Consecrated to God

Today my thoughts were arrested by a passage of scripture.  The Israelites had been brought over Jordan on dry ground after 40 years in the wilderness.  In obedience to God's command, they walked around the city of Jericho once a day without speaking for six days.  The seventh day they walked around the city seven times, and at the sound of the priest's trumpets they were to shout because God had given them the city.  Joshua commanded the people in Joshua 6:18-19:  "And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. ¹⁹ But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD."

This is most interesting.  The men of Israel were warned not to take any of the accursed things, let a curse rest upon them and the entire camp be troubled.  The next verse reveals the articles of gold, silver, and vessels of bronze and iron were not cursed in themselves, for they were consecrated to the LORD.  God would not bring evil objects into His treasury.  We know therefore the valuables plundered from Jericho were not "cursed" or "evil" in themselves, but would be a curse to any who took them because they were God's.  The principle is established here that taking for yourself what is consecrated to God brings a curse and trouble.  The next chapter reveals the grave consequences for disobedience in this matter was pride, fear, defeat, and ultimately death.  To take what is God's is theft.  If men are punished for stealing from another man, who will come to your aid if you steal from God?  Ananias and Sapphira being dead still speak.

God speaks through the prophet in Malachi 3:7-12:  "Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts. "But you said, 'In what way shall we return?' ⁸ "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. ⁹ You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. ¹⁰ Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.¹¹ "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," says the LORD of hosts; ¹² "And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land," says the LORD of hosts."  God's desire is to bless, protect, and provide for His people.  Yet if a man robs God of what God has consecrated for Himself, it will bring a curse and trouble.

It is a good line of thought:  have I given God all that is rightfully His?  As Christians - God's children and inheritance - we are to consecrate ourselves to God, for He has purchased us with His own blood (Acts 20:28 ).  God doesn't want us for our money or service.  Being infinite, He needs nothing.  But He desires that we would consecrate ourselves wholly to Him, as is our reasonable service.  Should not our deeds exceed those spoken of in 2 Chronicles 29:30-31, being under the New Covenant with better promises?  2 Chonicles 29:30-31 says, "Moreover King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped. ³¹ Then Hezekiah answered and said, "Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, come near, and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD." So the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings."  Let us be the willing sacrifices, consecrated for God's glory and praise.