Now guess what ? Over all things means OVER ALL THINGS. There is nothing left out from this “over all”! Christ and not a mortal man – however well intentioned he may be - is the boss, the master, the CEO, the “over all” in the church. See also that the body grows as “every part does its share”. EVERY PART! Again, guess what? “Every part” means EVERY PART. There are no exceptions here. There is nothing in the Bible that suggests that one part does everything and the other parts do nothing. All of us have to go to the Lord and ask Him, as the Head, the manager of this organism called the church: “Lord what do you want me to do? You are the head. Direct me as you want, where you want”. Let us stop look out for mortal men to get directions. The directions can only come from the head and the head is one: CHRIST! To Him let us turn for directions and Him let us seek! Matthew 7:8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”  

Body, Soul, and Spirit

Body, soul and spirit Is it a man just body and soul or is he body, soul and spirit? This I believe is one of the most fundamental questions that somebody needs to have correctly answered. I consider the subject of body, soul and spirit as one of the most important subjects dealt within this magazine. Therefore I would like to ask you to please pay close attention as we go through the Word to find the answer not only to the matter of body soul and spirit but also to some other equally important questions related to it. 1. Body, soul, spirit: what died in the day Adam and Eve sinned? To start approaching the topic of body soul and spirit we need to go to the first book of the Bible, the Genesis. There, after God made man, He imposed a restriction on him, making also clear the penalty, for the case that this restriction was violated: Genesis 2:16-17  "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die". The restriction that God imposed on Adam was that he should not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The penalty for the case that this restriction was violated was that: "in the day [pay attention: that very day] that you eat of it you shall surely die". Two very significant things have to be noted in that penalty. The first is that if Adam ate from the tree death would happen immediately, in that very day. The second is that this would happen surely. The phrase "you shall SURELY die" has exactly the purpose to put emphasis on the fact that death would happen 100%, surely, in that day. Now from Genesis 3:1-6 we all know how Satan deceived Adam and Eve to violate the only restriction God had imposed on them, and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After eating from that tree and according to what God had told them in Genesis 2:17, they should have died at that moment. The problem here is that Genesis 5:5-6 says about Adam: "After he [Adam] begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died." Therefore, according to the Bible, Adam continued to have life in his body for many years after he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. On the other hand, God had said that if he would eat from that tree he would surely, 100%, die, in that same day. So what really happen in the day that Adam and Eve ate from that tree. Did they die as God said, or they did not die? Who will solve us this "problem"? Man's ideas, theories, religion and tradition? No! Only one can give us answers, and this is no other than the Word of God. And if you want this Word to give you answers, you have to leave it to speak for itself (self interpretation). In our case, since God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19) in the day that Adam and Eve ate from that tree they really died. Actually, it was the Devil that said, when he deceived Eve, "you shall not surely die". Thus, if they did not die that day, as God said, then Satan was right and God was wrong, which is simply impossible. However, that's exactly what many teach today when they say "actually when God said that they would surely die He meant that just the sperm of death would be planted". The Word of God does not need such kind of defense. Actually it does not need any defense at all for it is truth and truth can stand by itself. Returning to our topic: SINCE GOD SAID THAT THEY WOULD SURELY DIE THAT VERY DAY, THEY INDEED DIED THAT DAY. However, since they continued to have life in their bodies even after they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it is self-evident that they must have had another form of life, in addition to the life of their bodies, that was lost in the day that they ate and for this reason it was death (absence of a form of life). So, we have to search the Scriptures to see how man was created and what were the parts of his being. Knowledge of what composed the life of the first man will also enable us to see what was lost in that day. 2. Body, soul and spirit: the body and soul parts. Starting our research on how the