HUMAN NATURE AND SOUL TIES Part 1 All people on earth have one common failure throughout the lifespan of mankind: Human Nature In fact, God himself was grieved at what He saw in the hearts of men and expressed this in the beginning of creation Genesis 6:5-8 (NIV) 5 The LORD saw how great man s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air for I am grieved that I have made them. 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. Human nature has three components: FLESH: This represents the physical aspect of human (man s) nature, which is mortal because of sin. The body (blood; bone) is frail, human life is a mere vapor (breath) and human nature is also carnal (flesh) SPIRIT (breath): This represents that inward part of a person which gives them their identity and by which they think (mind; conscience; imagination), feel (heart; reins), and have life. SOUL: This refers chiefly to that which is natural as opposed to that which is spiritual, and is the seat of the sentient (sensory perception) element in human beings. These are the mind, the will and the emotions I want to focus today on the third element of human nature, the soul which controls your mind, will and your emotions THE SOUL The soul is both the person of human nature (title and noun) and the function of human nature (actions and verb) A. As a Noun or a title. The word soul comes from the Hebrew word nepesh meaning soul; self; life; person This is a very common term in both ancient and modern Semitic languages. It occurs over 780 times in the Old Testament and is evenly distributed in all periods of the text with a particularly high reference in the poetic writings of the bible
The basic meaning is also related to the rare verb form or napash. The context of the word as a noun refers to the essence of life, the act of breathing, taking breath. In its primary sense the noun appears in its first occurrence in 1) Genesis 1: 20: the moving creature which has life, and 2) Genesis 2: 7: as living being or living soul. The KJV alone uses over 28 different English terms for this one Hebrew word. The Hebrew system of thought does not include either the combination or opposition of the terms body and soul, which are really of Greek and Latin in origin. NB! The Hebrew does however contrasts two other concepts which are not found in the Greek and Latin tradition, these been the inner self and the outer self or appearance or, as viewed in a different context, this being What one is to oneself! As opposed to What one appears to be to others (one s observers) The inner person is the nepesh (HUMAN NATURE, OR LIFE OR SELF) while the outer person is the shem, more commonly translated as (NAME) In biblical narrative or historical passages of the Old Testament, nepesh can be translated as life or self, as we read in Leviticus 17:11: For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for yourself The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate both simply use the Greek and Latin equivalent of soul, especially in the Psalms. The first occurrence is in Psalm 3:2: Many are saying of my soul, // There is no deliverance for him in God The next occurrence is in Psalm 6:3: And my soul is greatly dismayed; // But Thou, O Lord how long? B. As a Verb or an action. The active Hebrew word is Napash which means to breathe; to respire; to be refreshed. This verb, which is apparently related to the noun nepesh, appears 3 times in the Old Testament
1) In Exodus 23: 12 2) In Exodus 31: 17 3) In 2 Samuel 16: 14: And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary and refreshed themselves there. Let us look at 2 examples from the bible to understand this concept 1) ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA (ACTS 5: 1 11) Acts 5:1-11 (NIV) 1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles feet. 3 Then Peter said, Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God. 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land? Yes, she said, that is the price. 9 Peter said to her, How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also. 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. 4:31. As with Peter in verse 8, so now the whole body of believers experiences a renewal of the controlling influence or filling of the Spirit. See the note on 2:4. 5:3, 4. The deity of the Holy Spirit is evident within this passage. In verse 3 Peter states that Ananias has lied to the Holy Spirit. Then in verse 4 Ananias is told that he has lied to God. 5:4. Communal sharing is still being practiced some weeks or months after Pentecost, but it was totally voluntary. Ananias s sin was not that of keeping back part of what he sold, but his hypocrisy about it. 5:5. Though God does not judge every believer s sin with death, in some situations God does (1 Cor. 11:30; 1 John 5:16). 5:1 6. The account of Ananias and Sapphira occurs within the context of, and right on the heels of, the account of the generosity of Barnabas in sharing with other believers. As Barnabas has sold a possession and brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet, so too this husband-and-wife team, Ananias and Sapphira, sold a possession.
The difference between Barnabas and them, however, is seen in the second verse, And kept back part of the price. Ananias and Sapphira had apparently not learned the lesson that there is no such thing as secret sin. The psalmist David had to exclaim, O God, thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from thee (Psalm 69: 5); We see this also when Moses kills the Egyptian in Exodus 2:11 14; When Peter confronted Ananias with whether or not Satan had filled his heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, the apostle made it abundantly clear that the practice of common-ism (mutual brotherhood) was definitely not communism (Controlled association) Peter asserted, While it remained, was it not your own? What belonged to Ananias was indeed his and did not belong to the church, unless he gave it to them. Likewise, after he sold the land, Ananias could do with the money whatever he wished. If he shared it with the believers of Jerusalem who were less fortunate than he, it would be out of concern and love for them, not out of requirement. Since he chose to give it to the church in the same manner that Barnabas had given, he should not have attempted to lie to God and His servants by claiming that he had given his all. A lie to the servant of God was tantamount to lying to the Spirit of God Himself. When Ananias learned that he had lied to God, he fell down, and gave up the ghost. Ananias was struck dead for his sin against God, and the young men bound him in grave linen, carried him out, and buried him. In verses 7 11 we read of how a soul tie results in destruction and in this instance, even death Unaware of what had happened to her husband, about three hours later Sapphira came before Peter and the other disciples. A similar question was asked to her concerning the selling of her possession. Because she had conspired with her husband to lie to the Spirit of God, and attempted to increase her image in the eyes of the other believers, Peter predicted that the feet of those that carried out her husband would also carry out Sapphira. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost. As predicted, the men quickly came and bore her body away to be buried alongside her husband. Satan first attacked the church from outside, persecuting it as a roaring lion. Now he has attacked the church from inside, persecuting it as a serpent. But the end result is still the same: And great fear came upon all the church. All who had assembled as believers in Jerusalem were brought into a right relationship with God because of persecution.
