Ekklesia: The Nature of the Lowest Courts, Part 2
by Dr. Patti Amsden
by Dr. Patti Amsden
Moses had been given the laws of God on Mount Sinai. Once received, the covenant and the law was presented to the ruling elders of Israel (Ex.19:7). One could say that an ekklesia – a called out assembly – gathered at the bidding of Moses to hear what heaven had released upon the earth and to take a vote. Would the legislative, representative gathering agree with heaven? Would the delegation bind on earth what was bound in heaven and loose on earth what was loosed in heaven? Did they vote? Listen to scripture:
“(Never forget) the day that you stood before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. And you came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. And the Lord spoke unto you out of the midst of the fire: you heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only you heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even Ten Commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might do them in the land where you go over to possess it” (Deut. 4:10-14).
The elders and the people agreed; they said yes to the offer of covenant and yes to the laws of that covenant. One could say that the nation received a heavenly constitution and a set of by-laws on how to establish heaven on earth. The transcendent document of God’s laws was accepted that day when it was heard and voted upon.
A transcendent document is an external or exterior document, meaning it is written somewhere and serves as the required standard for all who are part of that group. Compliance to that document can only occur in one of two ways. First, there must be enforcers to compel obedience from all the citizens or participants. Those who might not be inclined to align with the mandates in the transcendent document either comply out of fear of punishment or receive retribution for breach of the rules. Israel had served as slaves in Egypt and had been forced into compliance with the constitutional formation of that Egyptian system. Israel was compelled to obey. God’s people were ruled by the enforcers. The transcendent documents of their captors remained exterior rules that had to be obeyed.
The second way to attain compliance to transcendent documents is by internalizing the charter. To accomplish this, the citizens or the participants learn the particulars of the constitution. They read, memorize, embrace, and self-enforce the rules. Internalization produces self-government. When the transcendent values become individualized values, the need for enforcers diminishes. Remember Paul’s words to the church in Rome concerning the punishing or enforcing power of the civil realm! Paul declared, “For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you” (Romans 13:3 - NLT).
When Moses offered covenant and its corresponding constitution to the nation of Israel and when the nation – in an ekklesia convocation – voted to accept the new transcendent values, the people had a paradigm of external compliance rather than internalization. God acknowledged their condition. He wrote the law on tablets of stone as a testimony of the hardened hearts of the people. God’s will was always to have the law internalized. King David is accredited with writing Psalm 119 where he stated, “Thy word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against thee” (verse11). The heart or internalization was and is the resting place for the transcendent documents. The children of Israel were not familiar with the concept of self-government based upon internalization of transcendent values. The new constitution would have to become part of their heart, mind, soul, and will. Therefore, Moses was instructed to teach them the precepts. Once learned, each generation was given the responsibility to inscribe the laws and values on the hearts of the next generation.
Israel was called to be living witnesses or living testimonies of heaven’s constitution. As a self-governed people, they would be able to make good judgments and thereby allow on earth what God had declared legal from heaven. They could settle personal disputes when they arose. Self-government was the goal. But, until the transcendent became internalized, Moses appointed a court system of one judge of every ten people. (Refer back to the previous article.) Enforcers were set in place at the birthing of the new nation. Eventually, citizens would be expected to self-govern. This truth becomes apparent when one considers the court system Jesus established in His ekklesia. More will follow on Jesus’ courts in the next article.
“(Never forget) the day that you stood before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. And you came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. And the Lord spoke unto you out of the midst of the fire: you heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only you heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even Ten Commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might do them in the land where you go over to possess it” (Deut. 4:10-14).
The elders and the people agreed; they said yes to the offer of covenant and yes to the laws of that covenant. One could say that the nation received a heavenly constitution and a set of by-laws on how to establish heaven on earth. The transcendent document of God’s laws was accepted that day when it was heard and voted upon.
A transcendent document is an external or exterior document, meaning it is written somewhere and serves as the required standard for all who are part of that group. Compliance to that document can only occur in one of two ways. First, there must be enforcers to compel obedience from all the citizens or participants. Those who might not be inclined to align with the mandates in the transcendent document either comply out of fear of punishment or receive retribution for breach of the rules. Israel had served as slaves in Egypt and had been forced into compliance with the constitutional formation of that Egyptian system. Israel was compelled to obey. God’s people were ruled by the enforcers. The transcendent documents of their captors remained exterior rules that had to be obeyed.
The second way to attain compliance to transcendent documents is by internalizing the charter. To accomplish this, the citizens or the participants learn the particulars of the constitution. They read, memorize, embrace, and self-enforce the rules. Internalization produces self-government. When the transcendent values become individualized values, the need for enforcers diminishes. Remember Paul’s words to the church in Rome concerning the punishing or enforcing power of the civil realm! Paul declared, “For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you” (Romans 13:3 - NLT).
When Moses offered covenant and its corresponding constitution to the nation of Israel and when the nation – in an ekklesia convocation – voted to accept the new transcendent values, the people had a paradigm of external compliance rather than internalization. God acknowledged their condition. He wrote the law on tablets of stone as a testimony of the hardened hearts of the people. God’s will was always to have the law internalized. King David is accredited with writing Psalm 119 where he stated, “Thy word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against thee” (verse11). The heart or internalization was and is the resting place for the transcendent documents. The children of Israel were not familiar with the concept of self-government based upon internalization of transcendent values. The new constitution would have to become part of their heart, mind, soul, and will. Therefore, Moses was instructed to teach them the precepts. Once learned, each generation was given the responsibility to inscribe the laws and values on the hearts of the next generation.
Israel was called to be living witnesses or living testimonies of heaven’s constitution. As a self-governed people, they would be able to make good judgments and thereby allow on earth what God had declared legal from heaven. They could settle personal disputes when they arose. Self-government was the goal. But, until the transcendent became internalized, Moses appointed a court system of one judge of every ten people. (Refer back to the previous article.) Enforcers were set in place at the birthing of the new nation. Eventually, citizens would be expected to self-govern. This truth becomes apparent when one considers the court system Jesus established in His ekklesia. More will follow on Jesus’ courts in the next article.