first man was created, let's go to Genesis 2:7. There it says: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground........" Which part of man did God form of the dust of the ground? His body. That's why the elements of the human body can be found in the ground. So one part of the first human being was the body. But let's continue: Genesis 2:7  "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul [soul = nephesh in Hebrew]" We saw that God formed man's body of the dust of the ground. However, this body did not have life. It was just formed, without life. Then, the Word of God tells us that God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul". Therefore, what is soul? Soul is what gives life to the body. The fact that people do not understand the simple truths of the Word of God described at that point has caused no end of confusion. Here the Word of God tells us that soul is what gives life to the body. Without soul the body is dead. Where is the soul, the life of the body, the life of the flesh? The Word of God again is very precise: Leviticus 17:11, 13-14  "For the life [nephesh in Hebrew] of the flesh is in the blood.....Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood, and cover it with dust; For it [i.e. the blood] is the life [nephesh] of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life [nephesh] of it: therefore I said to the children of Israel "You shall not eat the blood of any flesh: for the life [nephesh] of all flesh is its blood" We saw in Genesis 2:7 that soul (nephesh in Hebrew) is what gives life to the body. Here in Leviticus we see that "the life of the flesh is in the blood". In the above passage the word “life” is a translation of the Hebrew word "nephesh" that is translated as “soul” in Genesis 2:7 as well as in 471 out of the 753 of the places where it occurs. Therefore, what is “nephesh” or soul? According to Genesis 2:7 soul is what gives life to the body. Where is the “nephesh”, the life of the body, the soul? According to Leviticus 17:11-14 it is in the blood: "For the life (nephesh, soul) of the flesh is in the blood". How this soul life passes from generation to generation? Through the blood. That's why Acts 17:26 says: "And He has made from ONE BLOOD every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth". The "one blood" of this passage is the blood of Adam which passes from generation to generation and actually is the blood that all of us have. Actually, soul is not something that only man has. Animals have also soul which again is in the blood. Although this is immediately understood from the above passage of Leviticus, where we are told that the life of all flesh is in the blood let's go to Genesis 1:20-21, 29-30 to see it there as well: Genesis 1:20-21  "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature [nephesh, soul] that has life [nephesh, soul] and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature [nephesh, soul] that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good" Genesis 1:29-30  "And God said "Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yield seed; to you it shall be for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul [nephesh in Hebrew] I have given every green herb for meat:" and it was so." Therefore, not only man but also the animals have "nephesh" i.e. "soul". This is not strange at all, if we understand that soul is what gives life to the body. When you die there is no more life, no more soul. The same happens with the animals. Soul is for them the same that is for man i.e. what gives life to the body. Although, there is no problem about what is defined as soul in the Bible, the problem is created when we go to the Bible with the preconceived idea that soul is immortal. If soul was immortal, then really the souls of the various animals would also be immortal, since they have "nephesh" as man has "nephesh". Soul is not something immortal. It just gives life to the body. When you stop having life in your body, you have no more soul. By now, we have seen that the Bible teaches that God formed the body of man of the dust of the ground, and that He gave to that body life i.e. soul. The same is also true for the animals. They also have body and soul. Every man in the world, believer or unbeliever, has body and soul. It can therefore be concluded that since Adam died 930 years old, when he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he obviously lost neither his body nor his soul. Thus, since something had to die for Adam that day, he must originally have had at least one more part, which was lost, died, when he ate. So, let's continue searching the Scriptures to see what they say about that. 3. Body, soul and spirit: the spirit part. To continue our enquiry let's go to Genesis 1:26-27. There it says: Genesis 1:26-27  "Then God said "let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.... So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" According to