This not altogether unhealthy effect of persecution must have caused havoc in the dominions of darkness. 2) ACHAN (JOSHUA 7:10 26) Joshua 7:10-26 (NIV) 10 The LORD said to Joshua, Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. 13 Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it. 14 In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the LORD takes shall come forward clan by clan; the clan that the LORD takes shall come forward family by family; and the family that the LORD takes shall come forward man by man. 15 He who is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the LORD and has done a disgraceful thing in Israel! 16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was taken. 17 The clans of Judah came forward, and he took the Zerahites. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was taken. 18 Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me. 20 Achan replied, It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath. 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD. 24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today. Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26 Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since. We read in verses 10 15 that in response to Joshua s question, God did not expect a lengthy lamentation over those lost at the battle of Ai, but rather expected Joshua to Get up and pursue the battle again.
What a tremendous lesson for any Christian who experiences difficulty and defeat. God was fully aware of what had happened. Israel hath sinned for they have even taken of the accursed thing and they have put it even among their own stuff. God was not looking for excuses, nor an assessment of what caused Israel to sin. God was interested in repentance, confession of sin, and restoration to fellowship. He was fully aware that Israel turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed. There was no hiding the problem. If something were not done about it, the divine response would be devastating: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. The call to sanctify the people is reminiscent of Joshua 3:5 where Joshua commands the people to consecrate themselves before they move the next day. You see, God never moves in unclean vessels. If Israel is to be used of God, she must be purged of her sin. The method of determining the sinner was ingenious. In the morning all Israel would be assembled by tribe, by family, by household, and man by man. The genealogies of the children of Israel were very strictly kept, as the books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah indicate. With God s guidance, it would be a relatively easy task for the sinner in the camp to be determined. God always deals severely with sin because sin is severe. Just as He dealt harshly with the Canaanite inhabitants of Jericho because of their sin, He now deals equally so with an Israelite of Gilgal because of his sin. The divine command was he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he has (His family and possessions). We continue in verses 16 19 where Joshua rises up early in the morning to effect corrective action. The task was not pleasant, but it was a necessary one. As has been Joshua s practice, he rose early in the morning to begin the survey of Israel. Tribe by tribe Israel was brought before him. The tribe of Judah was taken, and of that tribe the family of Zarhites. Of this family man by man, Zabdi was taken, and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah was taken. What follows is a tender and passionate scene. And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him. Israel s leader is not being hypocritical here; he genuinely is touched by the necessity of Achan s confession. God s glory will only be reflected back to Him when the life of God s servant is cleared of guilt.
Verses 20 21! Summarizing his trespass, Achan says: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, money and gold, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent. Knowing full well that he was not permitted to take the beautiful mantle of Shinar which he discovered at Jericho, nor the silver and gold which he had confiscated, Achan deliberately sinned against God and took this booty back to his house to hide beneath his tent. In essence, Achan had made the same mistake Moses did when he killed the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand (Exodus 2:1 2). Neither of them understood that one cannot successfully hide their sin from God. Psalm 69:5 reminds us, O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee See also Mark 4:21 23. The path to sin is now a well-established one. As Achan 1) Saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonian garment, money and gold (2) Coveted them, and 3) Took them, he followed exactly the same path that Eve did when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired (coveted) to make one wise, she took of the fruit and ate it and gave also to her husband with her: and he also ate (Genesis 3: 6). This similar pathway was used by David, as recorded in 2 Samuel 11:2 4, when one evening upon the roof of the king s house he saw a woman washing herself sent and inquired after the woman and took her These and other examples illustrate the unbroken pathway to sin. NB!!!!! Sin begins with 1) innocent sight, 2) degenerates into lustful desire or covetousness and 3) falls from there into participation. But the pathway to sin does not end here, as each example shows. 4) The fourth step to sin is always involvement of others. Eve gave the forbidden fruit to Adam and he too partook of it. David s sin with Bathsheba involved her husband as well, for David sent Uriah the Hittite to the head of the battle in order to be killed (2 Sam 11:6, 17). And Achan s personal sin in taking of the accursed thing brought about the deaths of thirtysix innocent Israelite soldiers. Perhaps the most terrifying thing about sin is that there is no such thing as private sin.
All sin affects others; the personal sin of Achan stirred the anger of God against Israel. The personal sin of believers always affects the church at large. Every sin involves society; and since each of us makes up society, every sin affects us. Verses 22 24! Upon hearing Achan s confession, Joshua sent messengers to his tent and removed all the accursed spoils of war and laid them out before the LORD. The offering to the Lord was the easy part; the punishment of Achan and his family was more difficult. And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. Here Achan and his family, who apparently had participated in hiding the spoils of war, were to be severely punished for their sin. We see here clearly demonstrated, the concept of a single person representing an entire group which was so common that it was not considered unfair in the Hebrew mind for a family to suffer because of its father s sins (2 Samuel 21:1 14). Verses 25 26! Because they had troubled Israel, all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. God could not allow unconfessed sin to exist in the camp of Israel. He could not use unclean vessels. The Holy God can never associate Himself with that which is unholy. But once the sin was dealt with, the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. From that day until now, the place where Achan was stoned has been called the valley of Achor. All who would live righteously before the Lord must be very careful to avoid sin. Gross errors tend to stigmatize those who otherwise have unblemished or near unblemished records Living righteously consistently is the only acceptable life-style. Next week What is a soul tie?