Why did the law given to Moses require that the hand of the witnesses should be first to come upon a person sentenced to death, and does this have any application or lesson for us today?
Concerning those sentenced to death by the court in Israel, At the mouth of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one dying should be put to death. . . . The hand of the witnesses first of all should come upon him to put him to death, and the hand of all the people afterward; and you must clear out what is bad from your midst.”
Not only were the judges and older men of the nation responsible to clear out what was bad, but all in Israel were to be zealous for true worship, anxious to see that no reproach was brought upon God’s name, that the organization remained clean, avoiding community condemnation. The witnesses must show their zeal by taking the lead in carrying out the judgment.
Another principle was involved. It was one thing to bring testimony against a person before the court but quite another thing to be the executioner, actually shedding the person’s blood. This would make a witness think very carefully in giving evidence. It would be a very hardened witness who would give false testimony knowing he also had to be first to act to put the man or woman to death.
So today, if wickedness is practiced by anyone in the Christian congregation, the congregation’s judicial committee has the responsibility to investigate and disfellowship, to clear away what is bad. But each one in the congregation should be just as zealous for the congregation’s cleanness and good standing before Jehovah, even though the guilty one may be as close as a son or a daughter. Each one should be zealous to bear witness to what he knows in the case, not withholding information or evidence because of close ties of family or friendship. He should acquiesce to the judgment of the committee and support its action.—Zech. 13:3.
There is another lesson for us. We should be very careful that we give true, not false or questionable testimony. We should not let prejudice or a preconceived opinion cause us to give false, hasty, careless or inaccurate testimony.
2006-09-18 18:55:21
·
answer #1
·
answered by BJ 7
·
0⤊
0⤋
It proves that in the day of judgment God will destroy the evil ones.
2006-09-18 16:45:49
·
answer #2
·
answered by SEOplanNOW.com 7
·
0⤊
0⤋