this passage, God created man "in His own image". Here is a very critical point, a key point, if we want to understand not only what happened in the day that Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but also other passages of the Bible that are affected by what is said here. Reading the above passage, the question that has to be asked is what is the image of God? What does He look like? John 4:24 tells us: "God is Spirit" God is not flesh but Spirit. That is His image. Therefore, when the Word of God tells us that God created man according to His image, it means that in addition to body and soul man also had that which is the image of God i.e. spirit. In order to understand better the usage of the phrase "in his image" in the above critical passage, let's see another place where this phrase occurs. Genesis 5:1-3  "This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, In the likeness of God made He him; Male and female created He them ; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth" This passage says that Adam begat a son "in his own likeness, after his image". What does it mean? It means that as Adam was, so his son was i.e. as Adam had hands so Seth had hands. As Adam had feet so Seth had feet etc. As Adam was body and soul so Seth was body and soul. Similarly, when the Word says that God created man "in his image", "in the likeness of God", what it means is that as God is, so Adam was. God is not flesh. He does not have feet, hands, head. He is spirit. So as God is spirit so Adam had spirit. One could ask, why did God make Adam apart from body and soul, spirit as well? The simple reason is that without spirit Adam could not communicate with God Who is spirit. God being spirit, cannot communicate with the body and soul. They are different things. You see, you cannot receive the messages of a radio station unless you have a radio receiver. You may have a washing machine. But the fact that you have a washing machine does not make it possible for you to receive the messages of the radio station. You need a radio receiver. Similarly, God is spirit and to communicate with Him you must have spirit. Body and soul are enough for things of the five senses. But when it comes to the things of God, what you need is spirit. This truth is also explained in I Corinthians 2:14: "But the natural [psuchikos in the Greek] man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him: nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." In this passage, the word translated "natural" is the Greek adjective "psuchikos", which comes from the noun "psuchi" which means soul. So, psuchikos means "a soul man" i.e. a man with body and soul only1. According to that passage a man who is only body and soul "does not receive the things of the Spirit of God". As it was said above to receive "the things of the spirit of God", to communicate with God you need the appropriate receiver i.e. spirit. That's why the passage says: "nor can he (the man of body and soul) know them because they are spiritually discerned". The man of body and soul is impossible to know the things of God for the simple reason that such things have to do with the spirit, "they are spiritually discerned", and since he lacks spirit he cannot know them. Summarizing all the above, Adam had body, formed from the dust of the ground, soul that gives life to the body and spirit to communicate with God. He was body, soul and spirit. Having established that, there is no question about what happened in the day that Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God had told them that in the day that they would eat from it, they would surely die. Bearing in mind that death means the absence of a form of life, we can now see what died that day. Adam was body, soul and spirit and his body died many years after the day that he ate. Now since without soul a body has no life, Adam had body and soul even after he ate from that tree. On the other hand, since God is always right in what He says, something had to die that day. Since Adam was body, soul and spirit before he ate and since, as we saw, he continued to have body and soul after he ate what was lost for him that day, was the spirit that God gave him. He continued to have body and soul but he did not have spirit. The spirit departed from him and this was death for him since spirit, a form of life that he had before he ate, was no more there. You see, how clearly the Bible settles the things when you leave it to interpret itself. It was actually this loss of the spirit that was restored in the day of Pentecost where holy spirit was made available, so that today after believing in Jesus Christ you are again body, soul and spirit. That’s why then Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We now, after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and His resurrection and receiving the gift of the holy spirit, we are no longer just body and soul but body, soul and spirit.

