“Consecration” and “Holiness”  

           Whenever we talk about the holiness of God, we may have difficulty explaining the concept of “holiness”.  Even if we have trouble defining it, we still need to learn more about it, so that we know how to walk with God.  This is similar to electricity - even though we might not be able to explain it, we still have to understand its function and potential risks.    

           The following passage in the Bible will give us some insight regarding this topic.

         “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Ask the priests what the law says: If someone carries consecrated meat in the fold of their garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does it become consecrated?’ The priests answered, ‘No.’  Then Haggai said, ‘If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?’ ‘Yes,’ the priests replied, ‘it becomes defiled.’”      Haggai 2:11-13

           Did you get that?  The fold of the garment becomes consecrated as a result of carrying the consecrated meat, but its holiness will not pass on to the things it has touched. On the other hand, a person defiled by contact with a dead body defiles other things he touches.  It can be illustrated in the following chart:  

Source                   Primary item it touches                  Secondary item being touched                 Degree/extent of transfer

Consecrated meat  The fold of garment(consecrated) Items being touched (will not be consecrated) Weak (next to none) Dead body             The person (becomes defiled)        Items being touched (will be defiled)              Strong         
                                                                                                                                                               (overwhelming) 

              This should not surprise us.  In fact, it can be easily seen in our daily lives. A moral value might not have an immediate effect to make a person more upright and righteous. On the other hand, an evil thought can corrupt a person easily, and in the end, produce bad behavior. Corrupt influence can come upon a person surprisingly fast and strong. There was a story of a couple bringing their child to a toy shop. While there, they saw another child crying out loud and rolling on the floor in an attempt to make his mother buy the toy he wanted. That mother felt she had no choice but to comply, in order to stop the commotion. The young child who came along with this couple, saw what happened and started doing the same thing - rolling on the floor back and forth, and crying even louder than the kid before, in order to make his parents buy him a toy.    

             God reminds us through the words of the prophet Haggai, that we need to avoid defilement by embracing the “holiness” of God, in order to defend and protect our hearts that are weak and easily led astray.   

            “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.  These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”     Matthew 15:19-20 

         從「聖物」理解「聖潔」
           一談到神的聖潔，我們的腦袋就開始運轉、想像，努力去抓一些頭緒去理解「聖潔」是什麼；如果無法理出一個定義，也希望能瞭解的作用或影響力，好去與神相處。這好比電能，我們無法給它定義，但總得知道它的功用及殺傷力。以下一段聖經非常有趣，深思也趣味無窮，記載於哈該書 2:11-13

11 萬軍之耶和華如此說：「你要向祭司問律法，
12 說：若有人用衣襟兜聖肉，這衣襟挨著餅，或湯，或酒，或油，或別的食物，便算為聖嗎？」祭司說：「不算為聖。」
13 哈該又說：「若有人因摸死屍染了污穢，然後挨著這些物的那一樣，這物算污穢嗎？」祭司說：「必算污穢。」
          簡單的說，當衣襟兜過聖肉，就算為聖；因它接觸到聖物。但它的聖，不能使接觸到的物件成爲聖。而一個人若摸過死屍就算為污穢。他的污穢，會使所有接觸到的物件成爲污穢。表格示意如下：  

源頭        挨着物體                        物體挨着別的東西                                   感染或傳播力度
聖肉        衣襟（算為聖）            東西（不算為聖）                                   聖潔的弱（甚至無）
死屍        人（算為污穢）            東西（必算污穢）                                   污穢的強（且霸道） 

         這個現象，不算是什麼驚人大發現，在日常生活中比比皆是。一個好思想，不見得馬上對人有好影響；但一個壞思想，可以立刻污穢人心，並引發不良行爲；其感染力之快，令人吃驚。一對夫婦帶著孩子逛街，來到玩具店，遇見一個小孩正與母親鬧彆扭，在地上打滾，大哭嚎叫。那可憐的母親為了息事寧人，就給小孩買了他要的玩具。而這對夫婦的孩子看在眼裏，馬上有樣學樣，在地上滾冬瓜似的；其嚎啕大哭之聲，比前個孩子有過之，而無不及。
        神藉着先知哈該提醒我們，人生活要有「聖潔」和「污穢」之分。這個觀念要牢牢的刻在我們心思意念的大門上。我們要懷抱神的「聖潔」，去捍衛我們軟弱、容易搖擺的心。
        馬太福音15:19 19因為從心裡發出來的，有惡念、兇殺、姦淫、苟合、偷盜、妄證、謗讟。20這都是污穢人的。

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