Rahab sang Ibu Pelacur

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It was a month after Moses’ death, and the Jews prepared themselves for the invasion of Canaan. True, it was the “Promised Land,” which G‑d Himself had promised to the children of Israel as “an everlasting inheritance.” They believed this, but not so the inhabitants of Canaan, and so the Israelites knew they would have to fight for it. Joshua, the 82-year-old leader of the Israelites, had all the fine qualities required for his heavy task. But he remembered how great was his predecessor, Moses, who had failed once in his task, and had forfeited his right to lead the Jews into the Promised Land. Joshua now sent an ultimatum to the inhabitants, giving them a choice of the following three things: 1) to leave the land, 2) to surrender and declare peace, or 3) to stand up and fight. Rahab Meets the Spies Joshua sent two spies, Pinchas and Caleb, to obtain firsthand information as to how the Canaanites were viewing the coming invasion. The men came to the inn of Rahab, in the wall of the fortifications of the city of Jericho. As soon as the news reached the ears of the king that two strangers had been seen entering the inn of Rahab, he at once sent messengers to Rahab to give up the men. However, when Rahab realized who the strangers were who had come to her inn, she quickly reassured them of her willingness to protect them. She told them that she was ten years old when the Jews left Egypt, and she had since then followed with the greatest interest and admiration all that happened to them. She had heard of all the miracles which G‑d had performed to protect them and guide them throughout the forty years of their wandering through the wilderness, and she was entirely confident that G‑d would be with them now in their attempt to take Jericho and conquer the whole country of Canaan. So sure was Rahab of the coming victory of the Israelites that she begged the two spies to promise to save her and her household in the coming invasion. “Come,” she urged them. “Let me hide you on my roof, where you will be safe from discovery. I shall keep your presence in my house secret; but for doing this for you, I ask you in return to spare me and mine when you come here as conquerors.” A Promise to Rahab Pinchas and Caleb readily pledged themselves to remember Rahab and her household, and as a token and sign they asked her to tie a scarlet thread in her window, so that it could be clearly seen by the Israelites when they reached the city wall. This would indicate which was the house of Rahab, and all in it would thus be spared as they had promised her. “You know,” Rahab told Pinchas and Caleb, “I told the king’s messengers that you had left my house and that, if they hurried, they might yet catch you near the fords of the River Jordan. So I think you can rest here for the night, safely, without being disturbed. The L‑rd your G‑d will surely be with you now, as He has been with your people in the past. I can tell you that all the people in this land are terrified when they talk about all that the L‑rd has done for you, and tremble at the thought of your coming. I know that the L‑rd has given you the land, and I acknowledge and believe in Him.” The Spies Strategic Escape In the early dimness of the morning Rahab let the men down from a window with a rope, and urged them to hide in the mountains for three days before returning to their camp. When they returned to Joshua, they reported to him joyfully, “Truly, the L‑rd has delivered into our hands all the land, for all the inhabitants tremble before us.” And so, when the Jews crossed the River Jordan to enter the land of Canaan, they passed over it as miraculously as had their parents through the waves of the Red Sea. This is how it happened: On the tenth day of Nissan in the year 2488, the Jordan River was full to overflowing. The priests advanced with the holy ark, and as the soles of their feet touched the waters of the Jordan, the waters at that point halted in their course, piling up into a wall, while the rest flowed down. Thus the riverbed became dry, and the whole nation passed over. The people gazed with awe and reverence at Joshua, and they feared him as they had feared Moses. Twelve men, one from each tribe, then carried twelve stones from the riverbed to the shore, where they erected a monument to commemorate the historic and miraculous event. The Jews then settled in Gilgal, on the western shore of the Jordan. There they set up the Tabernacle, which stayed there for fourteen years, until the land of Canaan was conquered and divided. Jericho is Besieged A few miles to the west of Gilgal was the city of Jericho. For seven days the Jews besieged the city. At the command of G‑d they did not storm the city, but circled it daily for a whole week, the priests carrying the holy ark and blowing rams’ horns. On the seventh day they circled the city seven times, whereupon the walls crashed and sank, and the whole city was thus miraculously laid open for the jubilant Jews, who entered the city. The city of Jericho was destroyed without taking any booty, as commanded them by Joshua. Thus was Rahab’s prophecy fulfilled. Our sages tell us she was one of the chassidoth (pious Jewish women), for her changeover to belief in G‑d and His Torah was even more sincere than that of those two other famous people—Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, and Naaman, the brave Syrian general—who were converted to the Jewish faith. For Rahab declared that the G‑d of Israel “is G‑d in heaven above and on the earth beneath”! This was a remarkable confession of faith in the One and Only G‑d, which even many a Jew sometimes forgot during those days when the belief in idols and many gods was so common. Our rabbis in the Midrash, in fact, tell us that G‑d was very pleased with Rahab’s faith, and said: “On earth, you could see with your own eyes that there is no other G‑d beside Me. But to declare also that I am the only G‑d also in heaven—this shows real faith. I promise you therefore that one of your descendants shall be one of the greatest prophets, for whom the heavens will be opened, and he will see what no other prophet has seen.” That was the great prophet Ezekiel, who saw the divine chariot in heaven. Rahab’s reward was more than that. She became Joshua’s wife, and was the ancestress of great priests and prophets, among them also the prophet Jeremiah and the prophetess Huldah. « Previous Joshua Next » Deborah the Prophetess By Nissan Mindel More from Nissan Mindel  |  RSS Browse Book Talks and Tales » By Nissan Mindel BUY BOOK Packed full of adventure and eye-opening insights, children can explore the wonders of G-d's creations in "In Nature's Wonderland," discover leaders of our people in "Gallery of our Great," and much more. In this Book Early Biblical Personalities Judges and Early Prophets Kings and the Temple Era The Mishnaic Age The Talmudic Age More... About the Publisher Kehot Publication Society » Kehot Publication Society and Merkos Publications, the publishing divisions of the Lubavitch movement, have brought Torah education to nearly every Jewish community in the world, and are the world's largest publisher of Jewish literature. Visit Site More in this section Deborah the Prophetess Jephthah (Yiftach) Samson Eli The High Priest Samuel Joshua You may also be interested in... Joshua 8 Comments Rochov and the Spies Listen (2:25) 2 Comments Beyond the Story of the Spies Haftorah Hyperlinks: Shelach Watch (1:15:07) 2 Comments 18 Amazing Converts to Judaism You Should Know 63 Comments Join the Discussion SORT BY: Newest Oldest 21 Comments Shoshana GA May 25, 2018 Wasn't this particular Rehab 50 years old at the time of the spies incident? How would she then go on to start having children? Where is this written In the Tanach? All we have is commentaries saying she was 50 years old and that she mothered all these prophets and what not... From the jwa.org/encyclopedia: “After having engaged in prostitution for forty years, Rahab converted at the age of fifty. (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Masekhta de-Amalek, Yitro 1). I find it highly remarkable this particular Rahab's Canaanite DNA would have mixed with King David's given Israel was not not mix with Canaanites (much less so with ethnic Moabites, Deu 23:3) Reply Ephraim Dovid Israel June 9, 2018 in response to Shoshana: Sarah bore Yitzchak at the age of 90, so it's not unreasonable to believe that Rachav could have children past the age of 50. I just read about a 70 year old woman in 5776 (2016 C.E.) who gave birth. Yes she had the help of invitro fertilization, but still. Reply Teri West Monroe March 30, 2017 Is Rahab in the linage of King David? Reply Shoshana GA May 26, 2018 in response to Teri : From my research there have to have been more than one Rachab, Rehab. One was a 50 year old Canaanite prostitute which apparently was forced into the trade at age ten, the other one is the one that appears as Boaz' mother. Israel was not to marry Canaanites, Moabites, or Ammonites. In the case of Moabites and Ammonites never ever as per Deu 23:3. Why would a chosen leader like Joshua marry an old harlot? Beautiful or not what kind of sample would he have given Israel? On top of it having children by her too? It defies reason! Torah does not state any of this! Its one thing for Yosef living in Egypt to have married outside Israel, quite another for Joshua to do so as a leader of Israel... Reply Ephraim Dovid Israel June 9, 2018 in response to Shoshana: I know this isn't what you were talking about, but since you mentioned it, Yosef married Asnath, who was actually the biological daughter of Dina (daughter of Yaakov) and Shechem (who raped her, and was ultimately killed by Levi and Shimon over the matter). Being the daughter of a daughter of Yisrael (Yaakov), Asnath was a biological cousin of Yosef's. Potiphera of Egypt had adopted her, and after Yosef rose to power, he married her. So Yosef technically didn't marry "outside of Israel". Reply Anonymous November 4, 2012 I never knew that Rahab married Joushua?? Ruth 4:21and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed. Reply Stella Brazil December 25, 2018 in response to Anonymous: I've seen one Rabbi saying that on Youtube, I found it really interesting by the way. It can personify many things that I've read about the concept of Baalei/Baal Teshuva because a person that has been in a place where she practiced prostitution and was living in a city so impure that was about to be destroyed and really converting, in reality is a very difficult thing to do specially if that person is a woman. I've always liked the idea that the potential of evil of a person can actually be converted to the contrary, like it can be "inverted" to a really high position in spirituality if this person does teshuvah in reality. Reply Ari May 26, 2010 that was Ruth from Moab who lived a few generations later and married Boaz, who were Jessie's grandparents Reply Shoshana GA May 26, 2018 in response to Ari: Ruth was a Moabite citizen, not a blood Moabite as Boaz would not have marry her nor would the elders have blessed her. 4125-Moabite= 1) a citizen of Moab 2) an inhabitant of the land of Moab. For 300 years Israel had the territory from the river Arnon to Mount Hermon, however part of that territory continued to be known as land or country of Moab. Likely she was from that area thus a 'Moabite'. Ruth, like most of Ruben, had apparently been worshiping the local powers and principalities (probably Chemosh) and to her credit did teshuva returning to the Elohim of her ancestors. Reply Ephraim Dovid Israel June 9, 2018 in response to Shoshana: From what I remember one of my Rebbeim teaching me in yeshiva, the prohibition not to marry a Moabite only applies to marrying Moabite men, not to a Jewish man marrying a Moabite woman. So it was not an issue for Boaz to marry Ruth, and she was a "blood Moabite" as you called it. In fact, she was a Moabite Princess. I also learned that this issue of whether or not a female Moabite can convert to become a member of klal Yisroel, was not so clear even in the time of Yishai (Jesse) who was the father of Dovid Hamelech. Yishai thought to himself that his own lineage as a descendant of Ruth, who was a Moabite convert, disqualified him from staying with his Israelite wife Nitzevet. And when Nitzevet bore Dovid Hamelech, he and his other sons shunned Dovid, as did many other people. Reply Shoshana GA June 26, 2018 in response to Ephraim Dovid: I read about Ruth having been a Moabite princess... What is the likelihood that the Moabites who had such visceral hatred of Israel to even hire Balaam to bring a curse would allow one of her princess to marry a Jew? Can you picture a so called Palestinian giving in marriage a prominent daughter of their society to a Jew? I find that hard to believe thus prefer to stay with the script. According to the Brown Driver Biggs definition of Moabite it can be a citizen or resident of Moab. Given the fact Israel had the former Moabite territory north of the Arnon for over 300 years and given certain areas kept their former names, including the field, country, or plains of Moab, I can see the possibility of Ruth having been a Rubenite, who like most of Israel worshiped the local deities but did teshuvah embracing the tribe of Judah in the process as she was returning with Naomi. Reply Ephraim Dovid Israel June 26, 2018 in response to Shoshana: I don't mean to sound harsh, but it seems as if you would prefer to believe in theories that have no basis and no sources, and completely ignore the Tanach, Midrashim, and Talmud. It says clearly in Tanach, in Ruth, right in the very beginning, that Naomi's sons had married Moabite women. In the Ketuvim (Writings) Ruth is called a "Moabitess". Surely, the Ketuvim would not call Ruth a Moabitess if she was a descendant of Reuven. If she was a daughter of Yisroel, she would have been called as such. Also, our sages tell us in Ruth Rabbah, that Ruth and Orpah were the daughters of Eglon who was the son of Balak, which would make them princesses of Moav. Reply Shoshana GA June 26, 2018 in response to Ephraim Dovid: The dictionary definition of Moabite as a citizen can hardly be considered a theory; its a fact that does not deny Tanach at all. There are Jews all over the world but are not always identified as such, right? Deu 23:3 states no Moabite can ever join Israel. We know Boaz was a righteous man and so were the elders that blessed Ruth. He would not have gone through with the levirate redemption had Ruth been an actual ethnic Moabite instead of a Rubenite citizen of Moab. As to Balak, we again just read how he contracted Balaam to curse Israel, so would he have given his daughters to Israel as a prize instead? Does the timeline for all this even fits? Reply Ephraim Dovid Israel June 30, 2018 in response to Shoshana: 1.Just because the word "Moavi" could possibly be translated as "a citizen of Moav" doesn't mean that Ruth was not actually a Moabitess. 2.Your statements above (e.g.,"Ruth was a Moabite citizen,not a blood Moabite..." and "I can see the possibility of Ruth having been a Rubenite...") are most certainly theories.They definitely are not fact, and they don't have any sources to back them up. You completely disregard our sages' teachings,explanations, and expositions in favor of theories. 3.In addition to the Written Torah given at Sinai, we were also given the Oral Torah which was transmitted from Rebbi to student(s),generation after generation. The Oral Torah explains and clarifies the written Torah. Regarding the prohibition in the written Torah in Devarim in 23:4 "An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord,...",the Talmud(oral Torah)in Kesuvos 7a and Yevamos 77b clarifies that this only applies to a Jewish woman marrying a Moabite man,and not the other way. Reply The Shadow Boxer miami, Florida January 29, 2010 Rahab the Harlot I am very interested in the study of the Torah and the ancient writings. I never knew that Rahab married Joushua?? If this is so, then how could she also be the great grand mother of Jessie, the farther of king David?? Please help me to understand this. Joshua was of the tribe of Benjamin, and David of the tribe of Judah. I am very lost with this interpretation... Reply Anonymous April 12, 2018 in response to The Shadow Boxer: Joshua belonged to the tribe of Ephraim. Reply Shoshana GA May 26, 2018 in response to The Shadow Boxer: Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim and as a leader of Israel it is highly unlikely he married a 50 year old Canaanite harlot, beautiful or not. Its not like Israel lacked righteous beautiful women. Deuteronomy 7:1-3 clearly says not to marry Canaanites and Joshua himself wrote about it in Joshua 23:12 adjuring Israel not to "join to the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in to them, and they to you". Reply Ephraim Dovid Israel June 9, 2018 in response to Shoshana: Chazal do say that Yehoshua did indeed marry Rachav learning this from the book of Yehoshua itself(6:25)where it says "hecheya Yehoshua" (Yehoshua kept her alive), from which Tosfot to the Talmud Megillah14b explains that Yehoshua married her. I've heard 2 opinions about why he was permitted to do so since she was living in Canaan. The first is that she may not have been a Canaanite at all, and that her family had moved to Yericho when she was young. The other opinion (that I personally prefer) is that Rachav converted before the children of Israel had crossed the Jordan into the land and so the law of not intermarrying with the 7 nations of Canaan had not yet gone into effect. When she converted before the Israelites had entered, she was no longer a Canaanite. I think it's an important lesson that no matter how far one has sunk, by acknowledging that (Hashem) "He is God in the heavens above and on the Earth below" like Rachav said(Yehoshua 2:11), that one can rise to great heights Reply Shoshana GA June 26, 2018 in response to Ephraim Dovid: Regarding Rehab/ Rachav having been the same person, if one is to overlook the childbirth age, etc there is the possibility she could have been an Israelite whose family moved to Yericho. This was the view I held originally till I began to dig into it further but I am still open to it. After all prostitution is not necessarily something to be proud of, especially if as some of the accounts I read she was started in the trade at age 10... The point is David was of pure Israelite seed. Reply Ephraim Dovid Israel June 26, 2018 in response to Shoshana: I'm not sure where you got the idea that there were two Rachav's, or that Rachav was an ancestor of Dovid Hamelech. But I asked Rabbi Kazen about it and he told me that the idea of Rachav being an ancestor of Dovid Hamelech is a new testament contrivance from Mathew. According to the Tanach, there is only mention of 1 Rachav, and the idea that she became an ancestor of Dovid Hamelech is not a Jewish one. Reply Shoshana GA June 27, 2018 in response to Ephraim Dovid: Now that is something I would love to find out more about. Is there a book somewhere that I may read regarding this? I know David had to have been "kosher' so to speak which is why I am so adamant to accept Ruth could have been an ethnic Moabitess rather than a citizen of the plains or country of Moab. Moreover, the mamzer rules would apply to ethnic Moabites therefore prohibiting David from kingship. Reply SHOW ALL COMMENTS Related Topics Rahab (9) Jewish History (45) Subscribe SUBSCRIBE Subscribe to Today in Judaism More subscription options » Home | Donate | Contact Us | Ask The Rabbi Login © 1993-2019 Chabad.org View Desktop Site

4 SUKU INI MAYORITAS BERAGAMA KRISTEN

4 SUKU INI MAYORITAS BERAGAMA KRISTEN

Kebijakan Pemerintah Kolonial Portugis di Indonesia

https://www.berpendidikan.com/2015/07/kebijakan-pemerintah-kolonial-portugis-di-indonesia.html

Kebijakan Pemerintah Kolonial Portugis di Indonesia

Oleh BerpendidikanDiposting pada 2 Juli 2015

4.9

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Setelah menancapkan kekuasaannya di Indonesia dalam masa penjelajahannya mengelilingi samudra, Pemerintah portugis membuat kebijakan-kebijakan yang nantinya akan memberikan pengaruh pada tatanan kehidupan rakyat Indonesia.

Kekuasaan Portugis di Maluku berlangsung cukup lama, sekitar tahun 1512 sampai 1641. Kebijakan-kebijakan yang dipraktikkan selama itu sangat berpengaruh terhadap kehidupan masyarakat Indonesia.

Daftar Isi :

Kebijakan pemerintah Portugis di Indonesia

Berikut ini berbagai kebijakan pemerintah kolonial Portugis.
a. Berusaha menanamkan kekuasaan di Maluku.

b. Menyebarkan agama Katolik di daerah-daerah yang dikuasai.

c. Mengembangkan bahasa dan seni musik keroncong Portugis.

d. Sistem monopoli perdagangan cengkih dan pala di Ternate.
Dengan kebijakan ini, petani Ternate tidak lagi memiliki kebebasan untuk menjual atau menentukan harga hasil panennya. Mereka harus menjual hasil panennya hanya kepada Portugis dengan harga yang ditentukan oleh Portugis.
Akibatnya, petani sangat dirugikan, dan Portugis memperoleh keuntungan yang sangat besar. Pengaruh dari kebijakan ini ternyata tertanam pada rakyat Indonesia khususnya rakyat Maluku. Ada yang bersifat negatif dan ada yang positif.
Gambar: Kekuasaan Portugis di Indonesia

Pengaruh kebijakan Portugis di Indonesia

Berikut ini berbagai pengaruh yang ditimbulkan dari kebijakan-kebijakan Portugis.
a. Terganggu dan kacaunya jaringan perdagangan.
b. Banyaknya orang-orang beragama Katolik di daerah pendudukan Portugis.
c. Rakyat menjadi miskin dan menderita.
d. Tumbuh benih rasa benci terhadap kekejaman Portugis.
e. Munculnya rasa persatuan dan kesatuan rakyat Maluku untuk menentang Portugis.
f. Bahasa Portugis turut memperkaya perbendaharaan kata/ kosakata dan nama keluarga seperti da Costa, Dias, de Fretes, Mendosa, Gonzalves, da Silva, dan lain-lain.
g. Seni musik keroncong yang terkenal di Indonesia sebagai peninggalan Portugis adalah keroncong Morisco.
h. Banyak peninggalan arsitektur yang bercorak Portugis dan senjata api/meriam di daerah pendudukan.
Kekuasaan Spanyol yang sempat menjalin hubungan dengan Tidore tidak memiliki pengaruh yang berarti. Mengingat Spanyol segera meninggalkan Tidore karena terbentur Perjanjian Saragosa.